18 Facts About Tani Tateki

Tani Tateki was a statesman and lieutenant general in the Imperial Japanese Army in Meiji period Japan.

Tani Tateki's abilities were soon noted by clan officials, a and he was sent for further studies in Edo in 1859.

Tani Tateki was one of the members of Takechi's followers implicated in the assassination of Yoshida Toyo.

From 1868, Tani Tateki fought in the Boshin War to overthrow the Tokugawa shogunate, beginning with the Battle of Toba-Fushimi, the Battle of Koshu-Katsunuma and continuing with the Battle of Aizu.

Tani Tateki spoke out strongly against the profligate spending of the Tosa delegation in Tokyo and enacted cost reduction measures, which enraged Goto, who had Tani removed.

However, this did not solve the underlying problem to the clan's finances, as Tani Tateki was returned to his post in April 1871.

Tani Tateki became commander of the Kumamoto garrison the following year, and worked closely with Yamagata Aritomo to reform the army along French lines, over the opposition of Itagaki and Kirino Toshiaki, Tani Tateki personally led troops to suppress a number of samurai uprisings in Kyushu, including the Saga Rebellion and Shimpuren Rebellion, and withstood a siege of 52 days in Kumamoto castle against Saigo Takamori during the Satsuma Rebellion.

Tani Tateki took part in the Taiwan Expedition of 1874, where one of the US foreign advisors of the expedition, Lt.

In November 1878, Tani Tateki was promoted to lieutenant general and was commandant of the Imperial Japanese Army Academy and the Toyama School.

Tani Tateki retired in March 1881 in protest over government policies and returned to Kochi.

Tani Tateki became president of the Gakushuin Peers' School in 1884.

Tani Tateki was one of the leaders of a group called the "conservative opposition", an alliance of retired generals, politicians and peers who were critical both of the Meiji government and the movement for popular rights.

Tani Tateki resisted the reforms of Yamagata Aritomo in the army, and believed that Imperial Japanese Army should be kept as a small force for defensive purposes alone.

On July 7,1884, Tani Tateki was ennobled with the rank of shishaku in the kazoku peerage system.

Tani Tateki attended a lecture by Lorenz von Stein in Austria promoting Agrarianism as a political philosophy.

Tani Tateki became a member of the House of Peers in 1890.

Tani Tateki remained active in politics until his death, strongly opposing imposition of land taxes, favoring the abolishment of poll taxes, sending an investigative team to the Ashio Copper Mine in wake of a lawsuit and scandal over an environmental disaster, and continuing to be a thorn in the side of Yamagata and his efforts to expand the Japanese army.

Tani Tateki strongly opposed the Anglo-Japanese Alliance and opposed the Russo-Japanese War from both a political standpoint and for financial reasons.