Masayoshi Matsukata
| Matsukata Masayoshi | |
|---|---|
| 松方 正義 | |
 |
|
| 4th and 6th Prime Minister of Japan | |
|
In office 18 September 1896 – 12 January 1898 |
|
| Monarch | Meiji |
| Preceded by | Kuroda Kiyotaka (Acting) |
| Succeeded by | Itō Hirobumi |
|
In office 6 May 1891 – 8 August 1892 |
|
| Monarch | Meiji |
| Preceded by | Yamagata Aritomo |
| Succeeded by | Itō Hirobumi |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
25 February 1835 Kagoshima, Satsuma Domain (now Japan) |
| Died | 2 July 1924 (aged 89) Tokyo, Japan |
| Political party | Independent |
| Spouse(s) | Matsukata Masako |
| Religion | Shintoism |
Prince Matsukata Masayoshi (松方 正義?, February 25, 1835 – July 2, 1924) was a Japanese politician and the 4th (May 6, 1891 – August 8, 1892) and 6th (September 18, 1896 – January 12, 1898) Prime Minister of Japan.
Matsukata was born into a samurai family in Kagoshima, Satsuma Province (present-day Kagoshima Prefecture). At the age of 13, he entered the Zoshikan, the Satsuma domain's Confucian academy, where he studied the teachings of Wang Yangming, which stressed loyalty to the Emperor. He started his career as a bureaucrat of the Satsuma Domain. In 1866, he was sent to Nagasaki to study western science, mathematics and surveying. Matsukata was highly regarded by Ōkubo Toshimichi and Saigō Takamori, who used him as their liaison between Kyoto and the domain government in Kagoshima.
Knowing that war was coming between Satsuma and the Tokugawa, Matsukata purchased a ship available in Nagasaki for use in the coming conflict. This ship was then given the name Kasuga. The leaders of Satsuma felt the ship was best used as cargo vessel and so Matsukata resigned his position as captain of the ship he had purchased. Just a few months later the Kasuga did become a warship and it fought in the Boshin War against the Tokugawa ships. At the time of the Meiji Restoration, he helped maintain order in Nagasaki after the collapse of the Tokugawa bakufu. In 1868, Matsukata was appointed governor of Hita Prefecture (part of present-day Ōita Prefecture) by his friend Okubo who was the powerful minister of the interior for the new Meiji government.
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