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Viscount extra=5 October 1836 – 26 October 1908 was a Japanese people samurai and admiral of the Tokugawa navy of Bakumatsu Japan, who remained faithful to the Tokugawa shogunate and fought against the new Meiji government until the end of the Boshin War. He later served in the Meiji government as one of the founders of the Imperial Japanese Navy.
At the age of 26, Enomoto was sent to the Netherlands to study western techniques in naval warfare and to procure western technologies. He stayed in Europe from 1862 to 1867, and became fluent in both the Dutch and English language languages.Akita, (1967) pp. 120–121
Enomoto returned to Japan on board the , a steam warship purchased from the Netherlands by the Shogunal government. During his stay in Europe, Enomoto had realized that the Telegraphy would be an important means of communication in the future, and started planning a system to connect Edo and Yokohama. Upon his return, Enomoto was promoted to 海軍副総裁, the second highest rank in the Tokugawa Navy, at the age of 31. He also received the court title of 和泉守.
Enomoto hoped to create an independent country under the rule of the Tokugawa family in Hokkaido, but the Meiji government refused to accept partition of Japan. On 27 January 1869, the Tokugawa loyalists declared the foundation of the Republic of Ezo and elected Enomoto as president.
The Meiji government forces engaged and defeated Enomoto's forces in the Naval Battle of Hakodate in May 1869. Following the Battle of Hakodate on 27 June 1869, the Republic of Ezo collapsed, and Hokkaido came under the rule of the central government headed by the Meiji Emperor.
In 1874, Enomoto was given the rank of vice-admiral in the fledgling Imperial Japanese Navy. The following year, he was sent to Imperial Russia as a special envoy to negotiate the Treaty of St. Petersburg. The successful conclusion of the treaty was very well received in Japan and further raised Enomoto's prestige within the ruling circles, and the fact that Enomoto had been chosen for such an important mission was seen as evidence of reconciliation between former foes in the government.Kamo p. 87
In 1880, Enomoto became 海軍卿. In 1885, his diplomatic skills were again called upon to assist Itō Hirobumi in concluding the Convention of Tientsin with Qing Dynasty. Afterwards, Enomoto held a series of high posts in the Japanese government. He was Japan's first Minister of Communications (1885–1888) after the introduction of the cabinet system in 1885. He was also Minister of Agriculture and Commerce from 1894 to 1897, Minister of Education from 1889 to 1890 and Foreign Minister from 1891 to 1892.Kamo p. 214
In 1887, Enomoto was ennobled to the rank of viscount under the kazoku peerage system, and was selected as a member of the Privy Council.
Enomoto was especially active in promoting Japanese emigration through settler colonies in the Pacific Ocean and South America and Central America. In 1891, he established—against the will of the cabinet of Matsukata Masayoshi—a "section for emigration" in the Foreign Ministry, with the task of encouraging emigration and finding new potential territories for Japanese settlement overseas. Two years later, after leaving the government, Enomoto also helped to establish a private organization, the "Colonial Association", to promote external trade and emigration.
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