Baron Yuasa Kurahei (湯浠åÂÂå¹³, 1 February 1874 â 24 December 1940) was a Japanese politician and bureaucrat. He served as Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal of Japan (1936âÂÂ1940), Minister of the Imperial Household (1933âÂÂ1936), Inspector-General of Korea (1925âÂÂ1927) and President of the Board of Audit (1929âÂÂ1933). He was a member of the House of Peers from 1916 to 1929. He held the court rank of Senior Second Rank.
Ishikawa Kurahei was born on 1 February 1874, in Uka, Toyoura, Yamaguchi Prefecture (present-day Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture), the second son of doctor Ishikawa KÃ Âan and his wife Ichi. The Ishikawa family had been doctors and prominent village headmen of Uka for generations; Ishikawa's eldest daughter Tomoko had married Prime Minister Yamagata Aritomo in 1867, and the family was later involved in the management of Mitsui Bank and served as mayor of Shimonoseki. Kurahei's family moved to KÃ Âriyama, Fukushima Prefecture after his elder brother Tamenoshin opened a hospital there. In 1884, his name was changed to Yuasa Kurahei after his father was adopted by shizoku Yuasa Hisatsuchi of Fukushima Prefecture.
His higher education was financed by his brother Tamenoshin. He studied politics at Tokyo Imperial University, graduating in July 1898.
He entered the Home Ministry on 15 July 1898, immediately after graduation.
After serving as Governor of Yamaguchi Prefecture in 1913 and Governor of Shizuoka Prefecture in 1914, he was appointed Head of Home Ministry Police Affairs Bureau in 1915 through a recommendation by Minister of Home Affairs Ichiki Kitokurà Â, a university era friend.
Yuasa was elected a member of the House of Peers on 5 October 1916, and served until 22 October 1929.
On 5 September 1923, after the Great Kantà  earthquake, he was appointed Superintendent General of the Japanese Police and was in charge of the safety and aiding the disaster victims in the aftermath of the earthquake.
Yuasa was appointed Vice-Minister of Home Affairs under the Katà  Cabinet in June 1924.
On 3 December 1925, he was appointed the 5th Inspector-General of Korea, serving until December 1927 in Keijà Â, Keiki-dà Â, Korea, Empire of Japan (present-day Seoul, South Korea).
Yuasa was appointed Minister of the Imperial Household on 15 February 1933. The appointment was unprecedented as Yuasa had not been Minister of State, and Ichiki Kitokurà  and former Governor-General of Chà Âsen Saità  Makoto are believed to have played a role in the appointment.
When the February 26 incident occurred, without delay, Yuasa visited the Imperial Palace and played a central role in the aftermath processing of the incident. He succeeded as Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal of Japan on 6 March 1936, after Saità  Makoto was assassinated during the incident.
On 1 June 1940, Yuasa was forced to resign as Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal of Japan due to his deteriorating health. Upon resigning, he received the court rank of Senior Second Rank and zenkan reigà « (the privileges of one's former post). He received First Class Order of the Rising Sun with Paulownia Flowers on 7 June 1940.
Yuasa died from pulmonary emphysema on 24 December 1940, in Ushigome, Tokyo, aged 66. Right before his death, on the same day, he conferred the title of baron. However, the barony became extinct upon his death as the heir presumptive was a female household head, his wife. He was buried at Zendà Â-ji temple in Kà Âriyama, Fukushima Prefecture.
Yuasa's eldest daughter married diplomat and Governor-General of Chà Âsen bureaucrat Tsutomu Suwa.
His nephew Daitarà  Yuasa was Director of Jusendà  Hospital and helped establish the Kà Âriyama City Library.