Motohiko Katori (1829〜1912), a confucian of the domain school of Meirinkan, became a brother-in-law of Shoin Yoshida and Genzui Kusaka by marriage and filled the place of Shoin Yoshida to teach at the Shokasonjuku academy.However, after he was appointed as a close official of Lord Takachika Mori, he cooperated with Takayoshi Kido, Ryoma Sakamoto and Takamori Saigo, and was actively engaged in overthrowing the Tokugawa shogunate.
Soon after the birth of the new Meiji Government, Motohiko became a central figure and played a leading part in the new government, but after a while he resigned his post in the government and returned to Yamaguchi.Later, he was designated as the first governor of Gunma prefecture, which was called a prefecture hard to govern, and made every effort as a local government official.Above all, he promoted the development of the silkworm-raising and silk reeling industry and also backed up the direct export of the products to Europe and America.He put stress on education, so the percentage of the juvenile’s school attendance rose up remarkably.As a result, Gunma prefecture came to be aleading “silkworm-raising prefecture” and “educational prefecture” in Japan.
In this exhibition, we’d like to verify the role which Motohiko played in the turbulent days of the last days of the Tokugawa shogunate and the Meiji period, taking into account his personal intercourses with various great persons around him.