- Sanjō Sanetomi
was an Imperial court noble and statesman at the time of the
Meiji Restoration . He held many high-ranking offices in theMeiji government .Biography
Born in
Kyoto , Sanjō was the son of "Naidaijin"Sanjō Sanetsumu . He held several important posts in Court and became a central figure in the anti-Western, anti-Tokugawa "Sonnō Jōi" ("Revere the Emperor, Expel the Barbarian") movement.When the Coup d’etat of
30 September 1863 brought the more moderateAizu and Satsuma factions into power, he fled to Chōshū. He returned to Kyoto after the resignation ofTokugawa Yoshinobu in 1867. The first administrative offices ("Sanshoku") of theMeiji government were established on3 January 1868 : the "Sōsai" (President), "Gijō" (Administration) and "San'yo" (Office of Councilors). These offices were abolished on11 June 1868 , with the establishment of the "Daijō-kan " (Grand Council of State). In the newMeiji government , Sanjō was head of the "Gijo", Minister of the Right (右大臣) (11 June 1868 -15 August 1871 ), and Chancellor of the Realm ("Daijō Daijin ") (15 August 1871 -22 December 1885 ).He was awarded Grand Cordon of the Supreme
Order of the Chrysanthemum in 1882. On7 July 1884 , his title was elevated to "koshaku" (prince ) under the "kazoku " peerage system.He served until the abolition of the "daijōkan" system in 1885. After the Cabinet system was established, he became
Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal of Japan .In 1889, when Prime Minister
Kuroda Kiyotaka and his cabinet resigned en masse,Emperor Meiji only accepted Kuroda’s resignation and formally invited Sanjō to head the government. The Emperor refuse to appoint a new prime minister for the next two months, making Sanō a sole, full-power “Prime Minister concurrently-serving Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal” (内閣総理大臣兼任内大臣) during which time.After the
Meiji Constitution was adopted in 1890, a new system was established: In case of death, incapacitation, resignation or removal of prime minister, a member of the cabinet shall serve as “acting prime minister” (内閣総理大臣臨時代理) until the next prime minister is formally appointed. Today Sanjō’s government is generally regarded as continuation of the Kuroda’s.Reference and further reading
* Beasley, W. G. (1972). "The Meiji Restoration." Stanford:
Stanford University Press .
* Jansen, Marius B. and Gilbert Rozman, eds. (1986). "Japan in Transition: From Tokugawa to Meiji." Princeton:Princeton University Press .
* Keene, Donald. (2005). "Emperor of Japan: Meiji and His World, 1852-1912". New York:Columbia University Press . ISBN 0-231-12341-8
* Ozaki, Yukio. (2001). "The Autobiography of Ozaki Yukio: The Struggle for Constitutional Government in Japan." [Translated by Fujiko Hara] . Princeton: Princeton University Press. 10-ISBN 0-691-05095-3 (cloth)External links
* [http://www.ndl.go.jp/portrait/e/datas/97.html?c=1 National Diet Library Bio & photo]
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