Saionji Kinmochi Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description
Saionji Kinmochi (西園寺 公望 Saionji Kinmochi October 23 1849–November 24 1940) was a Japanese politician and the 12th (January 7 1906–July 14 1908) and 14th (August 30 1911–December 21 1912) Prime Minister of Japan. As a statesman, he influenced the opinion of the Imperial Court.He was born in Kyoto as a son of a kuge, nobleman Tokudaiji and was adopted by another kuge family; the Saionji, however, had grown up near his biological parents. Since the Tokudaiji lived very near to the Imperial Palace (and later in Kinmochi) and a young prince were near in the age, the young Saionji was flequently ordered to visit the palace as a playmate of the young prince who was the future Emperor Meiji. Over time, they became close friends. Kinmochi's biological brother Tokudaiji Sanetsune later became the Chief of Chamalain of the Emperor Meiji. Kinmichi's close relationship to the Imperial Court helped him in his career as a politician. In his later political life, he was an influence to young emperors Taisho and Showa as the friend of Meiji Emperor the Great.
As an heir of a noble family, Saionji participated the politics in his early years and was known for his brillant talent. During the Boshin War, some noblemen at the Imperial Court considered this war as a private trouble between samurai, but Saionji held the strong opinion that the Imperial Court should take part in the war and seize initiative. After the war, he was successively appointed to a governer of Sanyo region, governor of Echigo Province and many offices, although he was just a teenager. He went to France to research European culture and lived in Paris; while there, he gained many acquaintances, including Cremansau.
In 1882, Ito Hirobumi visited Europe in order to research the constitutional systems of each European state. Saionji journeyed with Ito, as they knew each other very well. Ito had Saionji have an interest to politics. In 1890, Ito founded the Rikkenseiyukai political party and Saionji joined it. Reflecting on his experience in Europe, Saionji had a liberal political point of view and supported the parliamentary system of government. He was one of few politicians who claimed that the major party in the parliament had to be the basis for forming the cabinet. Nationalists accused him of being a globalist occasionally, since his political stance was like those of the European states. In his last days, Saionji tried to diminish the influence of the Army in political issues but he couldn't prevent Japan from declaring war against China and other Asian countries later on.
On the other hand, the political view of Saionji was heavily influenced by his origin; the Imperial Court should be guarded, it shouldn't participate to politic issues directly, which had been the strategy of noblemen and the Court in Kyoto for hundreds of years; this was another point in which he found opposition by nationalists in the Army, who wished for the Emperor to participate in Japanese politics directly and that the parliament and cabinet functions would thus be diminished.
Saionji had a strong interst in education and founded some schools. He was influential in the formation of Kyoto University.
| Preceded by: (both terms) Katsura Taro | Prime Minister of Japan 1906-1908, 1911-1912 | Succeeded by: (both terms) Katsura Taro |
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