Ijūin Hikokichi

Ijūin Hikokichi
伊集院 彦吉
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office
19 September 1923 – 7 January 1924
Prime MinisterYamamoto Gombee
Preceded byYamamoto Gombee
Succeeded byKeishirō Matsui
Personal details
Born(1864-07-22)22 July 1864
Died26 April 1924(1924-04-26) (aged 59)
Tokyo, Empire of Japan

Ijūin Hikokichi (伊集院 彦吉, Ijūin Hikokichi; 22 July 1864  – 26 April 1924) was a Japanese diplomat and politician who served as minister of foreign affairs and Japanese ambassador to the Qing dynasty.

Early life

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Ijūin was born on 22 July 1864,[1][2] in Kōrai, Kagoshima, Satsuma Domain, the eldest son of samurai Ijūin Kichitsugu.[3]

Career

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Ijūin was appointed consul at Yantai in China in 1893.[4] He served again in China as consul general at Tianjin from 1901 to 1907.[4] He was appointed ambassador to Beijing in 1908.[5] On 4 September 1909, he signed the Japan–China Agreement concerning Kando as the Japanese ambassador to the Qing dynasty in Beijing.[6] During the Chinese Revolution broke out in October 1911, together with then Foreign Minister Uchida Yasuya, he argued for the provision of support to the Qing government.[7] His term as ambassador to China lasted until 1913.[4]

Then, Ijūin was appointed the Japanese ambassador to Italy in 1916 and was in office until 1920.[1] During his tenure, he was one of the leading members of Japanese delegation at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919.[6] Ijūin is described as a conservative ambassador.[8]

Japanese delegates to the Paris Peace Conference in 1919. Standing (l to r) - Ijūin Hikokichi, Japanese Ambassador to Italy; and Keishirō Matsui, Japanese Ambassador to France; Seated (l to r) - Baron Makino Nobuaki, former Foreign Minister; Marquis Saionji Kinmochi, former Prime Minister; and Viscount Chinda Sutemi, Japanese Ambassador to Great Britain.

Prime Minister Hara Takashi wanted Ijūin to search for European institutions of public information when the latter was ambassador and a Versailles delegate.[9] Ijūin reported that the best way to create an influential information bureau was to coordinate all information sources, including army, navy and finance ministry.[9] Eventually, a public information office, Gaimu-shō Jōhō-bu, in the ministry of foreign affairs was established on 13 August 1921, and Ijūin was appointed its head.[9][10] Then he served as governor-general of Kwantung Leased Territory in northeastern China for one year.[11] He was appointed to the post on 8 September 1922, replacing Isaburō Yamagata.[12] Ijūin was in office until 19 September 1923.[13][14]

Ijūin was appointed minister of foreign affairs on 19 September 1923 to the second cabinet of Yamamoto Gombee,[15][16] replacing him who also assumed the role of foreign minister briefly from 2 to 19 September.[15] Ijūin was replaced by Keishirō Matsui on 7 January 1924 when a new cabinet was formed by Kiyoura Keigo.[16]

Personal life and death

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Ijūin was married to Ōkubo Toshimichi's daughter, Yoshiko.[1] Thus, he was the brother-in-law of Makino Nobuaki.[1]

Shortly after his removal from the office, Ijūin died of neuralgia in Tokyo in April 1924.[6][17]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Hui-Min Lo (1978). The Correspondence of G. E. Morrison 1912–1920. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 873. ISBN 978-0-521-21561-9.
  2. ^ Wendy Palace (2012). The British Empire and Tibet 1900–1922. New York: Routledge. p. 176. ISBN 9780415646253.
  3. ^ Ueda Masaaki (2009). Konsaisu nihon jinmei jiten (in Japanese). Sanseidō. p. 107. ISBN 978-4-385-15801-3. OCLC 290447626.
  4. ^ a b c Albert Feuerwerker (1983). "The foreign presence in China". In John K. Fairbank (ed.). The Cambridge History of China; Republican China, 1912-1949 Part 1. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 156. ISBN 9781139054799.
  5. ^ "The Diplomatic Corps in Peking". Moss Valley. Retrieved 8 January 2013.
  6. ^ a b c "1909 China-Japan agreement concerning Koreans in Chientao". Yosha Research. Archived from the original on 21 February 2013. Retrieved 8 January 2013.
  7. ^ Shinkichi Etō (1986). "China's international relations, 1911–1931". In John K. Fairbank; Albert Feuerwerker (eds.). The Cambridge History of China: Republican China 1912–1949. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 92. ISBN 978-0-521-24338-4.
  8. ^ Paul Hyer (2003). "Japanese Expansion and Tibetan Independence". In Li Narangoa; R. B. Cribb (eds.). Imperial Japan and National Identities in Asia: 1895–1945. London; New York: Routledge Curzon. p. 74. ISBN 978-0-7007-1482-7.
  9. ^ a b c Masayoshi Matsumura (19 November 2001). "Japan Calling: The Origins of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Information Department in the Early 1920s". The Asiatic Society of Japan. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
  10. ^ Ian Hill Nish (2002). Japanese Foreign Policy in the Interwar Period. Westport, CT; London: Praeger. p. 24. ISBN 978-0-275-94791-0.
  11. ^ "Foreign Concessions and Colonies". World Statesmen. Retrieved 8 January 2013.
  12. ^ "1922 events". World War II Database. Retrieved 8 January 2013.
  13. ^ "Japan's Colonial Administration 1895-1931". Japanese History. Retrieved 8 January 2013.
  14. ^ "1923 events". World War II Database. Retrieved 8 January 2013.
  15. ^ a b "Second Yamamoto Cabinet" (PDF). Japanese History. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 8 January 2013.
  16. ^ a b "Japan Ministers". Indiana University. Retrieved 8 January 2013.
  17. ^ "News from Japan". The Straits Times. Tokyo. 28 April 1924. Retrieved 10 January 2013.
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