Fusamaro Tsugaru

Fusamaro Tsugaru (April 2, 1872 [February 25, Meiji 5] – April 5, 1919 [Taisho 8]) was a Japanese aristocrat and politician, holding the title of Earl. His family name was Konoe (Konoé).

**Biography**

**Early Life**

He was born in Tokyo as the second son of Tadamaro Konoe. His family belonged to the Tsugaru clan, and he was adopted by Tsugaru Morishige. After graduating from Gakushuin Junior High School, he traveled to Germany and completed high school in Bonn. Subsequently, he studied law, political science, and economics at the University of Bonn, Berlin University, and Geneva University, graduating from each institution.

**Activities After Returning to Japan**

He returned to Japan in 1904 and served as a professor at Waseda University and Gakushuin University. In October 1907, he traveled to Korea, working as an investigator for legal reform at the General Government Office and as a secretary in the Korean Imperial Household Office. In 1911, he became an official in the royal court, and later served as an investigator for foreign affairs at the Government-General of Korea. In 1914, he also served as a junior official in the Department of Divinities (Shikibu), and was appointed to the Imperial Palace Agency as a clerk in the Imperial Household Ministry.

**Political Career and Death**

He was appointed as a member of the House of Peers on July 10, 1918, but passed away suddenly the following year at the age of 48.

**Family Relations**

His wife was Tsugaru Teruko, a poet, who was the daughter of Tadakata Ogasawara, a former lord of the Ogasawara clan of Kokura. Both he and his wife wished to adopt his nephew Naozo Konoe, but this did not come to fruition. Instead, Tsugaru Yoshitaka, the second son of Tokugawa Yoshitaka of the Owari Tokugawa family, became the heir to the Tsugaru family.

**Lineage**

The Tsugaru clan traces its founding to Tsugaru Tamenobu, believed to be the son of Morishige Oura, and was developed into the ruling family of Hirosaki Domain. The Konoe family originated from Fujiwara Tadatsugu's descendant Konoe Motozumi, one of the five regent houses. His adoptive mother, Tsugaru Yukiko, was from the Konoe family and was his aunt.

**Relation to the Imperial Family**

He is a male-line descendant of Emperor Guillemo (Emperor Go-Yōzei) and is considered a descendant of the male lineage of Emperor Go-Yōzei's fourth son, Konoe Nobihiro, who succeeded the Konoe family.

**Honors**

He was awarded the Order of the Sacred Treasure, Fourth Class, on January 19, 1916.

**Related Topics**

**Hana Matsuri (Flower Festival)**

He is known as one of the initiators of the "Blumen Fest," held in Berlin in 1901. This festival is said to be the origin of word usage related to flowers.