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Toshimichi Okubo[tO´´shEmE´chE O´kOObO] Pronunciation Key, 1830–78, Japanese statesman. A major figure in the Meiji restoration, he was influential in introducing Western ideas to Japan. He supported the emperor against the shogun and worked to eliminate feudalism. A powerful figure in the new government, he put down (1873) the party favoring war with Korea. In 1874 he became home minister and sponsored a military expedition to Taiwan. After the Satsuma rebellion of 1877 (see Saigo, Takamori), in which he took the government side, he was assassinated, presumably by a fellow clansman of Satsuma.
See biography by M. Iwata (1964).
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