Yamagata Isaburō

Prince Yamagata Isaburō (山縣伊三郎, February 6, 1858 – September 24, 1927) was a Japanese politician, cabinet minister, and Japanese Inspector-General of Korea. His wife was the daughter of Katō Hiroyuki.

Yamagata was born in Nagato Province in Chōshū Domain (present-day Yamaguchi prefecture, as the son of samurai Katsu Kanesuke and the Toshiko, the elder sister of Yamagata Aritomo. As the latter had no children, he was adopted by Yamagata Aritomo in 1861 to carry on the family name.

After the Meiji Restoration, accompanied the Iwakura Mission to the United States and Europe, remaining in Germany for studies. On his return to Japan, he worked as a translator at the Foreign Ministry, and subsequently served on the Cabinet Legislation Bureau. He then entered the Home Ministry as served as Secretary to the governor of Aichi Prefecture before being appointed governor of Tokushima Prefecture, followed by Mie Prefecture. He was later promoted to Director of the Local Affairs Bureau within the Home Ministry, and rose to the post of Vice Minister.

In 1906, Yamagata entered the 1st Saionji administration as Minister of Communications. His chief achievement was to bring about the collapse of the Saionji administration by creating a budgetary deadlock over railroad funding at the behest of Yamagata Aritomo.

In July 1908, Yamagata was appointed to a seat in the House of Peers in the Diet of Japan. In 1910, following the resignation of Itō Hirobumi as Resident-General of Korea, Yamagata accompanied the new Resident Sone Arasuke to Korea as Deputy Resident-General. Following the formal annexation of Korea to the Empire of Japan, Yamagata remained for the next nine years as Inspector-General of Korea, (a position equivalent to that of Deputy Governor-General), under the tenure of Governor-General Terauchi Masatake and Hasegawa Yoshimichi. Although considered to be the leading candidate to replace Hasegawa, Yamagata was removed from office during the government reorganization following the March 1 Movement in 1919. He subsequently served as Governors-General of Kwantung Leased Territory from May 1920 to September 1922.

In 1922, after the death of his foster-father Yamagata Aritomo, he inherited the kazoku title of kōshaku (prince). Afterwards, he served on the Privy Council until his death in 1927.