Kabayama Sukenori was the first governor-general of Taiwan. Previously, he had been a samurai retainer to the Shimazu clan of Satsuma han; following the abolition of the samurai class and of the bakuhan system, commander of the second Kyushu outpost garrison. He played a significant role in pressuring the national government to send a punitive expedition to Taiwan following the Taiwan Incident of 1871.
Kabayama was named Governor-General in 1895 and arrived on the island as the head of a squadron on July 6 of that year.
References
- Suzuki Eka, "Building Statues of Japanese Governors: Monumental Bronze Sculptures and Colonial Cooperation in Taiwan under Japanese Rule," presentation at 2013 UCSB International Conference on Taiwan Studies, University of California at Santa Barbara, 7 Dec 2013.
- Uemura Hideaki. "The Colonial Annexation of Okinawa and the Logic of International Law: The Formation of an 'Indigenous People' in East Asia." Japanese Studies 23:2 (2003). p109.