Count Itagaki Taisuke (Japanese: 板垣 退助; 21 May 1837 – 16 July 1919) was a Japanese samurai, politician, and leader of the Freedom and People's Rights Movement (自由民権運動, Jiyū Minken Undō), which evolved into Japan's first political party, the Liberal Party (Jiyūtō). His activism in favour of a parliamentary democracy was a pivotal influence on the political development of Meiji Japan.
A native of Tosa Domain, Itagaki was a leading figure in the Meiji Restoration and held a series of posts in the new government, including that of Councillor of State (参議, sangi). In 1873, he resigned from government after his proposal for a military expedition to Korea, a policy known as Seikanron, was rejected by the ruling oligarchy. After his resignation, Itagaki formed the Aikoku Kōtō (Public Party of Patriots), Japan's first political association, and launched a political movement aimed at establishing a representative assembly. He submitted a memorial to the government in 1874 calling for the creation of a national assembly, which, though initially dismissed, sparked a nationwide debate and is considered the foundational event of the Freedom and People's Rights Movement.
Itagaki organized his political followers in his native Tosa into the Risshisha, and in 1881, he founded the Liberal Party (Jiyūtō), widely regarded as Japan's first modern political party. He survived an assassination attempt in 1882 and travelled to Europe the same year, deepening his exposure to Western political thought. After the Meiji Constitution was promulgated in 1889, Itagaki continued his political career, serving as Minister of Home Affairs in cabinets led by Itō Hirobumi and Ōkuma Shigenobu.
Itagaki was born into a middle-ranking samurai family in Tosa Domain (present-day Kōchi Prefecture). Following the Meiji Restoration in 1868, he was appointed to several posts in the new Meiji government, becoming a Councillor of State (sangi) in 1869. He was part of the coalition that overthrew the Tokugawa shogunate and was involved in the early formation of the new regime.
Advocacy for representative government
The Seikanron debate and resignation
The first major schism within the Meiji oligarchy occurred in 1873 over the question of invading Korea, a debate known as the Seikanron. Itagaki, along with Saigō Takamori, Etō Shimpei, Gotō Shōjirō and other councillors, was a key advocate for a military expedition. Proponents of the invasion argued that it would provide an outlet for the disaffected samurai class, which had lost its traditional status and privileges after the Restoration, and would enhance Japan's international prestige. However, the plan was strongly opposed by leaders such as Ōkubo Toshimichi, Iwakura Tomomi, Ōkuma Shigenobu, and Ōki Takatō. Having just returned from the Iwakura Mission to the West, they argued that Japan's primary focus should be on internal reforms and modernization, not foreign military adventures.
The "peace party" ultimately prevailed, and the proposal to invade Korea was rejected in October 1873. Angered by the decision, Itagaki, Saigō, Etō Shimpei, Gotō Shōjirō, and Soejima Taneomi resigned from the government. While Saigō returned to his native Satsuma Domain and later led an armed rebellion, Itagaki chose a different path of opposition. He pursued his objectives through political means, a decision that Akita describes as making him "truly a revolutionary" for choosing non-violent political action over the traditional method of armed revolt. Itagaki declared, "Saigō fights the government with arms, but we will fight it with people's rights (minken)."
The Tosa Memorial and political agitation
On 12 January 1874, shortly after his resignation, Itagaki formed the Aikoku Kōtō (Public Party of Patriots), Japan's first political association. The party's prospectus, heavily influenced by Western political thought, was a strong critique of the Meiji oligarchy and a call for representative government. It declared: "When men were created by heaven, there were attached to them certain fixed, inalienable rights... these rights, having been bestowed upon men equally by heaven, cannot be usurped by human power."
A few days later, on 17 January, Itagaki and a group of eight associates, including Gotō Shōjirō and Etō Shimpei, submitted the "Memorial for the Establishment of an Elective Assembly" (民撰議院設立建白書, Minsen Giin Setsuritsu Kenpakusho) to the government. The memorial was a skillfully drafted document that criticized the unchecked power of the oligarchy, stating that "the governing power lies not with the Crown on the one hand, nor with the people on the other, but with the officials alone." It argued that to remedy the arbitrary nature of government and to strengthen the nation, a "council-chamber chosen by the people" must be established. The memorial invoked the principle of "no taxation without representation" and asserted that a national assembly would create a sense of unity between the government and the people, thereby making the country strong.
The government's initial reaction was dismissive. Ōkubo Toshimichi wrote that "no one is impressed by it," and that the petition was a "blunder" by disgruntled former officials. However, the memorial's publication in the press sparked a nationwide debate on the nature of government and representative institutions, marking the beginning of the Freedom and People's Rights Movement.
Realizing that a political movement required an organized base, Itagaki returned to his native Tosa and founded the Risshisha (Self-Help Society) in April 1874. While initially focused on providing employment and education for the local samurai, the Risshisha quickly evolved into a political organization dedicated to advocating for popular rights and a national assembly. In February 1875, Itagaki took a leading role in establishing a nationwide federation of similar local societies, the Aikokusha (Patriotic Society), in Osaka. However, this first attempt at a national organization quickly collapsed due to a lack of funds and Itagaki's own temporary return to the government. The Aikokusha was successfully revived in 1878, after the suppression of the Satsuma Rebellion, and it became the nucleus for a more widespread and coordinated campaign of political agitation.
The Osaka Conference and return to government
In 1875, key government leaders, particularly Ōkubo and Kido Takayoshi, sought to strengthen the regime by bringing dissenting figures back into the fold. This led to the Osaka Conference of 1875, where Itagaki was persuaded by Itō Hirobumi and Inoue Kaoru to rejoin the government. Itagaki's return was conditional on the government's acceptance of a gradual move toward constitutional government. The agreement reached at the conference resulted in the creation of the Genrōin (Chamber of Elders), a nominated proto-senate, and the Daishin-in (Supreme Court), as well as an assembly of prefectural governors.
Itagaki served once again as a sangi, but his tenure was short-lived. He found himself at odds with his more conservative colleagues over the interpretation of the Osaka agreement and the limited scope of the new institutions. He resigned in October 1875, concluding that he could not effectively work for his goals from within the oligarchy.
Leader of the Jiyūtō (Liberal Party)
Following the Imperial Rescript of 1881, which promised the establishment of a national assembly by 1890, the democratic movement entered a new phase focused on the formation of political parties. Seizing the momentum, Itagaki and his followers transformed the League for the Establishment of a National Assembly into the Liberal Party (Jiyūtō), which was officially founded on 29 October 1881, with Itagaki as its president. The Jiyūtō was Japan's first modern political party and was composed of a loose network of rural political societies. Its prospectus, written mainly by Nakae Chōmin, declared, "Liberty is the natural state of man and the preservation of liberty is man's great duty". A stern warrior leader, Itagaki became an effective public speaker and the symbol of the movement. The party drew its main support from rural landowners, who were resentful of the government's fiscal policies, particularly the heavy land tax.