Marquess Inoue Kaoru (äºÂ丠馨, January 16, 1836 â September 1, 1915) was a Japanese politician and a prominent member of the Meiji oligarchy during the Meiji period of the Empire of Japan. As one of the senior statesmen (Genrà Â) in Japan during that period, he had a tremendous influence on the selection of the nation's leaders and formation of its policies.
Born Yakichi (Ã¥ÂÂÃ¥ÂÂ) to a lower-ranked samurai family in Yuda, Chà Âshà « domain (present day Yamaguchi, Yamaguchi Prefecture), Inoue attended the Meirinkan domain school with his brother Ikutarà  (幾太éÂÂ). He was a close boyhood friend of Ità  Hirobumi who later became Japan's first prime minister, and he played an active part in the sonnà  jà Âi movement. In 1858, he studied rangaku, artillery and swordsmanship in Edo.
In the Bakumatsu period, Inoue emerged as a leader of the anti-foreigner movement in his native Chà Âshà «. Desiring to rid Japan of foreigners, he and Takasugi Shinsaku set fire to the British legation in Edo in January 1863.
Recognizing Japan's need to learn from the Western powers, Inoue joined the Chà Âshà « Five and was smuggled out of Japan to study at University College, London in England in 1863. When he returned with Ità  Hirobumi, he unsuccessfully tried to prevent war (the Battle of Shimonoseki) between Chà Âshà « and the Western naval powers over the closing of the Straits of Shimonoseki to foreign shipping.
Later, during the 1864 First Chà Âshà « Expedition which he was severely wounded by assassins from a rival Chà Âshà « faction. Suffering a near-fatal injury, Inoue asked his elder brother to behead him and end his unbearable pain. However, Ikutaro Tokoro, who was in hiding from the Tokugawa shogunate alongside Prince Sanjà  Sanetomi, rushed to Inoue's aid. In an emergency procedure during the wartime chaos, Tokoro stitched Inoue's woundsâÂÂabout 50 in totalâÂÂusing a tatami needle and without anesthesia. (According to a story featured in the National Japanese textbook of the 5th period, Inoue's mother, holding her bloodied son, dissuaded his elder brother from carrying out the beheading.)
He later played a key role in the formation of the Satchà  Alliance against the Tokugawa shogunate.
After the Meiji Restoration, Inoue served in several important positions in the new Meiji government. He was appointed Vice Minister of Finance in 1871 and was influential in reorganizing government finances on modern lines, especially in the reform of the land tax system, termination of government stipends to the ex-samurai and former aristocracy and for promoting industrialization. Closely linked to business circles, including the emerging Mitsui zaibatsu, he was also involved in the railway business. These measures created many political enemies, and Inoue was forced to resign in May 1873. Inoue took part in the Osaka Conference of 1875 to support the creation of a representative national assembly.
In 1876, Inoue was asked to assist in the field of foreign affairs, and was involved in the conclusion of the Japan-Korea Treaty of 1876 as vice-ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary. He returned to government as Minister of Public Works in 1878 and Lord of Foreign Affairs in 1879 under the early Meiji Dajà Â-kan Cabinet. In 1884, he was elevated to the rank of count (hakushaku) under the new kazoku peerage system.
In December 1885, Inoue officially became Japan's first Minister of Foreign Affairs bearing that title in the first Ità  Hirobumi cabinet. However, Inoue came under public criticism for his failure to negotiate a revision of the unequal treaties, his building of the Rokumeikan, and support of its Westernizing influences, which forced him to resign in August 1887.
Later he served as Minister of Agriculture and Commerce in the Kuroda administration, as Home Minister in the second Ità  administration and again as Finance Minister in the 3rd Ità  administration.
From 1901 onwards, Inoue served as most senior of the genrà Â, and considered himself the government's foremost advisor on financial affairs. He was advanced to the title of marquis (kà Âshaku) in 1907, and died in 1915 at his summer home at Okitsu-juku, Shizuoka prefecture.
From the article in the Japanese Wikipedia