Kaneko Kentaro
| Kaneko Kentarō | |
|---|---|
Kaneko Kentarō
|
|
| Born |
February 4, 1853 Fukuoka, Japan |
| Died | May 16, 1942 (aged 89) Tokyo, Japan |
| Nationality | Japan |
| Occupation | Diplomat, Cabinet Minister |
Count Kaneko Kentarō (金子 堅太郎?, February 4, 1853 – May 16, 1942) was a statesman and diplomat in Meiji period Japan.
Kaneko was born into a samurai family of Fukuoka Domain (Chikuzen Province's Sawara district, present-day Chūō-ku, Fukuoka). At the age of 9, he began his studies at Shuyukan. He was selected to be a student member of the Iwakura Mission, and was left behind in the United States to study at Harvard University while the rest of the mission continued on to Europe and around the world back to Japan. While at Harvard, Kaneko shared lodgings with fellow Japanese student and future fellow-diplomat Komura Jutarō. He also developed a wide circle of contacts in America, including lawyers, scientists, journalists and industrialists.
While at Harvard, Kaneko made a telephone call to fellow exchange student Itō Junji. This was the first instance of a telephone conversation between two Japanese people.
After graduation from Harvard in 1878, Kaneko returned to Japan as a lecturer at Tokyo Imperial University.
In 1880, Kaneko was appointed as a secretary in the Genrōin, and in 1884 had joined the Office for Investigation of Institutions, the body organized by the Genrōin to study the constitutions of various western nations with the aim of creating a western-style constitution for Japan.
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