Terashima Munenori
Encyclopedia
Count was a diplomat in Meiji period
Japan.
family in Satsuma domain (in what is now part of Akune city
, Kagoshima prefecture
). He studied rangaku
and was appointed as a physician to Satsuma daimyō
Shimazu Nariakira
. In 1862, he was chosen as a member of the group of students selected by the Tokugawa bakufu to study at the University College London
in Great Britain
. He also visited France
, the Netherlands
, Belgium
, Russia
and Portugal
. He returned to Japan in 1863, and participated in the defense of Satsuma during the Anglo-Satsuma War.
, Terashima was appointed a san'yo (junior councilor) in the new Meiji government. In 1873, he was appointed foreign minister, and negotiated the Treaty of Saint Petersburg (1875), which fixed the national boundaries between Japan and the Russian Empire
. His efforts to re-negotiate the unequal treaties
with the United States
failed at the last minute due to British opposition. Terashima was also responsible for the negotiations during the Maria Luz Incident
involving a Peru
vian ship carrying indentured labor Chinese laborers stopping in Japan.
As Governor of Kanagawa Prefecture
, he was responsible for connecting Tokyo
and Yokohama
by telegraph in 1868.
He later served in the Genrōin
, and in 1891, he became vice president of the Privy Council
.
Meiji period
The , also known as the Meiji era, is a Japanese era which extended from September 1868 through July 1912. This period represents the first half of the Empire of Japan.- Meiji Restoration and the emperor :...
Japan.
Early life
Terashima was born to a samuraiSamurai
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...
family in Satsuma domain (in what is now part of Akune city
Akune, Kagoshima
is a city located in Kagoshima, Japan.As of 2008, the city has an estimated population of 23,887 and the density of 178 persons per km². The total area is 134.30 km².The city was founded on April 1, 1952.- External links :* in English* in Japanese...
, Kagoshima prefecture
Kagoshima Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyushu. The capital is the city of Kagoshima.- Geography :Kagoshima Prefecture is located at the southwest tip of Kyushu and includes a chain of islands stretching further to the southwest for a few hundred kilometers...
). He studied rangaku
Rangaku
Rangaku is a body of knowledge developed by Japan through its contacts with the Dutch enclave of Dejima, which allowed Japan to keep abreast of Western technology and medicine in the period when the country was closed to foreigners, 1641–1853, because of the Tokugawa shogunate’s policy of national...
and was appointed as a physician to Satsuma daimyō
Daimyo
is a generic term referring to the powerful territorial lords in pre-modern Japan who ruled most of the country from their vast, hereditary land holdings...
Shimazu Nariakira
Shimazu Nariakira
was a Japanese feudal lord of the Edo period, the 28th in the line of Shimazu clan lords of Satsuma Domain. He was renowned as an intelligent and wise lord, and was greatly interested in Western learning and technology...
. In 1862, he was chosen as a member of the group of students selected by the Tokugawa bakufu to study at the University College London
University College London
University College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and the oldest and largest constituent college of the federal University of London...
in Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
. He also visited France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
and Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
. He returned to Japan in 1863, and participated in the defense of Satsuma during the Anglo-Satsuma War.
Meiji bureaucrat
After the Meiji RestorationMeiji 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...
, Terashima was appointed a san'yo (junior councilor) in the new Meiji government. In 1873, he was appointed foreign minister, and negotiated the Treaty of Saint Petersburg (1875), which fixed the national boundaries between Japan and the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
. His efforts to re-negotiate the unequal treaties
Unequal Treaties
“Unequal treaty” is a term used in specific reference to a number of treaties imposed by Western powers, during the 19th and early 20th centuries, on Qing Dynasty China and late Tokugawa Japan...
with the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
failed at the last minute due to British opposition. Terashima was also responsible for the negotiations during the Maria Luz Incident
María Luz Incident
The was a diplomatic incident between the early Meiji government of the Empire of Japan and the Republic of Peru over a merchant ship with Chinese indentured labourers in Yokohama in 1872...
involving a Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
vian ship carrying indentured labor Chinese laborers stopping in Japan.
As Governor of Kanagawa Prefecture
Kanagawa Prefecture
is a prefecture located in the southern Kantō region of Japan. The capital is Yokohama. Kanagawa is part of the Greater Tokyo Area.-History:The prefecture has some archaeological sites going back to the Jōmon period...
, he was responsible for connecting 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...
and Yokohama
Yokohama
is the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture and the second largest city in Japan by population after Tokyo and most populous municipality of Japan. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, in the Kantō region of the main island of Honshu...
by telegraph in 1868.
He later served in the Genrōin
Genroin
' was a national assembly in early Meiji Japan, established after the Osaka Conference of 1875. It is also referred to as the Senate of Japan, Genrōin being the word used to describe the Roman Senate, and other western legislatures named after it....
, and in 1891, he became vice president 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:...
.
See also
- Japanese students in the United KingdomJapanese students in the United KingdomThe first Japanese students in the United Kingdom arrived in the nineteenth century, sent to study at University College London by the Chōshū and Satsuma domains, then the Bakufu . Later many studied at Cambridge University and a smaller number at Oxford University until the end of the Meiji era....