Genrō

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Seven of the military genkun and Nogi Maresuke (third from right) at Mukden in 1905 Japanese commanding officers at mukden 1905.jpg
Seven of the military genkun and Nogi Maresuke (third from right) at Mukden in 1905
Saionji Kinmochi (right), one of the civilian genkun, at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919 Kinmochi Saionji 1919.jpg
Saionji Kinmochi (right), one of the civilian genkun, at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919

Genrō (元老, lit.'original elder') was an unofficial designation given to a generation of elder Japanese statesmen, all born in the 1830s and 1840s, who served as informal extraconstitutional advisors to the emperor during the Meiji, Taishō, and early Shōwa eras of Japanese history.

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The institution of genrō originated with the traditional council of elders ( Rōjū ) common in the Edo period; however, the term genrō appears to have been coined by a newspaper only in 1892. The term is sometimes confused with the Genrōin (Chamber of Elders), a legislative body which existed from 1875–1890; however, the genrō were not related to the establishment of that body or its dissolution.

Experienced leaders of the Meiji Restoration were singled out by the Emperor as genkun (元勲, lit.'original hero'), and asked to act as Imperial advisors. With the exception of Saionji Kinmochi, all the genrō were from medium or lower ranking samurai families, four each from Satsuma and Chōshū, the two former domains that had been instrumental in the overthrow of the former Tokugawa shogunate in the Boshin War of the Meiji Restoration of 1867–1868. The genrō had the right to select and nominate Prime Ministers to the Emperor for approval.

The first seven genrō were all formerly members of the Sangi (Imperial Council) which was abolished in 1885. They are also sometimes known to historians as the Meiji oligarchy, although not all of the Meiji oligarchs were genrō.

The institution expired in 1940, with the death of the last of the genrō, Saionji Kinmochi.

List of genrō

NameOriginPortraitBirthDeath
Inoue Kaoru Chōshū
Inoue Kaoru.jpg
16 January 18361 September 1915
Itō Hirobumi Chōshū
ITO Hirobumi.jpg
16 October 184126 October 1909
Katsura Tarō Chōshū
11 KatsuraT.jpg
4 January 184810 October 1913
Kuroda Kiyotaka Satsuma
Kiyotaka Kuroda formal.jpg
16 October 184023 August 1900
Matsukata Masayoshi Satsuma
4 MatsukataM.jpg
25 February 18352 July 1924
Ōyama Iwao Satsuma
Oyama Iwao.jpg
12 November 184210 December 1916
Saigō Tsugumichi Satsuma
Tsugumichi Saigo 2.jpg
1 June 184318 July 1902
Saionji Kinmochi Kuge
Kinmochi Saionji 2.jpg
23 October 184924 November 1940
Yamagata Aritomo Chōshū
Yamagata Aritomo.jpg
14 June 18381 February 1922

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References