Kido Takayoshi

Britannica Concise Encyclopedia

[or Kido Koin] (born Aug. 11, 1833, Choshu, Nagato province, Japan—died May 26, 1877, Tokyo) With Saigo Takamori and Okubo Toshimichi, one of the three giants of the Meiji Restoration of 1868. He became head of the government of the han (domain) of Choshu and in that capacity plotted with Saigo and Okubo of Satsuma to overthrow the Tokugawa shogunate. In the new government, Kido was responsible for transferring the capital from Kyoto to Edo (renamed Tokyo) and for persuading the heads of the large han to return their domains to the emperor. He visited Europe in 1871 and on returning helped block a plan to invade Korea. In the late 1870s he worked for establishing a Western-style constitution.


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; ...a lacquer box for writing implements. Collecting was in vogue among his friends in government and business, most notably Kido Takayoshi (1833-77), an early leader of the Meiji government and a passionate devotee of literati painting and calligraphy. Indeed... Read more
Translating the West: Language and Political Reason in Nineteenth-Century Japan. (Book Reviews).(Book Review)
; ...government (p. 14), and Fukuzawa Yukichi, a prominent member of this society, is cited as a personal friend of oligarch Kido Takayoshi (ibid)This might be true, and should be understandable, as both were contemporaries active during the turbulent time of... Read more
The Political Thought of Mori Arinori: A Study in Meiji Conservatism. (Book Reviews).(Book Review)
; ...shared by many policymakers and opinion makers both inside and outside the imperial government, from the Restoration leader Kido Takayoshi to Fukuchi Genichir and the contributors to Tokyo nichi nichi shinbun (of which Fukuchi was the editor-in-chief), although... Read more

Related entries from encyclopedias, dictionaries, and thesauruses

Saigo Takamori
...the late Tokugawa and early Meiji periods. A samurai from the domain of Satsuma , Saigo joined Okubo Toshimichi and Kido Takayoshi in working to overthrow the Tokugawa shogunate (military government) and restore rule by the emperor. He commanded... Read more
Ito Hirobumi
...of the Meiji Constitution . He played a minor role in the Meiji Restoration , through which he came in contact with Kido Takayoshi and Okubo Toshimichi . When Okubo was assassinated in 1878, Ito succeeded him as home minister. He persuaded the government... Read more
Yoshida Shoin
...overthrow the Tokugawa shogunate. He was executed for an assassination plot against the shogun 's representative in Kyoto. Kido Takayoshi ; Tokugawa period . Yoshida Shoin Yoshida Shoin Yoshida Shoin Read more
Okubo Toshimichi
...argued against those who favoured invading Korea and prevailed. He was assassinated in 1878 by discontented samurai. Kido Takayoshi ; Meiji period . Okubo Toshimichi Okubo Toshimichi Okubo Toshimichi Read more

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