Iwamura Michitoshi was the third governor of Okinawa Prefecture.
He was born in Tosa han, and served as an army officer in the Boshin War, before becoming governor of Saga prefecture. In 1877, as governor of Kagoshima prefecture, he played a prominent role in efforts to suppress the Satsuma Rebellion; when that rebellion came to an end with the battle of Shiroyama and the death of Saigô Takamori, Iwamura saw to it that Saigô and many of his men were given proper burials at the former site of the Buddhist temple of Jôkômyô-ji, thus marking the foundation of the Nanshû Cemetery.
Iwamura later served as head of the Board of Audits, Governor of Hokkaido, and Minister of Agriculture & Commerce, before becoming governor of Okinawa in 1883.
As governor of Okinawa, Iwamura was critical of the reforms effected by his predecessor, Uesugi Mochinori, and supported a series of policies of "preserving old customs" (kyûkan onzon). Uesugi had put pressure on the yukatchu, the traditional aristocracy, accusing them of oppressing the peasantry, and causing many of them to flee to China. Iwamura reversed many of Uesugi's policies on this matter, seeing the yukatchu as experienced bureaucrats who could be valuable members of the prefectural administration. Iwamura saw that the higher-ranking yukatchu continued to receive stipends, and provided economic aid to lower-ranking yukatchu who had not traditionally been entitled to stipends; many who had fled to China returned to Okinawa as a result of Iwamura's policies.
| Preceded by Ôyama Tsunayoshi |
Governor of Kagoshima prefecture 1877-1880 |
Succeeded by Watanabe Chiaki |
| Preceded by Uesugi Mochinori |
Governor of Okinawa Prefecture 1883 |
Succeeded by Nishimura Sutezô |
References
- "Iwamura Michitoshi." Okinawa Compact Encyclopedia 沖縄コンパクト事典. Ryukyu Shimpo, 1 March 2003.
- Smits, Gregory. Visions of Ryukyu. University of Hawaii Press, 1999. p147.
- Plaques on-site at Nanshû Cemetery.