Kogure Budayu

2016/07/04

Starting with the House of Councillors election this July, the right to vote will be extended to 18- and 19-year-olds, adding approximately 2.4 million new voters. With this change, voter education at the high school level has come into the spotlight, and various initiatives have begun.

This article focuses on Kogure Budayu, who was elected at the age of 30—the youngest candidate—in Japan's first national election, the 1st House of Representatives general election in 1890 (Meiji 23). While introducing the life of the relatively unknown Kogure, I would like to clarify why he ran for election and aimed to become a member of the Diet, how Fukuzawa was involved, and what he accomplished as a legislator.

Kogure was born on February 4, 1860 (Man'en 1), in present-day Ikaho, Gunma Prefecture, to his father Takeyoshi and mother Takuko. The Kogure family were local notables known as "Oya," who had inherited the name Budayu for generations since the Genroku era, and they operated a wide range of businesses including a hot spring inn, a pawnshop, and money lending. Kogure's childhood name was Atsushi, and his former name was Shuichi; before inheriting the family name, he went by Atsushi or Atsutaro, and after retirement, he took the name Hideie. After studying Chinese classics and English studies and attending Chugaku Honbu Karasugawa School, Kumagaya Prefecture Chohatsu School, and Tsukiji Rikkyo School, he entered Keio University on March 4, 1878 (Meiji 11), at the age of 18. He lived and studied in an annex of Fukuzawa's residence along with Mikiaki Ishikawa and others. According to the academic record (Gakugyo Kinda-hyo), he was listed as "Dajinka Ichiban" (First Class, Preparatory Course) from September to December 1878. The Dajinka was a preparatory course before entering the main course.

Later, in 1880 (Meiji 13), he returned to Ikaho to take over the family business and succeeded to the name Budayu (24th generation). Kogure's inn was a famous establishment where prominent figures from various fields, such as Niijima Jo and Saionji Kinmochi, stayed, and he actively promoted it through newspaper advertisements. As the head of the Improvement Control Office (later the Ikaho Mineral Spring Control Office), he worked to improve the hygiene and facilities of Ikaho Onsen, establishing Ikaho as a leading summer resort for people from Tokyo.

He also took an interest in the Freedom and People's Rights Movement, participating in political movements within the prefecture such as leading the anti-prostitution movement, and was a member of the Kojunsha. He served as a member of the Ikaho Town Council for a long time and was elected to the Gunma Prefectural Assembly in 1885 (Meiji 18). After the establishment of the Imperial Diet, he was elected to the House of Representatives a total of seven times. When he married Kiyoshi Tsutsumi in 1887 (Meiji 20), they attracted attention for exchanging a written pledge advocating for gender equality. In 1897 (Meiji 30), he contributed to the development of Gunma and Ikaho by participating in the founding of the Gunma Agricultural and Industrial Bank, where he served as a director, and by becoming the president of the Ikaho Electric Tramway Co., Ltd. in 1909 (Meiji 42). After retiring from politics in 1924 (Taisho 13), he passed away on March 24, 1926 (Taisho 15), at the age of 66.

Shortly after entering Keio University, Kogure consulted Fukuzawa about his future career. To Kogure, who did not want to inherit the family hot spring inn and wanted to become a government official to exert authority, Fukuzawa advised: "Once you have completed your studies, return to your hometown immediately and make your ancestral business flourish. If you have any energy left over, buy land." He continued, "What is a government official? They are nothing more than public servants. ... If you want to be so influential, let me tell you something good. A 'parliament' will be established soon, so be patient until then (sic), and when it is formed, become a member. Then you will be a representative of the people" (The Life of Yukichi Fukuzawa, Vol. 4, pp. 728–729).

Following Fukuzawa's advice, Kogure returned to his hometown, took over the family business, and became a member of the House of Representatives after being elected in the first general election as the youngest candidate. Kogure continued to meet Fukuzawa at alumni gatherings and other occasions, but at one point, Fukuzawa advised him again: "It's about time you quit. Being a member of the Diet is trivial, so you should go home and focus on making your hot spring business thrive" (ibid.). Assuming this conversation took place around 1897 (Meiji 30), it took about ten years until 1908 (Meiji 41) for him to finally leave the Diet.

Fukuzawa had long hoped for the establishment of a national assembly and envisioned a British-style parliamentary system. However, after the Political Crisis of 1881 (Meiji 14), when bureaucrats from the Juku resigned along with Okuma, he stopped engaging directly in politics and avoided becoming a member of the Diet himself. During the first general election, he looked coldly upon the "country legislators" arriving in the capital, and in 1894 (Meiji 27), he satirized them in a Chinese poem: "Selling off ancestral fields and departing / To earn eight hundred yen a year" (Collected Letters of Yukichi Fukuzawa, Vol. 7, p. 296; see photo below). Even in 1898 (Meiji 31), he observed that among the members of the House of Representatives, "those with a satisfactory education and common sense number no more than fifty or sixty out of three hundred" (ibid., Vol. 9, p. 19). For Fukuzawa, the ideal person to become a legislator was a person of repute who had a foundation in the business world and possessed both education and assets. Representative examples were Kogure in Gunma and Yozo Ito in Shizuoka. He actively encouraged these two to run for election and become members of the Diet.

Although Fukuzawa visited Hakone on family trips and other occasions, he never made it to Ikaho, despite saying he wanted to go. However, his older sister, En Nakamigawa, stayed in Ikaho for about a month in the summer of 1896 (Meiji 29) for medical treatment, and it is believed she stayed at Kogure's inn.

