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*''Born: [[1841]]''
*''Died: [[1909]]''
*''Japanese'': [[伊藤]]博文 ''(Itou Hirobumi)''
Itô Hirobumi was Japan's first modern [[prime minister]], and a prominent figure in a number of other aspects of [[Meiji government]].
In his youth, prior to the [[Meiji Restoration|fall of the Tokugawa shogunate]], Itô was a follower or student of ''[[sonno|sonnô]] [[joi|jôi]]'' activist [[Yoshida Shoin|Yoshida Shôin]].
Itô was named [[Ministry of the Interior|Minister of the Interior]] in [[1878]], succeeding [[Okubo Toshimichi|Ôkubo Toshimichi]] to that post. He became the first prime minister of the modern state of Japan in [[1885]], when the cabinet system was established. Among his many activities in that position was participation in diplomatic negotiations with [[Li Hongzhang]] which managed, in the end, to avoid war with China in the 1880s, or depending on one's perspective, to at least delay the outbreak of conflict until the mid-1890s.
In [[1895]], he was among the main Japanese representatives at the negotiation and signing of the [[Treaty of Shimonoseki]] which ended the [[Sino-Japanese War]].
In [[1900]], he founded the [[Seiyukai|Seiyûkai]] political party. [[Sadayakko]], often cited as Japan's first actress in the modern mode, was among his mistresses.
Itô became the first [[Governor-General]] of the Japanese protectorate of [[Occupied Korea|Korea]] in [[1905]],<ref>Mark Peattie, ''The Japanese Colonial Empire'', Princeton University Press (1984), 17.</ref> remaining in that position until he was killed by Korean activist [[An Jung-geun]] in [[1909]].
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==References==
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[[Category:Meiji Period]]
[[Category:Samurai]]