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Ito, Hirobumi

(Encyclopedia)Ito, Hirobumi hērōˈbo͞omē ēˈtō [key], 1841–1909, Japanese statesman, the outstanding figure in the modernization of Japan. As a young Choshu samurai, he was a xenophobe. In 1863 he visited E...

Ito

(Encyclopedia)Ito, city, Shizuoka prefecture, central Honshu, Japan, on the Izu Peninsula and the Sagami Sea. It is an important fishing port and hot spring resort. ...

Inouye, Kaoru

(Encyclopedia)Inouye, Kaoru ĭinˈəwāˌ, ĭnōˈwā [key], 1835–1915, Japanese statesman. He was a leader of the antiforeign movement in his native Choshu fief, and helped set fire to the British legation in E...

Itagaki, Taisuke

(Encyclopedia)Itagaki, Taisuke tīˈso͞okē ētäˈgäkē [key], 1837–1919, Japanese statesman. After taking part in the Meiji restoration, he became (1869) a councillor of state. A samurai of Tosa, he opposed d...

Shimonoseki, Treaty of

(Encyclopedia)Shimonoseki, Treaty of, Apr. 17, 1895, ending the First Sino-Japanese War. It was negotiated and signed by Ito Hirobumi for Japan and Li Hung-chang for China. Harsh terms were imposed on a badly defea...

Yamagata, Aritomo

(Encyclopedia)Yamagata, Aritomo ärēˈtōmō yämäˈgätä [key], 1838–1922, Japanese soldier and statesman, chief founder of the modern Japanese army. A samurai of Choshu, he took part in the Meiji restoration...

Okuma, Shigenobu

(Encyclopedia)Okuma, Shigenobu shēgāˈnōbo͞o ōˈko͞omä [key], 1838–1922, Japanese statesman. He was an early supporter of the emperor and entered the Meiji government as finance minister in 1869. In 1876 h...

Seiyukai

(Encyclopedia)Seiyukai sāˈyo͞okīˌ [key], Japanese political party, founded in 1900. It was derived, via the Kenseito (see Minseito) from the Jiyuto, organized by Taisuke Itagaki in 1881. Under the astute polit...

genro

(Encyclopedia)genro gĕnˈrōˈ [key] [ Jap.,=elder statesmen], a group that exercised collective leadership in Japan from the end of the Meiji period until c.1932. After the Meiji restoration (1868), Westernizer...

Meiji

(Encyclopedia)Meiji māˈjē [key], 1852–1912, reign name of the emperor of Japan from 1867 to 1912; his given name was Mutsuhito. He ascended the throne when he was 15. A year later the shogun fell, and the powe...

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