Yamaza Enjiro (山座円次郎)
Enjiro YAMAZA (December 2, 1866-May 28,1914) was the Japanese diplomat in the Meiji and Taisyo period.
Biography and Personal Profile
He was born in Fukuoka as the second son of Syogo YAMAZA, ashigaru (common foot soldier) in Fukuoka Domain. He learned in Tounkan (temporarily established as hanko (a domain school) for Fukuoka Domain during the period until Shuyukan in the Meiji period was rebuilt from hanko Shuyukan and the predecessor of current Fukuoka Prefectural Shuyukan Senior High School), went to Tokyo to study in Kyoritsu school (the predecessor of Kaisei Junior & Senior High School) and Preparatory School of the University of Tokyo (Tokyo Yobimon) (the predecessor of the former Daiichi Koto Gakko (First High School) and graduated at the top of his class from the law school of Tokyo University in 1892. His classmates of Preparatory School of the University of Tokyo (Tokyo Yobimon) included Soseki NATSUME, Shiki MASAOKA, Kumagusu MINAKATA and Saneyuki AKIYAMA. He seemed to continuously have close friendship especially with Kumagusu after graduation and his essay showed that they drunk together. Besides, Tomoyoshi YOSHIOKA who was the 33rd Regimental Commander of hohei which completely destroyed in 'the fierce battle around Kankyotonsangenya' of Battle of Mukden said to be the fiercest battle of the Russo-Japanese War had been YAMAZA's close friend since his childhood and married YAMAZA's younger sister to become his younger brother-in-law.
He joined Foreign Ministry after graduation from Tokyo University and was selected for the director of government affairs by Jutaro KOMURA, Minister of Foreign Affairs with the favor of Shinichiro KURINO who was his senior in Shuyukan in 1901 when he was only 34 years old.
At that time, he was so capable that he was said 'No YAMAZA in front of and after YAMAZA.'
Later, he was involved in conclusion of the Anglo-Japanese Alliance, the negotiation with Russia and the diplomacy in the outbreak of the Russo-Japanese War under KOMURA, Minister of Foreign Affairs and played a leading role in Komura's diplomacy by drawing up the sentence of proclamation of the Russo-Japanese War and accompanying to Treaty of Portsmouth between Japan and Russia. He was the most trusted diplomat by KOMURA. He became the councilor of Japanese Embassy in England in 1908. He traveled to China after Xinhai Revolution as the envoy extraordinary in China which he was assigned in 1913, but he died in Beijing City the next year. One theory is that this was the assassination by YUAN Shikai who resented YAMAZA supporting Sun Yat-sen. He was also known for leading Koki HIROTA who became Prime Minister later and was his junior in Shuyukan to Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
His wife 賤香 was the first daughter of Tomotsune KOMUCHI. Kotaro HIRAOKA and his wife arranged a match for them.
Episode
Hirobumi ITO who was Chairman of the Privy Council when YAMAZA was the director of government affairs of Ministry of Foreign Affairs looked through all diplomatic documents drafted by YAMAZA. However, ITO always returned the document with at least one revision because of his pride though YAMAZA's documents were perfect without necessary to revise, so they sometimes changed for the worse. Therefore, YAMAZA made the plan to purposely put only one part to be revised by ITO in the document submitted to him and then to make it perfect by his revision.