Genrō

Itō Hirobumi, first of the genrō

Genrō (元老) was an unofficial designation given to certain retired elder Japanese statesmen, considered the "founding fathers" of modern Japan, who served as informal extraconstitutional advisors to the emperor, during the Meiji, Taishō and early Shōwa periods in Japanese history.

The institution of genrō originated with the traditional council of elders (Rōjū) common in the Edo period; however, the term genrō appears to have been coined by a newspaper only in 1892. The term is sometimes confused with the Genrōin (Chamber of Elders), a legislative body which existed from 1875–1890; however, the genrō were not related to the establishment of that body or its dissolution.

Experienced leaders of the Meiji Restoration were singled out by the Emperor as genkun, and asked to act as Imperial advisors. With the exception of Saionji Kinmochi, all the genrō were from medium or lower ranking samurai families, four each from Satsuma and Chōshū, the two former domains that had been instrumental in the overthrow of the former Tokugawa shogunate in the Boshin War of the Meiji Restoration of 1867-1868. The genrō had the right to select and nominate Prime Ministers to the Emperor for approval.

The first seven genrō were all formerly members of the Sangi (Imperial Council) which was abolished in 1885. They are also sometimes known to historians as the Meiji oligarchy, although not all of the Meiji oligarchs were genrō.

The institution expired in 1940, with the death of the last of the genrō, Saionji Kinmochi.

List of genrō

Saionji Kinmochi, last of the genrō

	Name	Origin	Birth	Death
1	Itō Hirobumi	Chōshū	16 October 1841	26 October 1909
2	Kuroda Kiyotaka	Satsuma	16 October 1840	23 August 1900
3	Ōyama Iwao	Satsuma	12 November 1842	10 December 1916
4	Inoue Kaoru	Chōshū	16 January 1836	1 September 1915
5	Saigō Tsugumichi	Satsuma	1 June 1843	18 July 1902
6	Matsukata Masayoshi	Satsuma	25 February 1835	2 July 1924
7	Yamagata Aritomo	Chōshū	14 June 1838	1 February 1922
8	Katsura Tarō	Chōshū	4 January 1848	10 October 1913
9	Saionji Kinmochi	Kuge	23 October 1849	24 November 1940