This came across the H-Japan wires, and I was intrigued by both the project itself and the immense time-wasting potential of listmaking, so I wrote to Ms. Kim and got some clarifications, and now I’m ready to putter furiously….<\/p>\n
From: “Linda J. Kim” [l_jkim at yahoo dot com]
\nDear Japanese History Professors,<\/p>\nAs some of you may know, I am a graduate student researching Japanese elites during the 19th century (and eventually the 20th century). I am requesting nominations of who you think belong in this top ten list of influential political leaders [from her e-mail: “We are using C. Wright Mill’s concept of the power elite, which comprises corporate, miitary, and political leaders”; I may go ahead and throw in a cultural figure or two, if they had substantial influence] during the periods of: <\/p>\n
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- 1840-1860<\/li>\n
- 1860-1880<\/li>\n
- 1880-1900<\/li>\n
- 1900-1920<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
I recognize these are crude time periods and some of you may be experts in Tokugawa versus Meiji Japan, or there may be overlapping leaders across time periods. That’s okay. I would be grateful if you can fill in any of the periods that you are familiar with. Of course, I’d be happy to share the results with all interested parties. <\/p>\n
Sincerely,<\/p>\n
Linda Kim
\nUniversity of California, Riverside
\nDepartment of Sociology
\nInstitute for Research on World-Systems<\/p><\/blockquote>\nHere’s my nominations, mostly off the top of my head. If I was a really good<\/i> blogger, I’d include links with all these names to something like their wikipedia entries, but I’ve blown enough of a Friday on this already, and none of these folks is obscure.<\/p>\n
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- 1840-1860: Well, part of the problem in this era is the lack<\/i> of coherent leadership. There’s the short-lived Shogunal leadership (Ii Naosuke, Abe Masahiro<\/strong>), and the rising mid-level elites (Okubo, Saigo<\/strong>). Aside from that, I’m not sure who I’d really pick as outstanding. Yoshida Shoin<\/strong>?<\/li>\n
- 1860-1880: Although this violates the normal 1868 boundary, the rising stars of the Bakumatsu cover this ground pretty well. Okubo Toshimichi, Saigo Takamori and Kido Takayoshi<\/strong>, of course are all leading figures and all die just before the end of this period. I’d probably include Fukuzawa Yukichi<\/strong> due to the influence of his writing and cultural leadership. A conventional list would probably include Shibusawa Eiichi<\/strong> as an economic leader, too, though perhaps his heyday is later? Iwakura Tomomi<\/strong>. Other names would come from the second-tier Bakumatsu\/Meiji leadership: Okuma Shigenobu, Ito Hirobumi, Itagaki Taisuke, Mutsu Munemitsu<\/strong>. The eternal debate: to include the Emperor or not<\/em>?<\/li>\n
- 1880-1900: This is, perhaps, the most stable of these eras, even though it crosses the Constitutional divide. Ito Hirobumi, Yamagata Aritomo<\/strong> and the Meiji Emperor<\/strong> have to top the list. Okuma Shigenobu<\/strong> gets high marks as an opposition rabble-rouser. Mori Arinori, Matsukata Masayoshi, Inoue Kaoru, Saigo Tsugumichi<\/strong>. There ought to be a business leader or two in here, but those names never stuck with me very well.<\/li>\n
- 1900-1920: Yamagata Aritomo and Matsukata Masayoshi; Saionji Kinmochi, Hara Takashi and Katsura Taro<\/strong>. I think Ito Hirobumi<\/strong> should make the top ten, even though he dies half-way through, but it depends on who else is near the top. Culturally speaking, Natsume Soseki<\/strong>. Nogi Maresuke<\/strong> is popular and makes an impact when he dies, but is he a top-ten leader? What am I missing here?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n