Count was a politician and cabinet minister in the pre-war Empire of Japan

Empire of Japan

The Empire of Japan is the name of the state of Japan that existed from the Meiji Restoration on 3 January 1868 to the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of...

.

Hijikata was a samurai

Samurai

is the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character 侍 was originally a verb meaning to wait upon or accompany a person in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau...

 in Tosa Domain

Tosa Domain

The was a feudal domain in Tosa Province of Japan during the Edo period. Its official name is . Some from the domain played important roles in events in the late Tokugawa shogunate...

 (modern-day Kōchi Prefecture

Kochi Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan located on the south coast of Shikoku. The capital is the city of Kōchi.- History :Prior to the Meiji Restoration, Kōchi was known as Tosa Province and was controlled by the Chosokabe clan in the Sengoku period and the Yamauchi family during the Edo period.- Geography...

). He was sent by the domain to Edo

Edo

, also romanized as Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of the Japanese capital Tokyo, and was the seat of power for the Tokugawa shogunate which ruled Japan from 1603 to 1868...

 for studies, where he became involved in the sonnō jōi

Sonno joi

is a Japanese political philosophy and a social movement derived from Neo-Confucianism; it became a political slogan in the 1850s and 1860s in the movement to overthrow the Tokugawa bakufu, during the Bakumatsu period.-Origin:...

movement, and after returning to Tosa, he joined Takechi Hanpeita

Takechi Hanpeita

, also known as , was a samurai of the Tosa han during the Bakumatsu period in Japan. As leader of the Tosa Kin no To, which supported the Sonnō Jōi movement, he tried to take control of the Tosa Han and receive the support of Sakamoto Ryōma, but was arrested for the assassination of Yoshida Tōyō...

’s Tosa Kin-no-to movement. He travelled with Takechi to Kyoto

Kyoto

is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...

 in 1863, where he joined forces with the anti-Tokugawa shogunate

Tokugawa shogunate

The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the and the , was a feudal regime of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family. This period is known as the Edo period and gets its name from the capital city, Edo, which is now called Tokyo, after the name was...

 forces of Chōshū Domain and made contact with the kuge

Kuge

The was a Japanese aristocratic class that dominated the Japanese imperial court in Kyoto until the rise of the Shogunate in the 12th century at which point it was eclipsed by the daimyo...

aristocracy, most notably Sanjō Sanetomi

Sanjo Sanetomi

Prince was an Imperial court noble and statesman at the time of the Meiji Restoration. He held many high-ranking offices in the Meiji government.-Biography:Born in Kyoto, Sanjō was the son of Naidaijin Sanjō Sanetsumu...

. After the abortive coup against the Shogunate later that year, he was forced into exile with Sanjō to Chōshū. Following the First Chōshū expedition

First Chōshū expedition

The First Chōshū expedition was a punitive military expedition led by the Tokugawa Shogunate against the Chōshū Domain in retaliation for the attack of Chōshū on the Imperial Palace in the Hamaguri rebellion. The First Chōshū expedition was launched on 1 September 1864.The conflict finally led to...

, he fled to Fukuoka Domain

Fukuoka Domain

The ' was a Japanese domain of the Edo period, located in Chikuzen Province .-List of lords:*Kuroda clan, 1600-1871 #Nagamasa#Tadayuki#Mitsuyuki#Tsunamasa#Nobumasa...

 together with Sanjō, where he later met with fellow Tosa countrymen Nakaoka Shintarō, and Sakamoto Ryōma

Sakamoto Ryoma

was a leader of the movement to overthrow the Tokugawa shogunate during the Bakumatsu period in Japan. Ryōma used the alias .- Early life :Ryōma was born in Kōchi, of Tosa han . By the Japanese calendar, this was the sixth year of Tenpō...

 whom he assisted in securing Sanjō’s support for the Satchō Alliance

Satcho Alliance

The ', or Satchō Alliance was a military alliance between the feudal domains of Satsuma and Chōshū formed in 1866 to combine their efforts to overthrow the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan....

.

Following the Meiji restoration

Meiji Restoration

The , also known as the Meiji Ishin, Revolution, Reform or Renewal, was a chain of events that restored imperial rule to Japan in 1868...

, Hijikata joined the Meiji government and was appointed a public prosecutor in Tokyo

Tokyo

, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...

. He subsequently served in the Imperial Household Ministry and Home Ministry

Home Ministry (Japan)

The ' was a Cabinet-level ministry established under the Meiji Constitution that managed the internal affairs of Empire of Japan from 1873-1947...

 and as Cabinet Secretary to the Daijō-kan cabinet. He was subsequently made a tutor, then an Imperial Councilor to Emperor Meiji

Emperor Meiji

The or was the 122nd emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession, reigning from 3 February 1867 until his death...

, who placed a great deal of confidence in him, and who made him a viscount

Viscount

A viscount or viscountess is a member of the European nobility whose comital title ranks usually, as in the British peerage, above a baron, below an earl or a count .-Etymology:...

 (shishaku) in the kazoku

Kazoku

The was the hereditary peerage of the Empire of Japan that existed between 1869 and 1947.-Origins:Following the Meiji Restoration of 1868, the ancient court nobility of Kyoto regained some of its lost status...

peerage in 1884.

In 1885, with the establishment of the cabinet system, Hijikata was appointed Minister of Agriculture and Commerce

Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce

The was a cabinet-level ministry in the government of the Empire of Japan from 1881-1925. It was briefly recreated as the during World War II-History:...

 under the 1st Itō Hirobumi

Ito Hirobumi

Prince was a samurai of Chōshū domain, Japanese statesman, four time Prime Minister of Japan , genrō and Resident-General of Korea. Itō was assassinated by An Jung-geun, a Korean nationalist who was against the annexation of Korea by the Japanese Empire...

 administration in 1887, and Imperial Household Ministry from 1887-1898. He was also made a member of the Privy Council

Privy Council (Japan)

was an advisory council to the Emperor of Japan that operated from 1888 to 1947.-Functions:Modeled in part upon the Privy Council of the United Kingdom, this body advised the throne on matters of grave importance including:...

 from 1888.

Hijikata was awarded the title of count

Count

A count or countess is an aristocratic nobleman in European countries. The word count came into English from the French comte, itself from Latin comes—in its accusative comitem—meaning "companion", and later "companion of the emperor, delegate of the emperor". The adjective form of the word is...

 (hakushaku) in 1895. After his retirement from the Imperial Household Ministry, he served as president of Kokugakuin University

Kokugakuin University

Kokugakuin University is a private university, whose main office is located in Tokyo's Shibuya district...

. He died in 1918 at the age of 86, and his grave is at the Somei Cemetery in Tokyo.