Translation: Okubo Toshimichi

(From the Museum of the Meiji Restoration, in Kagoshima City)

The Tragedy of Okubo Toshimichi

The Meiji era deepened and history treated Okubo coldly. In Kagoshima, he was censured as the man who drove Saigo to his death during the Seinan War (1877). The image of Okubo’s character hardened into that of a cool-headed realist, a man who mulled things over dispassionately, made a decision, and carried that out that decision to the end, regardless of human consequence.

But in a national crisis like the Bakumatsu (the ten year collapse of the Tokugawa Shogunate), it was necessary to make and implement decisions in a composed manner. Okubo’s firm-to-the-extent-of-heartless posture steered Japan through the Meiji era and put it on course to be an independent nation, unyielding to the pressure of foreign countries.

In the 11th year of Meiji (1878), Okubo was assassinated by a band of disgruntled samurai. After his death, a different side of his character came to light. People had imagined that a man who had sat in the seat of power for so long had accumulated quite a bit of money. Actually, he had 75 yen in cash (in current value, approximately 1 million yen) and a total debt of 8,000 yen (100-140 million yen). He assumed these debts under his own name to supplement a shortage of government funds. This shows Okubo to be a man who threw away his own self-interests and sacrificed everything he had for the nation.



When He Learned of his Friend’s Death

From the days of their youth, Saigo and Okubo grew up together, strong-willed and like-minded. But when they reached middle age, their opinions split and finally, in the Seinan War, they were forced to become enemies. Okubo was a man who hid his regrets and always exhibited a calm exterior, but when he learned of his friend’s death, his true feelings were laid bare. His younger sister Mineko related the confusion that seized Okubo upon hearing of Saigo’s demise:

“My big brother, whose stature was so tall, walked in circles under the lintel between the sitting room and the hallway. He was impatient, refusing to sit, and he smacked his head with his hand, a great many tears filling his eyes.” We can imagine at this time that memories of his old childhood friend were circulating in his mind.

Later, Okubo would make this request to Shigeno Yasutsugu, a historian living in the same town: “I wish to write the inscription upon Kichinosuke’s (Saigo’s) tombstone.”

A Warm Affection and Respect for his Wife

The face of Okubo as a family man is not well-known to the public. Although considered “cold-hearted” and “unfeeling,” a different portrait of Okubo can been seen through a small number of materials and family accounts.

While Okubo was away Edo and Kyoto trying to bring about the Meiji Restoration, his wife, Masuko, protected the house in Kagoshima, along with their children and her husband’s parents and sister. Although they were separated by a great distance, Toshimichi was forever thinking of his wife and the great labors she performed. He always began letters addressed to his house with “My Dear Home” (his affectionate name for Masuko), and even when he sent letters to his younger sister, the first name he wrote on the paper was “Masu.” * This shows the respect he had towards his wife, as well as his thoughtful consideration of her.

When he traveled to America as part of the Iwakura Delegation, he attached this line of a song to the end of a letter to his wife: “Wherever I go, my thoughts surround you. My wife, who beats at the loom, as the dusk of the autumn sky deepens to black.”

* It has been speculated that by doing this, he gave his wife permission to look over his sister’s letter and be sure he wasn’t speaking ill of her behind her back. This also, in a sense, set her up as head of the household, as it gave her the authority to oversee items that came into the house.



Isei Seimei

Okubo often wrote out the calligraphy for “Isei Seimei,” or “Pure Ruler.” The words mean “Politicians must first examine their own character and have integrity and righteousness,” and they express Okubo’s desire and lifelong aim.

The Accomplishments of Okubo Toshimichi

• Okubo is one of the Ishin Sanketsu, the Three Great Men of the Restoration. Moreover, he was the only one to consistently play a role in the center of government politics and thus was able to carry out extensive reforms.

• Okubo was a part of the Sono (“Revere the Emperor!”) movement. He advocated government change within the domains, organized the loyalists, and caught the eye of his mentor, Shimazu Hisamitsu (the new head of Satsuma Domain), who saw Okubo’s talents and utilized them to the fullest extent. Alongside Saigo, Okubo recruited like-minded men to their cause and synthesized various domains’ arguments on how to deal with the crisis. He traveled all over Japan to promote the idea of uniting the feudal domains into a single national government, and he actively endorsed restoring the Emperor to power and returning all land to his control.

• The two times Saigo was banished to the islands—once to Amami Oshima to hide from the Shogunate and then to Okinoera Bushima—Okubo went to work in the government to get him released. Once Saigo did return, he and Okubo combined their talents and the Meiji Restoration took off.

• After the inauguration of the new Meiji government, Okubo pushed for the transfer of the capital from Kyoto to Tokyo. He came out with new government programs, one after the other, and he was especially adamant about creating a prosperous country with a strong army and promoting enterprise and industry. He poured all his energy into making Japan a modern nation.

• After Saigo helped him abolish the domains and establish prefectures in their stead, Okubo went on an overseas expedition with Iwakura Tomomi, among others, to tour Europe and America. Prussia’s Bismarck, in particular, made an enormous impression on him, and once he returned, Okubo enthusiastically devoted himself to creating a monarch-state similar to that of Prussia.

• In Okubo’s absence, Saigo had been left in charge of the government and had planned to send an envoy to Korea. This clashed strongly with Okubo’s own ideas of prioritizing internal matters. Sadly, the fallout between the two would eventually lead to the Seinan War, but Okubo, as Minister of National Affairs, did his best to control the crisis.

• Okubo was assassinated on May 14, 1878, a year following the Seinan War. His killers were six disgruntled samurai led by Shimada Ichiro of Iwakawa Prefecture. At the age of 47, Okubo’s life came to an end.

• Okubo was given the rank of Shoni’i and the prestigious title of “Minister of the Right.” Afterwards, he was awarded the rank of Juichi’i.



Please note: All names are written in Japanese style, with the family name first and the personal name last.