(Redirected from Miura Goro)
, (
1 January 1847 –
28 January 1926), was a lieutenant general in the
Imperial Japanese Army, and, as Japanese minister to the
Empire of Korea, is held responsible for ordering the assassination of
Queen Min.
Miura was born in
Chōshū domain (modern
Yamaguchi Prefecture), to a ''
samurai'' of the
Hagi clan. After studying at the ''Meirinkan'' clan military academy, he entered the ''
Kiheitai'' irregular militia of the Chōshū domain and played an active role in the
Boshin War to overthrow the
Tokugawa bakufu. He later held various posts in Army-Navy Ministry and was commander of the
Hiroshima District. During the
Satsuma Rebellion, he served as commander of the Army's Third Brigade.
In 1884, he accompanied
Oyama Iwao on a tour of
Europe, to study the military systems in various western countries. In 1888, after coming into conflict with politicians in the Chōshū clan clique, he was transferred from active duty to the reserves. In November of the same year, he retired and became president of
Gakushuin.
In 1890, Miura was appointed a member of the
House of Peers, and elevated in title to ''shishaku'' (
viscount).
In 1895, Miura was appointed Japan’s resident minister extraordinary and plenipotentiary in Korea, succeeding
Inoue Kaoru. As the political situation in Korea became increasingly unsettled, it is alleged that Miura ordered the assassination of
Queen Min of Korea for her pro-Russian and anti-Japanese stance, and assisted in giving the assassins safe passage back to Japan from
Incheon. Due to the international outrage over the murder, Miura was recalled and put on trial with the involved military personnel at the Hiroshima District Court where they were found not guilty on the grounds of lack of evidence.
[1].
Later, after the
Japan-Korea Annexation Treaty in 1910, Miura became a
privy councillor and focused on mediating talks among the heads of the political parties to protect the
Constitution.
References
★ Bix, Herbert B. ''Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan''. Harper Perennial (2001). ISBN: 0060931302
★ Duus, Peter. ''The Abacus and the Sword: The Japanese Penetration of Korea, 1895-1910 (Twentieth-Century Japan - the Emergence of a World Power,'' 4). University of California Press (1998). ISBN: 0520213610.
★ Jansen, Marius B. ''The Making of Modern Japan''. Belknap Press; New Ed edition (October 15, 2002). ISBN: 0674009916
★ Hane, Mikiso. ''Modern Japan: A Historical Survey.'' Westview Press (2001). ISBN: 0813337569
★ Keane, Donald. ''Emperor Of Japan: Meiji And His World, 1852-1912''. Columbia University Press (2005). ISBN: 0231123418
★ Sims, Richard. ''Japanese Political History Since the Meiji Renovation 1868-2000''. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN: 0312239157
External links
★
Portraits of Modern Japanese Historical Figures National Diet Library, Japan (2004)