In the first general election for the House of Representatives, 26 alumni of Keio University were elected, and two more were elected in by-elections before the opening of the first Imperial Diet (Osamu Terasaki, "Winners of the First House of Representatives Election," Mita-hyoron (official monthly journal published by Keio University Press), No. 1073). On November 17, 1890, just before the Diet was convened, 26 members of the House of Representatives and the House of Peers who were Keio alumni invited Fukuzawa to a reunion at Sumiya in Tsukiji. In his speech, Fukuzawa emphasized the importance of old school ties, stating, "Appealing to old school ties to harmonize where harmony is possible, apart from political passion, and thereby calming the turbulence of the Imperial Diet, is not only loyal to the country but also indirectly brings a reputation for loyalty to your alma mater, Keio University" (The Complete Works of Yukichi Fukuzawa, Vol. 12, pp. 537–538). He urged the alumni members not to let their debates turn into emotional conflicts. Kogure also attended this meeting and gave the closing remarks as the representative of the organizers.

In the first general election, Kogure won 464 votes in Gunma Prefecture's 4th district, defeating Otoshichi Shimada, who received 422 votes. However, Shimada filed a lawsuit claiming Kogure's election was invalid because unqualified voters had cast ballots in Higashi Village within the district, leading to the indictment of 36 people, including the village mayor, for election law violations (the mayor and others were eventually granted a stay of prosecution). In March 1891, the Tokyo Court of Appeal, the court of first instance for this case, ruled that 46 of Kogure's votes were from unqualified voters, reversing the count and ruling in favor of Shimada. Kogure's side appealed to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court found issues with the original ruling and remanded the case. The Tokyo Court of Appeal heard the case again, and in September, it once more ruled in favor of Shimada. The court recognized 415 votes for Kogure and 418 for Shimada, declaring Shimada the winner. Kogure's side appealed again, and in January 1892, the Supreme Court overturned the appellate court's ruling. However, because the House of Representatives had already been dissolved at the end of 1891, the lawsuit itself was dismissed, bringing an unusual end to the matter.

The Supreme Court took issue with the appellate court's decision to invalidate two votes for Kogure where the focus was on whether they were handwritten by the voter, as well as its failure to determine the validity of one vote for Shimada. In other words, the court pointed out the possibility that the two votes could be added to Kogure's 415, and if one vote was deducted from Shimada's 418 as invalid, both would have ended up with 417 votes.

Kogure was able to attend the 1st and 2nd Diets without losing his seat, but because he was in the midst of this legal turmoil, he was unable to run in the 2nd general election, which is known for large-scale government interference (although it was not a formal candidacy system, Kogure did not receive a single vote). Regarding this, Kogure apologized to his colleagues for losing his district to the pro-government party (Rito), saying, "Unfortunately, this district has also largely fallen into the hands of officials, and I feel deeply ashamed before the political friends of the nation" (Yukio Ushiki, A Biography of Nakajiro Takatsu, p. 267).

In terms of affiliation, he belonged to the Yayoi Club, a parliamentary group of the Liberal Party, during the 1st Diet, but he joined the "Tosa faction betrayal" and moved to the Jiyu Club. He later returned to the Liberal Party and consistently belonged to the Rikken Seiyukai after its establishment.

Kogure's true worth in the chamber was demonstrated in topics such as local systems, commerce, and election laws. In the Budget Committee, where he served for a long time, he frequently and sharply pointed out wasteful spending of tax money. I would like to introduce one example where Kogure seemed to embody Fukuzawa's spirit. In the 1st Diet, it was noticeable that when members were engaged in public speaking, other members would interfere by asking questions or heckling, wasting time. In response to this situation, Kogure expressed his deep regret and complained to the Speaker about the conduct of the proceedings, requesting that the Speaker not allow interference with public speaking and, if members did not comply, to take "decisive disciplinary action" based on the Law of the Houses and the Rules of the House of Representatives ("Records of the Imperial Diet," National Diet Library website). Because it was the early days of the Diet, the proceedings were often chaotic, with speakers appearing without regard for timing. His firm admonishment of this behavior reflects the influence of Fukuzawa, who wished to "calm the turbulence of the Diet."

In 1924, Kogure, who had been suffering from kidney disease since the previous autumn, made up his mind to resign as a town councilor and completely retire from politics, stating, "My illness has greatly improved, and after being discharged, I will enjoy the fresh greenery; I am also thinking of retiring from the political world" (the aforementioned A Biography of Nakajiro Takatsu, p. 604). He also spoke about his character and the political world at the time: "As you know, I am a person of moderate character and dislike going to extremes," but "I hate the Kenseikai, and I especially find Kato's arrogance detestable" (ibid.). While he disliked extremes, he seems to have been a man of integrity who felt righteous indignation toward things that did not make sense. Although he had already handed over his base as a national legislator to other candidates, his son Shoichi ran as his successor in the 15th general election in May of that year and was elected. Later, Shoichi succeeded to the name Budayu XXV, and after returning to politics following his purge from public office after the war, he became a member of the House of Councillors and served as Minister of Transport.

According to the Tokyo Asahi Shimbun, which reported Kogure's death in 1926, his condition worsened due to his indignation over the increase in the annual allowance for Diet members. It could be said that this was the "pride of a man from Joshu" (Meiryu Retsuden). Coincidentally, Kogure ended his life at the age of 66, the same age as Fukuzawa. The inn in Ikaho has been passed down through generations and continues to operate today as "Hotel Kogure."