, formerly known as , was a Japanese statesman, samurai and shishi who is considered one of the three great nobles who led the Meiji Restoration.
Born Wada Kogorà  on August 11, 1833 in Hagi, Chà Âshà « Domain (present-day Yamaguchi Prefecture) as the son of a samurai physician and his second wife . In 1840, due to his brother-in-law already being the head of the Wada family, he was later adopted into the Katsura family at age seven and was known as .
The Katsura family's stipend was originally 150 koku, but due to the late nature of his adoption which took place as his adoptive father was already on his deathbed, who died ten days later, it was reduced to 90 koku. Katsura Kogorà  thus became the head of the Katsura family. A year later in 1841, his adoptive mother also died, months later he was returned to his old home. In 1848, he lost his mother and elder half-sister Yaeko to illnesses.
Katsura was educated at Meirinkan, in which he later became increasingly unhappy with and defied his father in order to be educated at Shà Âka Sonjuku in 1849, the academy of Yoshida Shà Âin, from whom he adopted the philosophy of Imperial loyalism. In 1851, his father had died.
In 1852, Katsura went to Edo (present-day Tokyo) to study swordsmanship, established ties with radical samurai from the Mito Domain (present-day Mito, Ibaraki Prefecture), learned artillery techniques with Egawa Tarà Âzaemon, and (after observing the construction of foreign ships in Nagasaki and Shimoda), returned to Chà Âshà « to supervise the construction of the domain's first western-style warship.
After 1858, Katsura Kogorà  was based at the domain's Edo residence, where he served as a liaison between the domain bureaucracy and radical elements among the young, lower-echelon Chà Âshà « samurai who supported the Sonnà  jà Âi movement. Coming under suspicion by the shogunate for his ties with Mito loyalists after the attempted assassination of Andà  Nobumasa, he was transferred to Kyà Âto. However, while in Kyà Âto, he was unable to prevent the 30 September 1863 coup d'état by the forces of the Aizu and Satsuma domains, who drove the Chà Âshà « forces out of the city.
According to his personal diary regarding the Ikedaya incident, Katsura was at the loyalist meeting with the Ishin Shishi at the Ikedaya inn in the evening on July 8, 1864, he claimed that they had only met to discuss how to rescue Furutaka Shuntaro from the Shinsengumi. Katsura later left the inn earlier, before the attack by the Shinsengumi troops on that night.
However, there were rumors varied that Katsura was tipped off by his geisha lover , that the Shinsengumi were coming for him and wisely chose not show up for the meeting, or that he climbed out the window of the upper floor of the inn during the attack by the Shinsengumi and escaped over the roofs.
He spent the next five days in hiding under Nijà  Bridge along the Kamo River, posing as a beggar, his lover would bring him rice balls from the shop of the Chà Âshà « merchant Imai Tarà Âemon and later aided in his escape.
Katsura was involved but not present in the Hamaguri Gate Rebellion on 20 August 1864, with the unsuccessful attempt to capture Emperor Kà Âmei by the Chà Âshà « forces at Hamaguri Gate in order to restore the Imperial household to its position of political supremacy, the Chà Âshà « forces clashed with Aizu and Satsuma forces who led the defense of the Imperial palace. During the attempt, the Chà Âshà « rebels put Kyoto on fire, starting with the residence of the Takatsukasa family, and that of a Chà Âshà « official.
The rebellion resulted in 28,000 houses being burnt down, with casualties of about 400 from the Chà Âshà « forces, including his adopted son Katsuzaburà Â, and only 60 from Aizu and Satsuma forces, forcing Katsura into hiding again with his geisha lover. He would later use the name Niibori Matsusuke as an alias in 1865 to continue his work against the Tokugawa bakufu.
After radical elements under Takasugi Shinsaku gained control of Chà Âshà « politics, Katsura, under the new name was instrumental in establishing the Satchà  Alliance with Saigà  Takamori and à Âkubo Toshimichi through the mediation of Sakamoto Ryà Âma in 1866, which proved to be critical in the Boshin War and the subsequent Meiji Restoration. Around the same time, he adopted Shojirà Â, another nephew who was the second son of his younger sister, Kuruhara Haruko, as his heir.
Following the overthrow of the Tokugawa bakufu in 1868, Kido claimed a large role in the establishment of the new Meiji government. As a san'yo (Imperial Advisor) he helped draft the Five Charter Oath, and initiated policies of centralization and modernization. He helped direct the Abolition of the han system. In August 1868, he had his lover Ikumatsu adopted into a samurai family of Okabe Tomitarà Â, and later made her his wife. He was later renamed to in 1869.
Kido was a vocal opponent of hereditary privilege, advocating for appointments based on merit rather than social rank. In his diary, he warned that hereditary systems would lead to "stagnation in future generations," and resisted the notion of passing on rank or stipend to his descendants, even when personally offered a significant merit award. Despite accepting the stipend in 1869, he remained critical of the class-based limitations of Meiji governance.
