Yamagata Aritomo

Yamagata Aritomo (1838-1922), Japanese statesman, who built up the modern Japanese army after the Meiji restoration. Born in Chōshū, of samurai descent, he took part in the overthrow of the shogunate in 1867 and afterward was sent to Europe by the new government to study Western military systems. On his return, he founded the Imperial Guard (1870), became minister of war (1873), and organized a new conscript army on a Prussian model; he was named army chief of staff in 1878. Leader of the military faction, he later served as prime minister (1889-1891 and 1898-1900) and minister of justice (1892-1895). As head of government he appointed only active officers to positions in the war ministries. Yamagata served as chief of staff during the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905). He was made a prince in 1907 and later presided over the privy council (1909-1922).