Kazue Shōda

Kazue Shōda (勝田 主計, Shōda Kazue, October 19, 1869 – October 10, 1948) was a Japanese statesman in the Meiji and Taishō periods.

Kazue Shōda in 1917

Biography

Shōda was born in Matsuyama Domain, Iyo Province on October 19 1869, as the 5th son of a poor samurai. The poet Masaoka Shiki and admiral Akiyama Saneyuki were his friends from childhood. He graduated from Tokyo Imperial University in 1895, and obtained a position at the Ministry of Finance. In 1915, he rose to the position of director of the Bank of Chosen. He was appointed Finance Minister under the Terauchi and Kiyoura administrations, and Education Minister under the Tanaka administration. In 1938, he was considered for the post of Home Minister under the 2nd Konoe administration, a somewhat surprising choice, given his age and lack of experience in the Home Ministry, and the nomination was rejected by Emperor Hirohito.

He died on October 10, 1948.

References

• Beasley. W.G. Japanese Imperialism 1894-1945. Oxford University Press (1991) ISBN 0-19-822168-1
• Metzler, Mark. Lever of Empire: The International Gold Standard and the Crisis of Liberalism in Prewar Japan. University of California Press (2006). ISBN 0-520-24420-6