Kido Takayoshi (11 August 1833 – 26 May 1877), also known as Katsura Kogoro and Kido Koin, was a Japanese statesman, samurai, and shishi who was one of the "Three Great Nobles" (alongside Saigo Takamori and Okubo Toshimichi) who led the Meiji Restoration.
Biography[]
Wada Kogoro was born in Hagi, Choshu Domain in 1833, and he was later adopted into the Katsura family at the age of seven. He was educated at Meirinkan before studying under Yoshida Shoin at the pro-Imperial Shoka Sonjuku in 1849. He trained in swordsmanship in Edo during the 1850s and established ties with radical samurai from the Mito Domain before returning to the Choshu Domain to build the domain's first western-style worship. While there, he served as a liaison between the domain bureaucracy and the young radicals of the Sonnō jōi movement, leading to his relocation to Kyoto following the attempted assassination of Ando Nobumasa. He was unable to prevent the Aizu Domain and Satsuma Domain's expulsion of Choshu forces from Kyoto on 30 September 1863, and he was tipped off by his geisha lover ahead of the 864 Ikedaya incident, saving his life. He was later involved in the Kinmon incident rebellion, during which the Choshu rebels put Kyoto on fire. He, Saigo Takamori, Okubo Toshimichi, and Sakamoto Ryoma helped forge the Satcho Alliance between the Satsuma and Choshu Domains in 1866, preparing them to lead the pro-Imperial cause during the ensuing Boshin War. after the war, Kido played a large role in the establishment of the new Meiji Restoration government, serving as an Imperial Advisor and overseeing policies of centralization and modernization, such as abolishing the han system. In 1873, he advocated for the establishment of a constitutional government after traveling to America and Europe, and he also prevented Japan from invading Korea (the Seikanron incident) to prevent Japan from facing Western retaliation. He later lost his dominant position in the Meiji oligarchy to Okubo Toshimichi, resigning to protest the Taiwan Expedition of 1874. He later returned to government in 1875 and helped educate the young Emperor Meiji, and he died of cancer during the Satsuma Rebellion of 1877.