Utsumi Tadakatsu

Utsumi Tadakatsu
内海 忠勝
Utsumi Tadakatsu wearing the 1872 Dajō-kan standard court uniform
Minister of Home Affairs
In office
2 June 1901 – 15 July 1903
Prime MinisterKatsura Tarō
Preceded bySuematsu Kenchō
Succeeded byKodama Gentarō
President of the Board of Audit
In office
19 March 1900 – 2 June 1901
Preceded byYamada Nobumichi
Succeeded byTajiri Inajirō
Member of the House of Peers
In office
10 July 1904 – 20 January 1905
Nominated by the Emperor
In office
29 November 1899 – 19 March 1900
Nominated by the Emperor
Gubernatorial offices
Governor of Kyoto Prefecture
In office
November 1897 – March 1900
MonarchMeiji
Preceded byYamada Nobumichi
Succeeded byChikaaki Takasaki
Governor of Osaka Prefecture
In office
10 October 1895 – 13 November 1897
MonarchMeiji
Preceded byYamada Nobumichi
Succeeded byTokito Tamemoto
Governor of Kanagawa Prefecture
In office
9 April 1891 – 10 March 1893
MonarchMeiji
Preceded byAsada Tokunori
Succeeded byKenmei Nakano
Governor of Nagano Prefecture
In office
26 December 1889 – 9 April 1891
MonarchMeiji
Preceded byKinashi Seiichirō
Succeeded byAsada Tokunori
Governor of Hyōgo Prefecture
In office
18 April 1885 – 26 December 1889
MonarchMeiji
Preceded byMorioka Masazumi
Succeeded byHayashi Tadasu
Governor of Mie Prefecture
In office
10 July 1884 – 18 April 1885
MonarchMeiji
Preceded byIwamura Sadataka
Succeeded byIshii Kunimichi
Governor of Nagasaki Prefecture
In office
11 October 1877 – 8 March 1883
MonarchMeiji
Preceded byHidetomo Kitajima
Succeeded byIshida Eikichi
Personal details
Born(1843-09-12)12 September 1843
Died20 January 1905(1905-01-20) (aged 61)

Baron Utsumi Tadakatsu (内海 忠勝; 12 September 1843 – 20 January 1905) was a Japanese bureaucrat, statesman and cabinet minister, active in Meiji period Empire of Japan.

Biography

Utsumi was born to a samurai family in Chōshū Domain, in what is now part of the city of Yamaguchi, Yamaguchi Prefecture). As a youth, he participated in the Kinmon Incident in Kyoto, where pro-sonnō Jōi Chōshū forces sought to seize control of the Emperor to overthrow the Tokugawa shogunate.

After the Meiji Restoration, he went to Tokyo and entered into service of the new Meiji government, and was selected as a member of the 1871 Iwakura Mission, visiting the United States, Great Britain and other European countries. After his return to Japan, he was appointed governor of Nagasaki Prefecture (1877–1883), Mie Prefecture (1884–1885), Hyōgo Prefecture (1885–1889), Nagano Prefecture (1889–1891), Kanagawa Prefecture (1891–1893), Osaka Prefecture (1895–1897), and Kyoto Prefecture (1897–1900). He then served as chairman of the Board of Audit from 1900 to 1901.

While Utsumi was Governor of Nagasaki, he hosted former United States President Ulysses S. Grant on his visit to Japan.

Utsumi was ennobled with the kazoku peerage title danshaku (baron) in 1887. He also served as a member of the House of Peers from its inception in 1890.

Utsumi was selected to become Home Minister in the cabinet of the 1st administration of Prime Minister Katsura Tarō in 1901.

References

  • Keene, Donald. Emperor Of Japan: Meiji And His World, 1852–1912. Columbia University Press (2005). ISBN 0-231-12341-8
  • Fredrick, Louis. Japan Encyclopedia. Harvard University Press (2005). ISBN 0674017536
  • Sims, Richard. Japanese Political History Since the Meiji Renovation 1868-2000. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 0-312-23915-7