Born as Katsura Kogoro in the feudal domain of Choshu (now Yamaguchi prefecutre), Kido Takayoshi (also read as Koin) was one of the "three pillars" of the Meiji Restoration (1867/68), the revolutionary event that brought down the Tokugawa Bakufu (together with Saigo Takamori and Okubo Toshimichi). After the mediation of Sakamoto Ryoma and Nakaoka Shintaro, Satsuma and Choshu had forged an alliance against the Tokugawa and triggered the collapse of the Bakufu after a short civil war in 1867/68.

Kido was one of the central figures in the new Meiji government after 1868, but he died early in 1877 after falling ill.


Statue of Kido Takayoshi (Katsura Kogoro) in Kyoto