Prince Itō Hirobumi ( ; born ; 16 October 1841 – 26 October 1909) was a Japanese statesman who served as the first prime minister of Japan from 1885 to 1888. Itō held office again as prime minister three times between 1892 and 1901. He was also a member of the genrō, a group of senior statesmen who effectively dictated policy for the Empire of Japan during the Meiji era. A key figure in the making of modern Japan, Itō played a central role in the drafting of the 1889 Meiji Constitution as well as the establishment of the National Diet and Japanese cabinet system.
Born into a poor farming family in the Chōshū Domain, Itō Hirobumi and his father were adopted into a low-ranking samurai family. After the opening of Japan in 1854, he joined the nationalist sonnō jōi movement before being sent to England in 1863 to study at University College London. Following the Meiji Restoration of 1868, Itō was appointed a junior councilor for foreign affairs in the newly formed Empire of Japan. Later in 1870, he traveled to the United States to study Western currency, and subsequently helped establish Japan's modern banking and taxation systems. Itō then set off on another overseas trip with the Iwakura Mission to the U.S. and Europe. Upon his return to Japan in 1873, he became a full councilor and public works minister.
By the early 1880s, Itō emerged as the de facto leader of the Meiji oligarchy. In 1881, he was officially entrusted with overseeing the drafting of the Meiji Constitution. After traveling to Europe to study its nations' political systems, Itō settled on adopting a constitution emulating that of Prussia by reserving considerable power with the emperor while limiting political parties' involvement in government. In 1885, he replaced the Daijō-kan with a cabinet composed of ministry heads, and became Japan's first prime minister. After the Meiji Constitution was drafted in 1888, he established a supra-cabinet Privy Council led by himself to review it before its official promulgation in 1889. Even out of office as prime minister, Itō continued to exert significant influence on government policy as an imperial adviser, or genkun, and as President of the Privy Council. In 1900, he founded the Rikken Seiyūkai political party as party politics grew more prominent in the Diet.
On the world stage, Itō pursued an active foreign policy. He strengthened diplomatic ties with Western powers including Germany, the United States, and especially the United Kingdom. In Asia, he oversaw the First Sino-Japanese War and negotiated the surrender of China's ruling Qing dynasty on terms favorable to Japan, including the annexation of Taiwan and the release of Korea from the Chinese tributary system. After the Russo-Japanese War, the ensuing Japan–Korea Treaty of 1905 made Itō the first Resident-General of Korea. Despite initially supporting a protectorate rather than outright annexation of Korea, pressure from the Imperial Japanese Army leadership and the failure of his gradualist approach contributed to his support for annexation. Itō resigned as Resident-General in June 1909 only to be assassinated four months later by Korean-independence activist and nationalist An Jung-geun in Harbin, Manchuria.
Early life and education Origins and adoption
Itō Hirobumi was born Hayashi Risuke on 16 October 1841 (Tenpō 12, 2nd day of the 9th month) in Tsukari village, Suō Province (present-day Hikari, Yamaguchi Prefecture), within the Chōshū Domain. He was the son of Hayashi Jūzō, a farmer of humble origins. His father served a low-ranking samurai named Itō Naoemon in the castle town of Hagi. When Hirobumi was very young, his father was adopted into the Itō family along with his household, granting them samurai status, albeit at the lowest rank of chūgen (foot soldier). After the adoption, Risuke's name was changed to Itō Risuke, then Itō Shunsuke in 1858, and finally to Hirobumi around 1869. The name "Hirobumi" (博文), meaning "extensive learning", was reportedly suggested by Takasugi Shinsaku and derived from The Analects of Confucius.
Yoshida Shōin and early activism
In 1856, Itō was sent for guard duty in Sagami Province. There, in 1857, Kuruhara Ryōzō, a brother-in-law of Kido Takayoshi, encouraged his intellectual pursuits. Later that year, Itō returned to Chōshū and, with Kuruhara's introduction, enrolled in the Shōka Sonjuku, a private academy run by the influential scholar and activist Yoshida Shōin. The academy educated several figures who later became prominent in the Meiji Restoration, including Takasugi Shinsaku and Yamagata Aritomo.
Yoshida Shōin's execution in the Ansei Purge of 1859 profoundly impacted Itō, who, along with Kido Takayoshi and others, retrieved Yoshida's body for burial. Following this, Itō became involved in the radical sonnō jōi (Revere the Emperor, Expel the Barbarians) movement. In 1862, he participated in an unsuccessful plot to assassinate Nagai Uta, a Chōshū official. Later that year, he took part in the burning of the British legation in Edo. Subsequently, along with Yamao Yōzō, he assassinated the Japanese classics scholar Hanawa Jirō Tadatomi, acting on a false report.
Despite his early immersion in Shōin's ideology, Itō later distanced himself from its radicalism, viewing the anti-Western sentiment of the era as "entirely emotional" and lacking "thoughtful political calculations". He came to admire figures like Nagai Uta for their pragmatic "political strategy", signaling his own developing preference for statesmanship grounded in realism.
