Matsukata Masayoshi

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Junior First Rank Prince Matsukata Masayoshi
松方 正義
Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal
In office 2 May 1917 – 18 September 1922
Monarch	Taishō
Preceded by	Ōyama Iwao
Succeeded by	Hirata Tosuke
Prime Minister of Japan
In office 18 September 1896 – 12 January 1898
Monarch	Meiji
Preceded by	Kuroda Kiyotaka (Acting)
Succeeded by	Itō Hirobumi
In office 6 May 1891 – 8 August 1892
Monarch	Meiji
Preceded by	Yamagata Aritomo
Succeeded by	Itō Hirobumi
Personal details
Born	(1835-02-25)25 February 1835 Kagoshima, Satsuma Domain, Japan
Died	2 July 1924(1924-07-02) (aged 89) Tokyo, Japan
Political party	Independent
Spouse	Matsukata Masako (1845–1920)
Japanese name
Kanji	松方 正義
Hiragana	まつかた まさよし
Transcriptions Romanization Matsukata Masayoshi

Prince Matsukata Masayoshi (松方 正義, 25 February 1835 – 2 July 1924) was a Japanese politician who served as prime minister of Japan from 1891 to 1892, and from 1896 to 1898. He was a genrō, or senior statesman who dictated policy in the Meiji era. Born in the Satsuma Domain to a samurai family, Matsukata served as finance minister for 15 of the 20 years between 1881 to 1901, and had significant influence in the financial and economic articles of the Meiji Constitution of 1889. He was given the title of prince in 1922.