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Prince ',' (23 October 1849 –24 November 1940) was a Japanese politician, statesman and twice Prime Minister of Japan. As the last surviving ''genrō,'' he was Japan's most honored statesman of the 1920s and 30s.

Contents

Early life

Meiji Restoration

Overseas career

Political career

Prime Minister

Elder Statesman

References

External links

Early life

Kinmochi was born in Kyōto as the son of Udaijin Tokudaiji Kin'ito (1821-1883), head of a ''kuge'' family of court nobility. He was adopted by another ''kuge'' family, the Saionji, in 1851. However, he grew up near his biological parents, since both the Tokudaiji and Saionji lived very near the Kyoto Imperial Palace. The young Saionji Kinmochi was frequently ordered to visit the palace as a playmate of the young prince who later became Emperor Meiji. Over time they became close friends. Kinmochi's biological brother Tokudaiji Sanetsune later became the Grand Chamberlain of Japan. Kinmochi's close relationship to the Imperial Court helped him in his political career. In his later political life, he was an influence on both the Taishō and Shōwa emperors.

Meiji Restoration

As the heir of a noble family, Saionji participated in politics from an early age and was known for his brilliant talent. During the Boshin War, which some noblemen at the Imperial Court considered to be a private dispute between samurai, Saionji held the strong opinion that the Imperial Court should seize the initiative and take part in the war and participated in various battles as an imperial representative.

Overseas career

After the Meiji Restoration, he went to France in 1871 for nine years to research European culture, institutions and law, and lived in Paris. While in Paris, he made many acquaintances, including that of Georges Clemenceau.
On his return to Japan, he founded the Meiji Law School, which later evolved into Meiji University.
In 1882, Itō Hirobumi visited Europe in order to research the constitutional systems of each major European country, and he asked Saionji to accompany him, as they knew each other very well. After the trip, he was appointed ambassador to Austria-Hungary, and later to Germany and Belgium.

Political career

Returning to Japan, Saionji joined the Privy Council, and served as president of the House of Peers. He also served as Minister of Education in the 2nd and 3rd Ito administrations (1892-1893, 1898) and 2nd Matsukata administration. During his tenure, he strove to improve the quality of the educational curriculum towards an international (i.e. western) standard.
In 1900, Itō founded the ''Rikken Seiyūkai'' political party, and Saionji joined as one of the first members. Due to his experiences in Europe, Saionji had a liberal political point of view and supported parliamentary government. He was one of the few early politicians who claimed that the majority party in parliament had to be the basis for forming a cabinet.
Saionji replaced Itō as president of the Privy Council in 1900, and as president of the ''Rikken Seiyūkai'' in 1903.

Prime Minister

From 7 January 1906 – 14 July 1908, and again from 30 August 1911 – 21 December 1912, Saionji served as Prime Minister of Japan.
Saionji's political philosophy was heavily influenced by his background; he believed the Imperial Court should be guarded and that it should not participate directly in politics - the same strategy employed by noblemen and the Court in Kyoto for hundreds of years. This was another point in which he was opposed by nationalists in the Army, who wished for the Emperor to participate in Japanese politics directly and thus weaken both parliament and the cabinet. Nationalists also accused him of being a 'globalist'.

Elder Statesman

Saionji was appointed a ''genrō'' in 1913, and his main function was that of “kingmaker” – to nominate candidates for Prime Minister to the Emperor for approval. Saionji favored party politicians only when they looked strong enough to form an effective government, and did not hesitate to nominate military men or non-party politicians when he felt necessary.
In 1919 Saionji led the Japanese delegation at the Paris Peace Conference although his role was largely symbolic due to ill health. In 1920 he was given the title ''koshaku'' (Prince) as an honor for a life in public service.
In his last days, Saionji tried to diminish the influence of the Imperial Japanese Army in political issues. He was one of the most liberal of Emperor Hirohito's advisors, and favored friendly relations with Great Britain and the United States. However, he was careful to pick his battles, and often accepted defeat to the militarists when placed into a position from which he could not easily win, and thus was unable to prevent the military from invading China.

References

★ Conners, Leslie. ''The Emperor's Adviser: Saionji Kinmochi and Pre-War Japanese Politics''. Routledge Kegan & Paul. ISBN 0-7099-3449-1

★ Hadara, Kumao. ''The Saionji-Harada memoirs, 1931-1940: Complete translation into English''. University Publications of America (1978). ASIN: B000724T6W

★ Oka Yoshitake, et al. ''Five Political Leaders of Modern Japan: Ito Hirobumi, Okuma Shigenobu, Hara Takashi, Inukai Tsuyoshi, and Saionji Kimmochi''. University of Tokyo Press (1984). ISBN 0-86008-379-9

External links

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