# Hirata Tosuke

Count Hirata Tosuke (平田 東助, March 2, 1849 – April 14, 1925) was a Japanese statesman and the 7th Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal of Japan, active in the Meiji and Taishō period Empire of Japan.

## Biography

Hirata was born in the Yonezawa Domain, Dewa Province (currently Yamagata Prefecture) as the son of a local samurai. He was sent by the domain to Edo for studies, and subsequently fought in the Boshin War on the side of the Ōuetsu Reppan Dōmei. After the Meiji Restoration, was ordered by the domain to go to Tokyo and study at the Daigaku Nankō (predecessor of Tokyo Imperial University). After graduating, he was a student member of the Iwakura Mission of 1871 along with Makino Nobuaki. He later stayed in Germany to study at Heidelberg University (where he studied politics and international law) and Leipzig University (where he studied commercial law). He is the first Japanese with a doctorate degree.
Hirata returned to Japan in 1876 and served in a number of posts in the new Meiji government's Ministry of Finance, and later became Documentation Bureau Director of the Grand Council (Daijō-kan) and Legislation Bureau Director. In 1890, he was selected as a member of the House of Peers of the new Diet of Japan by Imperial command.
He successively held important posts including chief secretary of the Privy Council, director-general of the Legislation Bureau, Agriculture and Commerce Minister in the first Katsura cabinet, Home Minister in the second Katsura cabinet, provisionary Diplomatic Investigation Board member, and Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal of Japan.
Hirata was also very active in the movement of local agricultural reforms, an industrial cooperative program, and poverty relief projects, striving to protect the local country people against the inflationary economy after the Russo-Japanese War and World War I.

## Family tree

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Matsushita Uemon | Matsushita Uemon | Matsushita Uemon | Matsushita Uemon | Matsushita Uemon | Matsushita Uemon |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Yasuda Koichiro | Yasuda Koichiro | Yasuda Koichiro | Yasuda Koichiro | Yasuda Koichiro | Yasuda Koichiro | | | Toku Eda | Toku Eda | Toku Eda | Toku Eda | Toku Eda | Toku Eda | | | Mastsushita Kusunoki | Mastsushita Kusunoki | Mastsushita Kusunoki | Mastsushita Kusunoki | Mastsushita Kusunoki | Mastsushita Kusunoki | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Hirata Tosuke | Hirata Tosuke | Hirata Tosuke | Hirata Tosuke | Hirata Tosuke | Hirata Tosuke | Maeda Toshiaki | Maeda Toshiaki | Maeda Toshiaki | Maeda Toshiaki | Maeda Toshiaki | Maeda Toshiaki | Mitsui Takamine | Mitsui Takamine | Mitsui Takamine | Mitsui Takamine | Mitsui Takamine | Mitsui Takamine |
| Tetsujiro Nakao | Tetsujiro Nakao | Tetsujiro Nakao | Tetsujiro Nakao | Tetsujiro Nakao | Tetsujiro Nakao | Yasue | Yasue | Yasue | Yasue | Yasue | Yasue | Jun Iue | Jun Iue | Jun Iue | Jun Iue | Jun Iue | Jun Iue | Yurou Iue | Yurou Iue | Yurou Iue | Yurou Iue | Yurou Iue | Yurou Iue | Toshio Iue | Toshio Iue | Toshio Iue | Toshio Iue | Toshio Iue | Toshio Iue | | | Mumeno | Mumeno | Mumeno | Mumeno | Mumeno | Mumeno | | | Konosuke Matsushita | Konosuke Matsushita | Konosuke Matsushita | Konosuke Matsushita | Konosuke Matsushita | Konosuke Matsushita | | | | | Hirata Shodo | Hirata Shodo | Hirata Shodo | Hirata Shodo | Hirata Shodo | Hirata Shodo | Shizuko | Shizuko | Shizuko | Shizuko | Shizuko | Shizuko | Maeda Toshisada | Maeda Toshisada | Maeda Toshisada | Maeda Toshisada | Maeda Toshisada | Maeda Toshisada | Keiko | Keiko | Keiko | Keiko | Keiko | Keiko | Mitsui Hachirōemon | Mitsui Hachirōemon | Mitsui Hachirōemon | Mitsui Hachirōemon | Mitsui Hachirōemon | Mitsui Hachirōemon |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Satoshi Iue | Satoshi Iue | Satoshi Iue | Satoshi Iue | Satoshi Iue | Satoshi Iue | | | | | | | Matsushita Sachiko | Matsushita Sachiko | Matsushita Sachiko | Matsushita Sachiko | Matsushita Sachiko | Matsushita Sachiko | | | Masaharu Matsushita | Masaharu Matsushita | Masaharu Matsushita | Masaharu Matsushita | Masaharu Matsushita | Masaharu Matsushita | | | | | | | Hirata Katsumi | Hirata Katsumi | Hirata Katsumi | Hirata Katsumi | Hirata Katsumi | Hirata Katsumi | | | | | | | Nobuko | Nobuko | Nobuko | Nobuko | Nobuko | Nobuko | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Iue Toshimasa | Iue Toshimasa | Iue Toshimasa | Iue Toshimasa | Iue Toshimasa | Iue Toshimasa | | | | | | | Hiro Matsushita | Hiro Matsushita | Hiro Matsushita | Hiro Matsushita | Hiro Matsushita | Hiro Matsushita | | | Masayuki Matsushita (松下正幸) | Masayuki Matsushita (松下正幸) | Masayuki Matsushita (松下正幸) | Masayuki Matsushita (松下正幸) | Masayuki Matsushita (松下正幸) | Masayuki Matsushita (松下正幸) | Atsuko | Atsuko | Atsuko | Atsuko | Atsuko | Atsuko | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |