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Ministry of Public Works (Japan)

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Public Works HQ, 1875

The Ministry of Public Works (工部省, Kōbushō) was a cabinet-level ministry in the Daijō-kan system of government of the Meiji period Empire of Japan from 1870 to 1885. It is also sometimes referred to as the “Ministry of Engineering” or “Ministry of Industry”.

History

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The Cabinet officially decided to establish the Public Works (Kobu Sho) on December 12, 1870, by the advice of Edmund Morel, chief engineer of the Railway Department to achieve rapid social and industrial development.

Morel intended to found the Public Works which develop social and industrial infrastructure, while leading cabinet members wanted an engine to drive rapid industrialization. Through long arguments initiated by Hirobumi Ito and Yozo Yamao, on September 28, 1871, the Meiji government eventually formed the Public Works with 11 departments, which were mostly transferred from the Ministry of Civil Affairs (Minbu Sho)). It included railroads, shipyards, lighthouses, mines, an iron and steel industry, telecommunication, civil works, manufacturing, industrial promotion, engineering institution and survey. As the civil works and survey department were soon transferred to other ministries, the public works were oriented to industrial development with help of foreign advisors and engineers for a whole.[1]

The public works employed a large number of foreign officers, so called Oyatoi, and their high salaries got heavy burden for the government. They were gradually replaced by Japanese engineers who were produced by the Imperial College of Engineering.

Organization of Public Works, September 1871
Minister and Vice Ministers[2]
Name Kanji in office out of office
Minister (工部卿, Kōbu-kyō)
Itō Hirobumi 伊藤 博文 October 25, 1873 May 15, 1878
Inoue Kaoru 井上 馨 July 29, 1878 September 10, 1879
Yamada Akiyoshi 山田 顕義 September 10, 1879 February 28, 1880
Yamao Yōzō 山尾 庸三 February 28, 1880 October 21, 1881
Sasaki Takayuki 佐々木 高行 October 21, 1881 December 22, 1885
Vice-Minister (工部大輔, Kōbu-taifu)
Yamao Yōzō 山尾 庸三 October 27, 1872 February 28, 1880
Yoshii Tomozane 吉井 友実 June 17, 1880 January 10, 1882
Inoue Masaru 井上 勝 July 8, 1882 December 22, 1885

References

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  1. ^ Hideo Izumida: Reconsideration of Foundation of Ministry of Public Works, Transaction of Japan Institution of Architecture, 2016.
  2. ^ "太政官時代". Archived from the original on 2012-07-10. Retrieved 2019-04-07.