Count Katsu Kaishū

Count Katsu Kaishū (born March 12, 1823, Edo [now Tokyo], Japan—died Jan. 21, 1899, Tokyo) was a Japanese naval officer who reformed his country’s navy and played a mediatory role in the Meiji Restoration—the overthrow in 1868 of the shogun (hereditary military dictator of Japan) and restoration of power to the emperor. He was one of the few high officials of the shogunate to be employed by the new imperial government.

Trained as a naval officer, Katsu was appointed to command the Kanrin Maru, the first Japanese ship to sail to the West (1860). The voyage took him to the United States, and after his return to Japan he worked to modernize the Japanese navy and develop the country’s coastal defenses. He also became the leader of the moderate faction within the Tokugawa shogunate, but his effort to reduce the growing friction between supporters of the emperor and those of the shogun were unsuccessful. He remained on good terms with the imperialists, however, and in May 1868, with the imperial troops outside the city of Edo, Katsu surrendered peacefully and persuaded the imperialists to treat the former shogun leniently. In 1872 Katsu himself was invited to join the new government as minister of the navy. He soon became one of the most influential officials in the new administration.