Materials Related to Okubo Toshimichi

The Papers of a Meiji Founder

The Materials Related to Okubo Toshimichi (大久保利通関係資料) are 3,053 historical items from the Edo and Meiji periods kept at the National Museum of Japanese History in Sakura City, Chiba Prefecture, which in 2004 were designated an Important Cultural Property.

The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes them as a group of records for understanding the political thought and career of Okubo Toshimichi (1830 to 1878), who was at the centre of late Edo and Restoration politics and led the new government in building the Meiji state. They belong to the National Institutes for the Humanities.

They break down into 2,620 letters, 231 documents and records, 128 pieces of calligraphy and 74 personal effects. On the same day, a further 1,650 items owned by Kagoshima Prefecture and kept at the Reimeikan were designated under the same name.

What the Collection Holds

The letters reflect Okubo's position. The Agency lists correspondents including Sanjo Sanetomi, Iwakura Tomomi, Kido Takayoshi, Ito Hirobumi, Yamagata Aritomo, Okuma Shigenobu, Eto Shinpei and Katsu Kaishu, and from Satsuma, Saigo Takamori, Terashima Munenori, Matsukata Masayoshi and Komatsu Tatewaki.

On 14 May 1878 Okubo was assassinated at Kioicho in Tokyo by Shimada Ichiro and other former samurai from Ishikawa. A letter from Kusumoto Masataka, governor of Tokyo, that he was carrying that day is in the collection, stained with blood.

The documents include diaries and policy papers. Six diary volumes survive, covering December 1859 to March 1877 with gaps. The papers include a plan for settling the Namamugi Incident, a memorandum to Sanjo and Iwakura on the treatment of the Tokugawa house after the surrender of Edo Castle, and proposals for industrial development such as the Asaka Canal.

Among the calligraphy and personal effects are hanging scrolls and framed writing, brushes, an inkstone, a pipe, go stones, a candlestick, a soap case and a toothbrush, along with seals reading Koto, his pen name, and Home Minister Okubo Toshimichi.

Why It Is an Important Cultural Property

The Agency ranks the Materials Related to Okubo Toshimichi with the Sakamoto Ryoma materials (designated 1999) and the Iwakura Tomomi materials (designated 2000) as basic sources for the political history of the late Edo and Restoration years.

The museum's holding and Kagoshima's both came down through the Okubo family. When the family house at Shiba Nihonenoki in Tokyo burned in 1889, these papers were carried out, and scorch marks remain on some letters. The Agency says it designated the two groups together in view of that shared history.

The family recognised their value early, publishing the diaries and Okubo's own letters between 1927 and 1930; letters addressed to him followed in five volumes between 1965 and 1971.

What to Look For

In front of the originals, start with the senders. Letters in the hands of Saigo, Kido and other leaders of the day are gathered here as mail to one man.

The Kusumoto letter ties the collection directly to Okubo's death. The diaries, by contrast, record weather and events in a flat, even tone, which the Agency reads as a sign of his composure. The toothbrush and soap case bring the statesman down to daily life.

Visiting the National Museum of Japanese History

The museum once showed about 160 items from the collection in a special exhibition, Okubo Toshimichi and His Times. No official information was found on permanent display, so check the exhibition schedule before visiting.

The museum opens 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. from March to September and 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. from October to February, with last entry 30 minutes before closing. It closes on Mondays (or the next weekday after a holiday) and over the New Year. Admission is 900 yen for adults and 500 yen for university students, free for high school age and under; special exhibitions are priced separately.

From Keisei Ueno, a limited express on the Keisei Main Line reaches Keisei Sakura in about 55 minutes, then it is about 15 minutes on foot or 5 minutes by bus. From Tokyo Station, a rapid train on the JR Sobu Line reaches Sakura in about 60 minutes, then about 15 minutes by bus. Parking is free.