Genrō

Common card · No. 462915

Genrō (元老; lit. 'original elder') was an unofficial designation given to a generation of elder Japanese statesmen and military officers, all born between the 1830s and 1850s, who served as informal extraconstitutional advisors to the emperor during the Meiji, Taishō, and early Shōwa eras of Japanese history. The institution of genrō originated with the traditional council of elders (Rōjū) common in the Edo period; however, the term genrō appears to have been coined by a newspaper only in 1892. The term is sometimes confused with the Genrōin (Chamber of Elders), a legislative body which existed from 1875–1890; however, the genrō were not related to the establishment of that body or its dissolution. Experienced leaders of the Meiji Restoration were singled out by the Emperor as genkun (元勲; lit. 'original merit'), and asked to act as Imperial advisors. With the exception of Saionji Kinmochi, all the genrō were from middle or lower ranking samurai families, four each from Satsuma and Chōshū...

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