12 Facts About Maejima Hisoka

Baron Maejima Hisoka, born, was a Japanese statesman, politician, and businessman in Meiji-period Japan.

Maejima Hisoka was born as Ueno Fusagoro, in the village of Shimoikebe, Echigo Province.

Maejima Hisoka was sent to Edo to study rangaku, medical science and English.

Okubo liked the gall of the upstart Maejima Hisoka, and appointed him to the new Minbu-sho in the new Meiji government, where his outspoken attitude caught the attention of Ito Hirobumi and Okuma Shigenobu.

Maejima Hisoka was sent to Great Britain in 1870 to study the workings of the General Post Office, and upon his return to Japan in 1871, his proposals for the creation of a similar system in Japan were quickly approved.

Maejima Hisoka personally coined the Japanese word for postage stamp.

In 1874, Maejima hired a foreign advisor, Samuel M Bryan, to negotiate a postal treaty with the United States, and to assist in the admission of Japan into the Universal Postal Union in 1877.

In 1878, Maejima Hisoka was appointed to the Genroin, and in 1879, he was appointed Vice Minister for Home Affairs.

Not content with two careers, Maejima Hisoka found time to assist Okuma Shigenobu in establishing the Tokyo Semmon Gakko in 1882, of which he served as principal from 1886 to 1890.

Maejima Hisoka followed in this career by establishing a second railroad company, the Hokuetsu Railway connecting Niigata with Naoetsu in 1894.

Maejima Hisoka was appointed as Vice Minister of Communications from 1888 to 1891, during which time he established Japan's state-owned telephone service.

Maejima Hisoka died in 1919 at his summer cottage in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture.