Inoue Kaoru
| Inoue Kaoru | |
|---|---|
Inoue Kaoru
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| Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan | |
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In office December 1885 – September 1887 |
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| Preceded by | none |
| Succeeded by | Itō Hirobumi |
| Minister of Agriculture and Commerce | |
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In office July 1888 – December 1898 |
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| Preceded by | Kuroda Kiyotaka |
| Succeeded by | Iwamura Michitoshi |
| Home Minister | |
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In office August 1892 – October 1894 |
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| Preceded by | Kōno Togama |
| Succeeded by | Nomura Yasushi |
| Finance Minister | |
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In office January 1898 – June 1898 |
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| Preceded by | Matsukata Masayoshi |
| Succeeded by | Matsuda Masahisa |
| Personal details | |
| Born | January 16, 1836 Yuda, Chōshū Domain, Japan |
| Died | September 1, 1915 (aged 79) Shizuoka, Japan |
Marquis Inoue Kaoru (井上 馨?, January 16, 1836 – September 1, 1915), GCMG was a member of the Meiji oligarchy during the Meiji period Empire of Japan. As one of the senior statesman in Japan during that period, he had a tremendous influence on the selection of the nation's leaders and formation of its policies.
Born Yakichi (勇吉) to a lower-ranked samurai family in Yuda, Chōshū Domain (present day Yamaguchi, Yamaguchi Prefecture), Inoue attended the Meirinkan Domain school with his brother Ikutarō (幾太郎). He was a close boyhood friend of Itō Hirobumi who later became Japan's first prime minister, and he played an active part in the sonnō jōi movement. In 1858, he studied rangaku, artillery and swordsmanship in Edo.
In the Bakumatsu period, Inoue emerged as a leader of the antiforeigner movement in his native Chōshū. Desiring to rid Japan of foreigners, he and Takasugi Shinsaku set fire to the British legation in Edo in January 1863.
Recognizing Japan's need to learn from the western powers, Inoue joined the Chōshū Five and was smuggled out of Japan to study at University College, London in England in 1863. When he returned with Itō Hirobumi, he unsuccessfully tried to prevent war (the Battle of Shimonoseki) between the Chōshū and the western naval powers over the closing of the Straits of Shimonoseki to foreign shipping. Later, he fought against the forces of the Tokugawa shogunate in the 1864 First Chōshū expedition, during which he was severely wounded. He later played a key role in the formation of the Satchō Alliance against the Tokugawa shogunate.
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