Makino Nobuaki
Count Makino Nobuaki, also Makino Shinken (牧野 伸顕, November 24, 1861 – January 25, 1949), was a Japanese politician and imperial court official. As Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal of Japan, Makino served as Emperor Hirohito's chief counselor on the monarch's position in Japanese society and policymaking. In this capacity, he significantly contributed to the militarization of Japanese society by organizing support for ultranationalist groups [1][2] and restraining the emperor from containing the Imperial Army's unsanctioned expansionism.[3][4][5] Historians also point out his attempts to avoid war with China and the United States and his promotion of a constitutional democracy in Japan.[6][7]
In this Japanese name, the surname is Makino.
Makino Nobuaki
牧野 伸顕
牧野 伸顕
November 24, 1861
Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan
January 25, 1949 (aged 87)
Tokyo, Japan
Ōkubo Toshimichi
Hayasaki Masako
Politician, cabinet minister, diplomat
After victory in World War I, Makino was appointed to be one of Japan's ambassador plenipotentiaries to the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, headed by the elder statesman, Marquis Saionji. At the conference, he and other members of the delegation put forth a Racial Equality Proposal. It won the majority of votes, but was vetoed by the chairman, President Woodrow Wilson.
Even after his retirement in 1935, he remained a close advisor to the throne through the end of World War II in 1945.[8]
Early life and education[edit]
Born to a samurai family in Kagoshima, Satsuma Domain (present day Kagoshima Prefecture), Makino was the second son of Ōkubo Toshimichi, but adopted into the Makino family at a very early age. In 1871, at age 11, he accompanied Ōkubo on the Iwakura Mission to the United States as a student, and briefly attended school in Philadelphia. After he returned to Japan, he attended Tokyo Imperial University, but left without graduating.[9]
Personal life[edit]
Noted post-war Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida was Makino's son-in-law. One of his grandchildren Ken'ichi Yoshida was a literary scholar. The former Prime Minister, Tarō Asō, is Makino's great-grandson. His great-granddaughter, Nobuko Asō, married Prince Tomohito of Mikasa, a first cousin of Emperor Akihito. In addition, Ijūin Hikokichi, the former minister of foreign affairs, was the brother-in-law of Makino.[13]
