Kabayama Sukenori

Count Kabayama Sukenori (樺山 資紀, 9 December 1837 – 8 February 1922) was a Japanese samurai military leader and statesman. He was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army and an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy. He later became the first Japanese Governor-General of Taiwan during the island's period as a Japanese colony. He is also sometimes referred to as Kabayama Motonori.

Count Kabayama Sukenori
樺山 資紀
Japanese Admiral Count Kabayama Sukenori
Governor-General of Taiwan
In office 10 May 1895 – 2 June 1896
Monarch	Meiji
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Katsura Tarō
Minister of Interior Empire of Japan
In office 20 September 1896 – 12 January 1898
Monarch	Meiji
Preceded by	Itagaki Taisuke
Succeeded by	Yoshikawa Akimasa
Minister of Education Empire of Japan
In office 8 November 1898 – October 1900
Monarch	Meiji
Preceded by	Inukai Tsuyoshi
Succeeded by	Matsuda Masahisa
Minister of the Navy Empire of Japan
In office 17 May 1890 – 8 August 1892
Monarch	Meiji
Preceded by	Saigō Jūdō
Succeeded by	Nire Kagenori
Personal details
Born	Hashiguchi Kakunoshin (橋口 覚之進) 9 December 1837 Kagoshima, Satsuma domain Japan
Died	8 February 1922(1922-02-08) (aged 84) Tokyo, Japan
Awards	Order of the Rising Sun (1st class)
Military service
Allegiance	Empire of Japan
Branch/service	Imperial Japanese Army Imperial Japanese Navy
Years of service	1874–1903
Rank	Major General Admiral
Battles/wars	Anglo-Satsuma War Boshin War First Sino-Japanese War Battle of the Yalu Battle of Weihaiwei

In this Japanese name, the surname is Kabayama.

Biography

Born in Satsuma domain (modern day Kagoshima Prefecture) to a samurai family, Kabayama fought in the Anglo-Satsuma War and the Boshin War.

In 1871, he enlisted in the new Imperial Japanese Army and was accepted with the rank of major due to his previous combat experience. He was one of the defenders of Kumamoto Castle during the Satsuma Rebellion against his former Satsuma countrymen. He was subsequently promoted to colonel, and then major general, and placed in charge of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police.

In 1883, Kabayama changed from the army to the navy, becoming taifu (senior vice minister) of Navy with the rank of rear admiral, and was also ennobled with the title of viscount (koshaku) under the kazoku peerage system. The following year he was promoted to vice admiral.

Kabayama became Vice Navy Minister in 1886. He visited the United States and Europe from 25 September 1887 to 19 October 1888. He then served in several positions before being appointed Navy Minister under the first Yamagata and Matsukata cabinets from 1890 to 1892. Although not a politician, he spoke out harshly against representative democracy and civilian influence on the government in a speech Banyu Enzetsu made during the second Imperial Diet session. He retired in 1892.

During the First Sino-Japanese War, Kabayama was recalled from the reserves and accepted a field command, and was present at the Battle of the Yalu and Battle of Weihaiwei. It states something of his personality to note that he ordered his flagship, the lightly armed passenger liner Saikyo to charge the Chinese fleet at the Battle of the Yalu River.

Kabayama was commander of the Japanese invasion force for Taiwan. On 10 May 1895, he was promoted to full admiral and became the first Japanese Governor-General of Taiwan, being responsible for moving the seat of government to Taipei. He was elevated to hakushaku (Count) on 5 August 1895 and also awarded the Order of the Rising Sun (first class).

Despite his best efforts to stabilise Japan's rule over Taiwan, his 13 months term as Governor-General were not peaceful. From December 1895 to January 1896, uprisings surfaced in many parts of the island, and he was forced to request reinforcements from home. In the ensuing action, 2800 Taiwanese were killed. Kabayama was succeeded by Lieutenant General Katsura Tarō.

After his return to Japan in June 1896, Kabayama subsequently served on the Privy Council, as Home Minister under the 2nd Matsukata Cabinet, and Education Minister under the 2nd Yamagata cabinet.

Kabayama retired again from duty in 1910. His grave is at the Somei Reien Cemetery, in Sugamo, Tokyo.

References and Further reading

• Ching, Leo T.S. (2001). Becoming Japanese: Colonial Taiwan and the Politics of Identity Formation. University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-22553-8.
• Keene, Donald (2005). Emperor Of Japan: Meiji And His World, 1852-1912. Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-12341-8.
• Paine, S.C.M. (2001). The Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895: Perception, Power, and Primacy. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-61745-6.
• Sims, Richard (1998). French Policy Towards the Bakufu and Meiji Japan 1854-1894. RoutledgeCurzon. ISBN 1-873410-61-1.

External links

• National Diet Library, Portraits of Modern Japanese Historical Figures, Kabayama Sukenori
• Nishida, Hiroshi. "Materials of IJN: Kabayama, Sukenori". Imperial Japanese Navy. Archived from the original on 2012-12-04. Retrieved 2007-08-03.