Hayashi Yūzō

Who is Hayashi Yūzō?

Hayashi Yūzō was a politician and cabinet minister in the pre-war Empire of Japan.

Hayashi Yūzō was a native of Tosa Province, where his father, Iwamura Hidetoshi, was a samurai in the service of Tosa Domain. His elder brother was Iwamura Michitoshi and his younger brother was Iwamura Takatoshi, both of whom served in numerous posts within the Meiji government. He was adopted into the Hayashi family at an early age. During the Boshin War, he fought against the forces of the Tokugawa shogunate in Echigo Province. Following the Meiji Restoration, he worked with Itagaki Taisuke but was later arrested for attempted to raise an army in support of Saigō Takamori in the Satsuma Rebellion and imprisoned.

Following his release from prison, Hayashi rejoined Itagaki Taisuke and became a member of the Jiyūtō political party. He won a seat in the Lower House of the Diet of Japan in the 1890 General Election, and was subsequently reelected eight times to the same seat. In the 1st Ōkuma Shigenobu administration in 1898, Hayashi was appointed Minister of Communications. He rejoined the cabinet again in 1900 under the 4th Itō Hirobumi administration as Minister of Agriculture and Commerce. Hayashi retired from public life in 1908.