ARISUGAWA, ii'ne-soo-gi'wa, the title of a noble Japanese family founded in the 17th century and prominent in civil and military affairs. This ancient family was founded by the seventh son of the Mikado Go-Yozei, dur ing his reign from 1587 to 1611. The mem bers of the family did not, however, attain much prominence until January 1868, when Arisugawa Taruhito (b. Kioto, 1835; d. 1886), who was the uncle of the Mikado, was ap pointed supreme administrator and commander in-chief of the army. It was at this time that the duarchv of Mikado and Shogun was abol ished and the present form of government established, with the Emperor Mutsuhito as dictator with undivided power. Upon taking office he at once reorganized the army to put down the rebellion in the north, led the im perial troops against the rebels, completely routing them and saving Yedo from destruc tion. After this he began military operations in the north, and by his skillful manoeuvres soon brought the rebels to terms and the war to a quick conclusion. The next year, in 1869, he
returned the sword of justice and the brocade banner, which he had received at the beginning of his campaign against the rebels, to the Em peror, thus signifying that he had brought the empire to a state of complete subjugation. In 1875 he became president of the senate, and again in 1877 was placed in command of the forces sent to suppress the Satsuma rebellion, under the leadership of Saigo Takamori. This was a long and severe test of his military ability, and his success, though won only after seven months of hard fighting and the sacrifice of 20,000 soldiers and $50,000,000, showed him to be a leader born of the highest order of military genius. For this great service the Emperor decorated Arisugawa with the Order of the Chrysanthemum and appointed him field-marshal and junior Prime Minister. A superb bronze equestrian statue of Arisugawa Taruhito on a lofty granite pedestal stands in Tokio.