Ōkubo Toshimichi

Ōkubo Toshimichi (大久保 利通) (26 September 1830 – 14 May 1878) was a Japanese statesman and one of the Three Great Nobles regarded as the main founders of modern Japan.

Ōkubo was a samurai of the Satsuma Domain and joined the movement to overthrow the ruling Tokugawa Shogunate during the Bakumatsu period. Upon the founding of the new Empire of Japan, Ōkubo became a leading member of the Meiji Restoration and a prominent member of the Meiji oligarchy.

Following his return from the Iwakura Mission in 1873, Ōkubo became Lord of Home Affairs and used his office's authority to rapidly expand his influence within the Restoration government. Shortly thereafter, he firmly established himself as the nation's de facto dictator. In this capacity, he enacted numerous structural reforms, pacified disputes within the Meiji regime at the Osaka Conference of 1875, and suppressed several rebellions threatening the survival of the empire. As a result of his autocratic style of government, Ōkubo became the focus of deep animosity within Japan and was ultimately assassinated in 1878 by a former member of Saigō Takamori's rebel army.

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