Enomoto Takeaki

Enomoto Takeaki (榎本 武揚 Enomoto Takeaki, August 25, 1836–August 26, 1908) was a Japanese Navy admiral faithful to the Tokugawa Shogunate, who fought against the new Meiji government until the end of the Boshin War, but later served in the government.

The Meiji politician

Enomoto was imprisoned and accused of High Treason, but in 1872 he was pardoned by the new Meiji government. The Meiji leaders had realized that a man of Enomoto?s talents could be of use to them. Enomoto - under the protection of the Satsuma leader Kuroda Kiyotaka - rose astonishingly fast within the new ruling clique, faster and higher than any other member of the former Tokugawa clan. He was to become one of the few former Tokugawa retainers who could exert political influence in Meiji Japan as well, since politics in these days were dominated by the anti-Tokugawa clans from Choshu and Satsuma.

Related Topics:
Satsuma - Kuroda Kiyotaka - Tokugawa - Choshu

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In 1874, Enomoto was appointed vice-admiral, and as a special envoy, he was sent to Russia to negotiate the Treaty of exchange of the Kuril Islands and Sakhalin, which was signed the next year. The treaty awarded Sakhalin to Russia in return for Japanese possession of the Kuril island chain in its entity. The conclusion of the treaty was very much welcomed in Japan and further raised Enomoto?s prestige within the ruling circles. On the other hand, the appointment of Enomoto as envoy should add to the sense of national unity as well. The appointment of a staunch supporter of the late shogunate should symbolize the new government's concern with national unity.

Related Topics:
Russia - Treaty of exchange of the Kuril Islands and Sakhalin - Sakhalin - Kuril

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In 1880, Enomoto rose as high as navy minister, and in 1885 he again showed his skills as a diplomat by assisting Ito Hirobumi in concluding the Tientsin Treaty with China. Afterwards, Enomoto frequently held high posts in the Japanese government. He was Japan?s first minister of communications (1885-1888) after the introduction of the cabinet system in 1885. He became also minister of agriculture and commerce in 1888 and again from 1894-1897, minister for education from 1889-1890 and foreign minister from 1891-1892. In 1887, Enomoto was granted the rank of a viscount as well as membership in the Privy Council, one of Meiji Japan?s most prestigious institutions.

Related Topics:
Ito Hirobumi - Tientsin Treaty - China - Privy Council

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He successively held several ministry positions in the government, and was especially active in promoting Japanese expansionism through settler colonies in the Pacific Ocean and South and Central America. In 1891 he established - against the will of the cabinet of Matsukata Masayoshi - a 'section for emigration' in the foreign ministry, with the task of encouraging emigration and finding new potential territories for Japanese settlement overseas. Two years later, after leaving the government, Enomoto also helped to establish a private organization, the 'Colonial Association', to promote external trade and emigration.

Related Topics:
Pacific Ocean - South - Central America - Matsukata Masayoshi - Colonial Association

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He died in 1908 at the age 71.

Related Topics:
1908 - 71

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