Study in Britain and return
Itō was selected as one of the Chōshū Five to secretly travel to Britain in 1863 for study, an act that violated the Tokugawa shogunate's ban on overseas travel. The Chōshū Domain's leadership, including Sufu Masanosuke, saw this as important for acquiring "human tools" and understanding Western civilization to prepare Japan for future international engagement. The five students departed Japan on 27 June 1863, arriving in London on 4 November. They commenced their studies at University College London, lodging with Professor Alexander Williamson and immersing themselves in English language and Western customs.
Itō's initial period of study in Britain was cut short. After about six months, he and Inoue Kaoru decided to return to Japan upon learning from The Times about the bombardment of Shimonoseki by Western powers and the conflict between the Satsuma Domain and a British naval squadron. Their aim was to persuade the Chōshū leaders of the impracticality of expelling foreigners.
This first overseas experience, though brief, is often described as an important influence on his later outlook. He returned to Japan in July 1864, during a period of national crisis. His firsthand knowledge of the West and his newly acquired English skills made him an invaluable asset. Following Chōshū's defeat by the allied Western naval forces at Shimonoseki, Itō served as a negotiator in the peace talks. This experience launched his career as a skilled negotiator, a talent Yoshida Shōin had earlier recognized. His time in Britain broadened his perspective and influenced his later approach to foreign affairs and state-building and a commitment to "extensive learning" (the meaning of "Hirobumi"). Itō developed a functional command of English, later delivering speeches in the language during the Iwakura Mission and maintaining a habit of reading English publications. He frequently gave interviews to Western media without an interpreter and conducted correspondence in English throughout his career.
Early Meiji statesman Rise in the Meiji government
After the Meiji Restoration in 1868, Itō's understanding of Western affairs became a significant asset, which contributed to his advancement in the new government. In February 1868, he was assigned to a role in foreign affairs. Later that year, he was appointed the first governor of Hyōgo Prefecture, which included the recently opened port of Kobe. This position placed him at the forefront of Japan's diplomatic and international trade activities.
In February 1869, Itō submitted a significant policy paper, "Principles for National Policy" (Kokuze kōmoku), also known as the "Hyōgo Proposal". This comprehensive six-point plan advocated for: The establishment of a monarchy. The centralization of political and military power under imperial rule, which included supporting the return of feudal domains to the emperor (hanseki hōkan). Active engagement and interaction with foreign countries. The elimination of traditional class distinctions and the granting of greater freedom to the populace. The promotion of scientific learning and knowledge acquisition from around the world. International cooperation and the definitive end of anti-foreignism (jōi). The proposal strongly emphasized the necessity "to let people throughout Japan learn the science behind the scientific achievements of the world, thereby spreading knowledge of the natural sciences". He called for cultivating a "civilized and enlightened" populace and proposed the establishment of universities in Tokyo and Kyoto.
He referred to the United States as an example of national consolidation where national prosperity was driven by the "united hearts and minds of the people". He advocated for transcending narrow domainal loyalties to forge a cohesive Japanese national identity.
Financial and monetary reforms In 1870, while serving as deputy vice-minister of finance, Itō traveled to the United States to study its financial and monetary institutions. This investigative tour, which lasted from December 1870 to June 1871, directly influenced the establishment of Japan's New Currency Regulation (Shinka Jōrei) in 1871. This legislation placed Japan on the gold standard, aligning its monetary system with those of Western nations. Itō was an advocate of this reform, dispatching a memorandum from the U.S. that argued for its adoption based on the successful experience of "civilized Western countries". While the move to the gold standard was considered radical by some contemporaries, the reform also incorporated elements of continuity with Japan's pre-existing monetary framework.
Itō also played a major role in the development of a modern banking system in Japan. He advocated for the creation of a bank of issue, and in December 1872, the National Bank Regulation (Kokuritsu Ginkō Jōrei) was promulgated, drawing inspiration from America's National Bank Act. His proposal envisioned a system where national banks would be authorized to issue banknotes backed by government bonds. This was part of a strategy to gradually replace inconvertible paper currency with banknotes convertible into specie. This methodical, step-by-step approach to monetary reform was an early example of the cautious gradualism that characterized his broader reform philosophy.
Iwakura Mission and shift to gradualism
From late 1871 to 1873, Itō served as one of four deputy ambassadors in the Iwakura Mission, a comprehensive eighteen-month diplomatic and investigative tour of the United States and Europe. As a central member of the embassy, his ability to deliver speeches in English made him an important asset. The primary objectives of the mission were to initiate preliminary negotiations for the revision of the unequal treaties imposed on Japan by Western powers and to observe and study various aspects of Western civilization, including political systems, industry, and education. Itō had been a key proponent of such an undertaking, having earlier suggested sending government officials abroad to study treaty revision and related international practices.