Kuroda Kiyotaka - Definition and Overview

Kuroda Kiyotaka (黒田 清隆; October 16,1840–August 25,1900), also known as Ryōsuke, was a Japanese politician of the Meiji era, and the second Prime Minister of Japan from April 30, 1888 to October 25, 1889.

Originally a low-ranking samurai in Satsuma Province, he was an active member of the Satsuma-Choshu joint effort to overthrow the Tokugawa shogunate. He was a leader in the Boshin War, and became famous after the war for sparing the life of Enomoto Takeaki, who had stood against Kuroda's army at Hakodate.

Kuroda was later put in charge of settlement efforts in Hokkaido, where he lived from 1870 to 1882, commuting to and from Tokyo to report to the government. In 1878, he became leader of the Satsuma clan following the death of Okubo Toshimichi. Shortly before he left office in Hokkaido, Kuroda was accused of selling government property.

He became prime minister in 1888 and oversaw the promulgation of the Meiji Constitution: however, he was forced to resign the following year after making several momentous blunders in treaty negotiations. He later became a genro, Communications Minister, and chairman of the Privy Council.