Ōki Takatō

In this Japanese name, the surname is Ōki.

Count Ōki Takatō (大木 喬任; March 23, 1832 – September 26, 1899), was a Japanese statesman during the early Meiji period. He was Governor of Tokyo in 1868 and a member of the Japanese Privy Council in 1889.

Senior Second Rank Count Ōki Takatō
大木 喬任
President of the Privy Council
In office 8 August 1892 – 11 March 1893
Monarch	Meiji
Preceded by	Ito Hirobumi
Succeeded by	Yamagata Aritomo
In office 30 October 1889 – 1 June 1891
Monarch	Meiji
Preceded by	Ito Hirobumi
Succeeded by	Ito Hirobumi
Additional positions Chairman of the Genrōin In office 22 December 1885 – 24 December 1889 Monarch Meiji Deputy Higashikuze Michitomi Yanagiwara Sakimitsu Preceded by Sano Tsunetami Succeeded by Yanagiwara Sakimitsu In office 28 February 1880 – 21 October 1881 Monarch Meiji Deputy Sasaki Takayuki Preceded by Prince Arisugawa Taruhito Succeeded by Terashima Munenori Minister of Education In office 1 June 1891 – 8 August 1892 Prime Minister Matsukata Masayoshi Preceded by Yoshikawa Akimasa Succeeded by Kōno Togama In office 12 December 1883 – 22 December 1885 Monarch Meiji Preceded by Fukuoka Takachika Succeeded by Mori Arinori In office 12 September 1871 – 19 April 1873 Monarch Meiji Preceded by Office established Succeeded by Kido Takayoshi Lord of Justice In office 21 October 1881 – 12 December 1883 Monarch Meiji Preceded by Tanaka Fujimaro Succeeded by Yamada Akiyoshi In office 25 October 1873 – 28 February 1880 Monarch Meiji Preceded by Etō Shinpei Succeeded by Tanaka Fujimaro
Member of the Privy Council
In office 30 April 1888 – 24 December 1889
Monarch	Meiji
Governor of Tokyo
In office 16 January 1869 – 22 August 1869
Monarch	Meiji
Preceded by	Karasumaru Mitsue
Succeeded by	Mibu Motōsa
Personal details
Born	(1832-03-23)23 March 1832 Saga, Hizen, Japan
Died	26 September 1899(1899-09-26) (aged 67) Tokyo, Japan
Children	Enkichi Ōki

Early life

Ōki was born into a samurai family in Saga, in Hizen province (present-day Saga prefecture). He studied at the domain school Kodokan, and promoted reform of the domain administration. During the Boshin War he was a leader in the Saga forces committed to the overthrow of the Tokugawa shogunate.

Career

After the Meiji Restoration, Ōki supervised the transfer of the imperial capital from Kyoto to Tokyo, and was appointed the second Governor of Tokyo.

In 1871, he became Education Minister and is credited with establishing Japan's modern educational system. In 1873, he became sangi (councillor) and in 1876, Justice Minister and was concerned with the punishment of the disgruntled ex-samurai involved in the Hagi Rebellion and the Shimpūren Rebellion. In 1880, he became chairman of the Genrōin . He also worked on developing Japan's civil code as the president of the ‘Civil Code Compiling Council’.

In 1884, he was elevated to the title of hakushaku (count) in the new kazoku peerage system.

From 1888 he served on the Privy Council, becoming chairman in 1889. Later he was appointed Justice Minister under the First Yamagata Cabinet, and the Education Minister under the First Matsukata Cabinet.

His eldest son, Ōki Enkichi was also a politician, and a cabinet member during the Taishō period.

References

• Akamatsu, Paul (1972). Meiji 1868 : Revolution and Counter-Revolution in Japan. Translated by Miriam Kochan. New York: Harper & Row.
• Beasley, William G. (1972). The Meiji Restoration. Stanford: Stanford University Press. ISBN 9780804708159.

OCLC 579232

• Jansen, Marius B. and Gilbert Rozman, ed. (1986). Japan in Transition: from Tokugawa to Meiji. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 9780691054599. OCLC 12311985
• Keene, Donald (2002). Emperor of Japan: Meiji and His World, 1852-1912. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0-231-12340-2.OCLC 46731178
• Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric and Käthe Roth (2005). Japan encyclopedia. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-01753-5. OCLC 58053128
• Ravina, Mark (2004). The Last Samurai: The Life and Battles of Saigo Takamori. Hoboken, New Jersey: Wiley. ISBN 9780471089704.; OCLC 427566169

External links

• National Diet Library Photo & Bio