뉴스레터

Ito Hirobumi

The year 2010 is the centennial of Japan's forced annexation of Korea. As such, there is heightened interest in Ito Hirobumi [伊藤博文], who laid down the basis for the annexation. In Korea, Ito Hirobumi is remembered as the chief instigator of Japan's aggression against Korea who was assassinated by Ahn Jung-geun. Ito had coerced the conclusion of the Eulsa Treaty (Second Japan-Korea Convention or Japan-Korea Protectorate Treaty) in 1905, forcing Korea to hand over the control over its foreign affairs to Japan. After the Hague incident in 1907, he forced Korea to sign the Korea-Japan Treaty of 1907 (Japan-Korea Annexation Treaty) and deposed King Gojong. In Japan, on the other hand, there is but an obscure awareness of him. He is known to have been an exceptionally skilled political leader, but there has not been any full-fledged effort to uncover specific facts about him. This paper will examine his life and achievements, focusing on his political career and his place in Japan's modern history.

Ito is known as a self-made man who rose to become the prime minister from a humble farming background. The adoption of his father into a samurai family gave Hirobumi the family name Ito as well as a samurai status, which served as the springboard for his political career. The fact that the adoptive family was from Choshu domain [長州藩], the birthplace of the Meiji Restoration, worked to Ito's advantage in his ascent in the political scene; if Ito had not been a member of a well-known family, he would not have become a high-level government official at such a young age.

Toward the end of the Edo period, Ito joined the Sonno joi [尊皇攘夷論; "revere the Emperor and expel the barbarians"] movement. He thus started his political career as a terrorist, assassinating of a pro-bakufu scholar and setting fire to the British consulate. However, it was his prowess as a negotiator that played the biggest role in his political rise. Ito earned the confidence of powerful political leaders by effectively mediating between diverse factions to bring about agreements favorable to his affiliated faction during the course of eliminating bakufu domains and establishing a centrally-governed prefectural system in 1871, during the uproar that resulted from Seikanron (a proposal for the invasion of Joseon) in 1878, and at the Osaka Conference of 1875.

Between the "period's top political leader" and the "chief instigator of aggression"

Ito had both drive and flexibility as a politician. In the 1881 coup, he made a bold decision to drive out Okuma Shigenobu [大隈重信], a longtime compatriot in the pursuit of reforming Japan, and rallied the Satsuma-Choshu Alliance. When Itagaki Taisuke [板垣退助], a leader of the Freedom and People's Rights Movement [自由民権運動], rejected the title of count in 1887 to stand up for his political principles, Ito even got the Emperor involved and brought Itagaki to submission. It is also well known that Ito was relentless, using both threats and appeasement, in forcing the conclusion of the Eulsa Treaty.

He was also skilled at comprising with the opposing faction or making use of able individuals even if they held views different from his own. He responded to the demand by the Freedom and People's Rights Movement—active around 1880—for the establishment of a national assembly; Ito had the imperial edict on the establishment of the national assembly issued. When constitutional politics, which went into effect in the 1890s, became beleaguered by the extreme confrontation between the political parties and the government, Ito abandoned his opposition to a parliamentary system and turned over political power to the parties. Then in 1900, he even founded his own political party—Rikken Seiyukai [Friends of Constitutional Government]—and organized the cabinet around it.

Ito Hirobumi's funeral

Ito's approach to politics was founded on his confidence in his own abilities and insight. In 1863, he studied in Great Britain at the age of 22. After the Meiji Restoration, he was dispatched to the United States to research the U.S. monetary and banking systems. Upon his return to Japan, he used what he had learned to make improvements to Japan's financial system. In 1882, even as the topmost government leader, he spent a long time in Europe to observe and study firsthand Europe's constitutional governments. These experiences gave him ample exposure to Western ideas and knowledge for the establishment of a modern state system, and he used the knowledge he had acquired to overpower other bureaucrats and enhance his political standing. He had an excellent command of English, which he used to read many English-language books. He also subscribed to English-language newspapers and magazines, closely monitoring the changes in the international landscape.

He spent close to 40 years in the upper echelons of the Japanese government and made many significant contributions. He came to be called the "Architect of Modern Japan" for his part in laying down the framework for a modern state system—e.g., the Meiji Constitution. In 1884, Ito did away with the existing system of feudal titles and ranks systems and instituted a peerage system modeled after those of Germany and Great Britain. The motivation was to foster a conservative political faction loyal to the Emperor and create a more stable political environment. In the following year, he undertook reform of the Dajokan system and introduced a modern cabinet system. Then in 1888, he set up the Privy Council of Japan, an imperial advisory body.

Limitations of Ito's modern reforms

Ito also led the process of enacting the Meiji Constitution. At the constitutional deliberation by the Privy Council, which began in 1888, Ito pushed through his vision for the Constitution while also placing the Emperor system at the center of Japan's state system. Ito concentrated the state's power in the Emperor, and in times of political crisis, used imperial edicts and other powers of the Emperor as a shield. The Emperor ideology comes into shape in the late 19th century through the Imperial Rescript on Education and State Shintoism, and it can be said that it was Ito who had laid the groundwork for this.

Ito's influence on the formation of the modern state of Japan was immense. Nevertheless, his feats are not always viewed in a positive light. Much of his reform measures suppressed the common people and only revolved around the ruling class. Moreover, the intricate system of constitutional monarchy Ito had put in place posed as an obstacle to political democratization and led to the military establishing almost complete control over the government in the 1930s.

In terms of foreign policy, Ito can be categorized as an expansionist or a proponent of great power chauvinism. While he had been in the faction calling for the prioritization of domestic affairs during the uproar over Seikanron in 1873, Ito had not been opposed to overseas expansion per se and actually supported the government policies concerning the Taiwan Expedition (1874-1875) and the Ganghwado incident. Regarding Korea, Ito was directly involved in the Gapsin Coup of 1884 and the assassination of Queen Min in 1895. In addition, Ito, along with Mutsu Munemitsu [陸奧宗光], was directly responsible for instigating the Sino-Japanese Wars, which were fought over the control of Joseon. In terms of Japan's foreign policy toward Russia in the early 20th century, Ito was deemed a soft-liner, favoring negotiation over war. Nevertheless, Ito was fundamentally a supporter Japan's imperialist stance on continental expansion and actively led the colonization of Korea as the first Resident-General.

With penetrating insight and political prowess, Ito played a crucial role in establishing the modern state of Japan. However, his topmost priority was Japan's national interest, and thus, he was an imperialist and great-power chauvinist that inflicted great harm on Japan's weaker neighbors.