Hayashi Gonsuke (diplomat)

Biography

His grandfather, also named Hayashi Gonsuke and known as Hayashi Yasusada, had been a prominent samurai commander supporting the Tokugawa shogunate during the Boshin War. Despite his age, he was granted a military rank and given a role in the defense of Aizuwakamatsu Castle during the Battle of Aizu. Following the defeat of the Aizu forces and the rise of the Meiji government, Hayashi and many other surviving members of the Aizu clan were forced to relocate to the newly formed Tonami Domain, located in what is now northern Aomori Prefecture. After some time in the north, he came to the notice of Kodama Sanefumi, a Satsuma Domain officer who had known his grandfather in Kyoto during the Kōbu gattai movement. Kodama brought Hayashi and his mother to live in Tokyo, but later died in the Satsuma Rebellion. He served as consul at the Japanese diplomatic posts in Chemulpo, Korea, and Shanghai, China, and later as secretary at the Japanese embassies in London and Beijing. While in China, he assisted Liang Qichao in fleeing to Japan after the Conservative Coup brought an end to the Hundred Days' Reform. For his efforts, Hayashi received the title of danshaku, or baron, in the kazoku peerage.