On 23 December 1871, he accompanied the Iwakura Mission on its round-the-world voyage to America and Europe, and was especially interested in Western educational systems and politics. On his return to Japan on 13 September 1873, he would become a strong advocate of the establishment of constitutional government. Realizing that Japan was not in any position to challenge the Western powers in its present state, he also returned to Japan just in time to prevent an invasion of Korea (Seikanron).
In his later years, Kido became increasingly critical of excessive centralization and showed deep concern for those affected adversely by rapid modernization. He criticized policies that impoverished the shizoku (former samurai) and the peasantry, and called for relief efforts and localized development to aid his former comrades in Chà Âshà «. Kido expressed guilt over the suffering of Restoration-era soldiers and advocated that foreign and domestic policy should prioritize the needs of "the suffering masses." His opposition to the 1874 Taiwan Expedition and the 1873 Korea invasion proposal stemmed in part from this concern.
Kido lost his dominant position in the Meiji oligarchy to à Âkubo Toshimichi, and resigned from government in protest of the Taiwan Expedition of 1874, which he had strenuously opposed.
Following the Osaka Conference of 1875, Kido agreed to return to the government, and became chairman of the Assembly of Prefectural Governors that the à Âsaka Conference had created. He was also responsible for the education of the young Emperor Meiji.
During the middle of the Satsuma Rebellion in 1877, he died of Colorectal cancer that had been plaguing him for a long time, which consisted of a combination of some form of mental disease and physical exhaustion, years of excessive alcohol consumption as well as an illness assumed to be tuberculosis or beriberi. With his dim consciousness, Kido shook Okubo's hand and said, "Enough Saigo " He is enshrined at Kyoto Ryozen Gokoku Shrine, where his tomb is located.
His heir Shojirà Â, who had studied for ten years in England before returning to Japan in 1882, however died of illness on the ship during the return journey near Ceylon. Kuruhara Hikotarà Â, another Kido's nephew and Shojirà Â's eldest brother, succeeded him as the new heir of the Kido family on 18 November 1884 and was known as the Marquis Kido Takamasa.
Kido Takayoshi was enshrined as the Shinto deity of scholarship and the martial arts at the Kido Shrine in about 1886 at Kido Park, Yamaguchi, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan.
His widow Matsuko survived him and died in 1887 at the age of 43.
Kido's diary reveals an intense internal conflict between his loyalty to his home domain, Chà Âshà «, and the greater interest of the country. He wrote often of having to fight rumors at home that he had betrayed his old friends; the idea of a nation was still relatively new in Japan and so the majority of samurai cared more for securing privileges for their own domain.
He was friends with the English Legation interpreter Ernest Satow. The two met many times from the Shimonoseki incident onwards.
Together with Saigà  Takamori and à Âkubo Toshimichi, he was known as the Ishin-no-Sanketsu (ç¶Âæ°ã®ä¸ÂÃ¥ÂÂ), which means, roughly, "Three Great Nobles of the Restoration". His younger sister's grandson was Tokyo politician .
The house where Kido Takayoshi was born and where he lived for about 20 years before moving to Edo still exists in Hagi and is a memorial museum. Although he had been adopted into the Katsura family when he was seven years old, he continued to live in this family home. The former residence is located on a street called Edoya Yokocho, and is a two-story wooden building with a tiled roof. In the house there are hanging scrolls with examples of Japanese calligraphy Kido wrote as a child, with corrections in red ink by his teachers. Volunteer guides are stationed in the building. The building was designated a National Historic Site in 1934.
Kido, referred to by his initial name Katsura Kogorà Â, was among the historical personalities present in the manga and anime Rurouni Kenshin by Nobuhiro Watsuki, as well as its OVA adaptation '. While still portrayed as a ruthless radical leader of the Chà Âshà « clan, he serves as a benevolent mentor of sorts to the young Himura Kenshin, who worked under him as the Hitokiri Battà Âsai. He nonetheless regrets having Kenshin do the dirty work for him after Kenshin's affair with Yukishiro Tomoe (in Tsuiokuhen, he actively encouraged Tomoe to stand by Kenshin to serve as a calming influence), which ultimately boiled over into her conflicting loyalties to the shogunate agent and her emerging feelings for Kenshin. He is voiced by Tomokazu Seki in the OVA, and portrayed by Issey Takahashi in the 2021 live-action adaptation film '.
Japanese actor Ken Ishiguro portrayed him in the 2004 jdorama Shinsengumi! as the old time friend of the protagonist Kondo Isami and also the leader of the Chà Âshà « han.
Japanese actor Shà Âsuke Tanihara portrayed him in the 2009 jdorama Ryà Âmaden as the leader of the Chà Âshà « han.
He is also the basis for the character of Katsura Kotarou in the manga and anime Gin Tama by Hideaki Sorachi.
He also appears in the video game Ryà « ga Gotoku Ishin!, portrayed by the Yakuza character Shun Akiyama, and voiced by Kà Âichi Yamadera.
Katsura Kogorà  has also a prominent supporting role in Team Ninjas 2024 Action-RPG Rise of the Rà Ânin and is one of the many popular personalities from the Bakumatsu-Period, that the player can get acquainted with.