Sakurai Tsutomu (桜井勉)
Tsutomu SAKURAI (October 6, 1843 - October 12, 1931) was an administrative official in the Meiji period. He is said to be the founder of weather forecast in Japan.
Brief Personal History
He was born as the first son of Sekimon SAKURAI, a jukan (an official under Confucianism) of the Izushi Domain, at the Igi district of Izushi town (present Toyooka City, Hyogo Prefecture). He enrolled the Kodo College, a domain school, at the age of 8. Later, he studied under scholars such as Shoken HOTTA, Kinryo YOSHINO, and Goga DOI and refined his education.
He was in charge of the internal affairs at the new Meiji Government. When working as the head of the Geography Bureau at the Ministry of Home Affairs, he strove to set up the meteorological stations nationwide and laid the foundation of the weather observation network. Afterwards, he held various posts in a row, such as the Governor of Tokushima Prefecture, the Governor of Yamanashi Prefecture, and the Governor of Shinchiku Prefecture of Taiwan, and the chief of the Bureau of Shrines of the Ministry of Home Affairs, then retired from office in 1902.
After the retirement, he returned to Izushi, where he formed the foundation of studies on local history of the Tajima Province by writing 'Revised Tajima Study,' as well as contributed to the promotion of education.
Establishment of the meteorological stations
The establishment of the meteorological observatory (Tokyo Meteorological Observatory, present Japan Meteorological Agency) was proposed by the Kobusho (the Ministry of Industry) and realized by the Ministry of Home Affairs (Japan). Later, Sakurai, who was assigned to be the head of the Geography Bureau at the Ministry of Home Affairs, pursued the establishment of the weather observation network. The Meiji government, however, had no spare budget to establish the national network. Sakurai, therefore, appealed to prefectures to build the meteorological stations, and Hiroshima Prefecture started weather observation by setting up the Hiroshima Meteorological Station (present Hiroshima Local Meteorological Observatory) on January 1, 1879. Started by Hiroshima, the meteorological stations were built nationwide, and the weather observation network gradually developed.
In FY 1887, the 11 meteorological stations that had been set up by the Ministry of Home Affairs were transferred to local governments due to the reduction in the budget of the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Incidentally, due to the inefficiency caused by an overlap between the projects and concern over the maintenance of the observation stations under the restrained local budgets, the nationwide meteorological offices were nationalized on November 1, 1939.
Prefectural Reorganization
When the Minister of Home Affairs Toshimichi OKUBO drew up a draft of prefectural reorganization in 1876, Okubo consulted with Tsutomu SAKURAI, who was a high-rank official at the Ministry of Home Affairs and came from Tajima Province, about the consolidation of Toyooka Prefecture and Tottori Prefecture. Sakurai advised as follows: although Okubo's plan was authentic from a historical perspective, it would be better that Tottori Prefecture should be integrated with Shimane Prefecture while Toyooka Prefecture with Shikama Prefecture, because the transportation between the Tajima Province and the Inaba Province suffered inconvenience due to steep mountains. As Toshimichi OKUBO was planning to consolidate Shikama Prefecture, which was enriched with its products, with Hyogo Prefecture, which had a weak financial base at that time, he frowned at Sakurai's suggestion for the addition of Toyooka Prefecture to his Shikama consolidation plan, because the scale of the new prefecture could become too large. Sakurai then suggested the division of Toyooka Prefecture into two areas and its' incorporation; the Amata County, an area which had sat on Tango Province and Tanba Province to integrate to Kyoto Prefecture, and the Hikami and Taki Counties, which had sat on Tajima Province and Tanba Province to Hyogo Prefecture.
His second suggestion was accepted, and present Kyoto Prefecture and Hyogo Prefecture came into the world.
It is said that Tottori Prefecture was consolidated with Shimane Prefecture for a certain period (Tottori Prefecture was rearranged on September 12, 1881).