19 Facts About Terauchi Masatake

Gensui Count Terauchi Masatake, GCB, was a Japanese military officer and politician.

Terauchi Masatake was a Gensui in the Imperial Japanese Army and the prime minister of Japan from 1916 to 1918.

Terauchi Masatake was born in Hirai Village, Suo Province, and was the third son of Utada Masasuke, a samurai in the service of Choshu Domain.

Terauchi Masatake was later adopted by a relative on his mother's side of the family, Terauchi Kanuemon, and changed his family name to "Terauchi".

Terauchi Masatake became a member of Emperor Meiji's personal guard in 1870 and travelled with the Emperor to Tokyo.

Terauchi Masatake left military service in 1871 to pursue language studies, but was recalled with the formation the fledgling Imperial Japanese Army in 1871 and was commissioned as a second lieutenant after attending the Army's Toyama School.

Terauchi Masatake was appointed to the staff of the new Imperial Japanese Army Academy in 1873.

Terauchi Masatake fought in the Satsuma Rebellion in 1877 and was injured and lost his right hand during the Battle of Tabaruzaka.

Terauchi Masatake was appointed as Minister of the Army in 1901, during the first Katsura administration.

Terauchi Masatake was made a chairman of the South Manchurian Railway Company in 1906.

Terauchi Masatake continued in office as Army Minister under the first Saionji administration and the second Katsura administration from July 1908 to August 1911.

The annexation of Korea by Japan and subsequent policies introduced by the new government was highly unpopular with the majority of the Korean population, and Terauchi Masatake employed military force to maintain control.

The Japanese Governor-General, Count Terauchi Masatake, is a very strong and able man, and under his administration many improvements have been made in Korea.

In June 1916, Terauchi Masatake he received his promotion to the largely ceremonial rank of Gensui.

Terauchi Masatake's cabinet consisted solely of career bureaucrats as he distrusted career civilian politicians.

Terauchi Masatake upheld Japan's obligations to the United Kingdom under the Anglo-Japanese Alliance in World War I, dispatching ships from the Imperial Japanese Navy to the South Pacific, Indian Ocean and Mediterranean, and seizing control of German colonies in Qingdao and the Pacific Ocean.

In September 1918, Terauchi Masatake resigned his office, due to the rice riots that had spread throughout Japan due to inflation; he died the following year.

Terauchi Masatake's decorations included the Order of the Rising Sun and Order of the Golden Kite.

The 2nd Count Terauchi Masatake held the rank of Gensui like his father.