- Birth: 1844
- Death: 1897
- Son: Mutsu Hirokichi
- Japanese: 陸奥 宗光 (Mutsu Munemitsu}
Mutsu Munemitsu was an early Meiji period Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Munemitsu was born into a samurai family in Wakayama in 1844. He joined the Kaientai near the end of the Bakumatsu period, and he also attempted to assist Saigô Takamori during the Satsuma Rebellion and was imprisoned from 1878 until 1883. In 1886, Munemitsu received a diplomatic appointment after a trip to Europe. Munemitsu was active in the Japanese foreign ministry as a diplomat, and worked to reverse the Unequal Treaties imposed on Japan by the Western powers.
In 1895, he participated in the Shimonoseki Peace Conference alongside Prime Minister Itô Hirobumi, negotiating the Treaty of Shimonoseki which ended the Sino-Japanese War. Criticized by the Meiji Emperor and others for the way the war was conducted and for the Triple Intervention, he detailed his account of the diplomatic, political, and military aspects of the war in an effort to combat the accusations, titling it Kenkenroku (lit. "A Record of Loyalty").[1]
References
- 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica (Public Domain source)
- Portraits of Modern Japanese Historical Figures