− | A high ranking samurai from [[Tosa province|Tosa]], Itagaki was responsible for reorganizing Tosa's forces prior to the outbreak of the [[Boshin War]] where he played a major role in leading the campaigns against the [[Tokugawa clan|Tokugawa]] forces. After the [[Meiji Restoration|Restoration]], he played key roles in both the Tosa and national governments. He resigned from the [[Meiji government]] in [[1873]] in protest of the [[Seikanron|decision not to go to war with Korea]], but subsequently returned to government and held various cabinet posts until his retirement in [[1900]]. | + | A high ranking samurai from [[Tosa province|Tosa]], Itagaki was responsible for reorganizing Tosa's forces prior to the outbreak of the [[Boshin War]] where he played a major role in leading the campaigns against the [[Tokugawa clan|Tokugawa]] forces. After the [[Meiji Restoration|Restoration]], he played key roles in both the Tosa and national governments. He resigned from the [[Meiji government]] in [[1873]] in protest of the [[Seikanron|decision not to go to war with Korea]], and became a prominent leader of the [[Freedom and People's Rights Movement]] (''Jiyû minken undô''), signing early the following year (17 Jan [[1874]]) a memorial to the government pushing for the establishment of a popularly-elected legislature; the memorial was also signed by the likes of [[Soejima Taneomi]], [[Goto Shojiro|Gotô Shôjirô]], [[Eto Shimpei|Etô Shimpei]], and [[Yuri Kimimasa]].<ref>David Lu, ''Japan: A Documentary History'', ME Sharpe (1997), 326-329.</ref> Itagaki subsequently returned to government and held various cabinet posts until his retirement in [[1900]]. |
| A prominent [[Taisho period|Taishô]] liberal, he pushed for a number of liberal policies, including extending the full rights and privileges of citizenship to [[Taiwan]]ese and [[Colonial Korea|Koreans]], a proposal which was proposed in 1914 but ultimately quashed after coming up against considerable opposition.<ref>[[Mark Peattie]], "Japanese Attitudes toward Colonialism, 1895-1945," in Peattie and Ramon Myers (eds.), ''The Japanese Colonial Empire, 1895-1945'', Princeton University Press (1984), 103.</ref> | | A prominent [[Taisho period|Taishô]] liberal, he pushed for a number of liberal policies, including extending the full rights and privileges of citizenship to [[Taiwan]]ese and [[Colonial Korea|Koreans]], a proposal which was proposed in 1914 but ultimately quashed after coming up against considerable opposition.<ref>[[Mark Peattie]], "Japanese Attitudes toward Colonialism, 1895-1945," in Peattie and Ramon Myers (eds.), ''The Japanese Colonial Empire, 1895-1945'', Princeton University Press (1984), 103.</ref> |