Count Yamada Akiyoshi (山田 顕義, November 18, 1844 – November 11, 1892) was a Japanese politician, samurai, and one of the early leaders of the Meiji Restoration. He served as Minister of Justice from 1885 to 1891. In his youth he was commonly known as Yamada Ichinojō; however, he changed his name frequently during the Bakumatsu period.
The following year, Yamada was appointed a sangi (councillor), and served as head of the Minister of Industry (1879–1880), Home Minister (1881–1883) and Minister of Justice under the first Itō, Kuroda, first Yamagata and Matsukata cabinets (1883–1891). In addition, he helped develop the modern Japanese legal code/ [2] During his visit to France as a member of the Iwakura Mission, he was convinced that the Napoleonic Code of "law takes precedence over the military", was necessary for Japan. He also helped establish both the Koten Kokyusho (present-day Kokugakuin University) and the Nihon Horitsu Gakko)(present-day Nihon University).
Yamada was elevated to count (hakushaku) in the kazoku peerage on July 7, 1884, and served as a member of the House of Peers (Japan) from its establishment in 1890. On January 28, 1892, he was appointed to a seat in the Privy Council but died in November of the same year at the age of 49, while inspecting the Ikuno Silver Mine in Asago, Hyōgo.[3] He was posthumously awarded the Order of the Paulownia Flowers. His grave is at the Buddhist temple of Gokoku-ji in Tokyo. He was posthumously promoted to the honorific title of Senior Second Court Rank.
Beasley, William G. (1990). The Rise of Modern Japan: Political, Economic and Social Change Since 1850. New York: St. Martin's Press. ISBN978-0-312-04078-9 (cloth)