Background
Shigeaki Kunitomo was born in 1861 in Higo Province, Kumamoto Prefecture. His real name was Hantaro Zuiken.
- Photos
- Works
- Photos
- Works
Shigeaki Kunitomo
Edit Profile
also known as
Hantaro Zuiken
Career
In 1877 Shigeaki Kunitomo sided with Takamori Saigo during the Seinan-no-Eki, but with the defeat of Takamori surrended to the Imperial Court in 1877 and was made councilor in 1883.
Later resigning, became editorial writer for Nippon Shimbun, then chief editor of Tozai Nippo and established himself as a specialist on Chinese aftairs.
Deeply interested in the problem of the Far East, he joined Shojiro Goto in 1887 and was among the foremost to oppose Okuma's revision of treaties in 1889.
Later Shigeaki Kunitomo was secretary of Toa Dobun Kai (a society formed for the study of Far Eastern affairs) and during the Boxer Rebellion organized a union to prevent the invasion of Korea and China by Russia (1900). After the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905) he objected to the Treaty of Portsmouth and together with Heikichi Ogawa, Masaki Nakanishi and others led the riots that followed.
Personality
Shigeaki Kunitomo was an open-hearted man and of keen insight.
