Tōgō was adamantly against war with the United States and the other western powers, which he felt was unwinnable, and together with Mamoru Shigemitsu, made unsuccessful last-ditch efforts to arrange for direct face-to-face negotiations between Prime Minister Fumimaro Konoe and US President Franklin Roosevelt in an attempt to stave off conflict.

The five Fujiwara families, Ichijō, Kujō, Nijō, Konoe and Takatsukasa, were the primary source of imperial brides from the 8th century to the 19th century, even more often than daughters of the imperial clan itself.

From the civilian side, Konoe Fumimaro or Hirota Koki were regarded as front-runners ; however the Army and the ultranationalists strongly supported General Ugaki Kazushige.

Influential editorial writers of Asahi such as Shintarō Ryū, Hiroo Sassa, and Hotsumi Ozaki ( an informant for the famous spy Richard Sorge ) were the center members of the Shōwa Kenkyūkai, which was a political think tank for Konoe.

And Sassa, a son of ultranationalistic politician Sassa Tomofusa, joined hands with far-right generals ( they were called Kōdōha or Imperial Way Faction ) and terrorists who had assassinated Junnosuke Inoue ( ex – Minister of Finance ), Baron Dan Takuma ( chairman of the board of directors of the Mitsui zaibatsu ) and Prime Minister Inukai Tsuyoshi to support Konoe.

In 12th Century, there were five families among the descendants of Yorimichi called Sekke: Konoe family, Kujō family, Ichijō family, Takatsukasa family and Nijō family.

Both the Konoe and Kujō family were descendants of Yorimichi, through Fujiwara no Tadamichi.

The other three families were derived from either the Konoe or Kujō families.

The primary sources such as the " Sugiyama memo ", and the diaries of Fumimaro Konoe and Koichi Kido, describe in detail the many informal meetings the Emperor had with his chiefs of staff and ministers.

Konoe Fusatsugu and Ichijō Kaneyoshi became the two primary contenders for this newly vacated position.

Konoe yielded to pressure and dispatched three divisions of troops, admonishing the military to be sure not to escalate the conflict.

Meanwhile, Konoe and the military pushed a National Mobilization Law through the Diet.

Konoe, stating that he was tired of being a " robot " for the military, resigned in January 1939, and was appointed chairman of the Privy Council.

At the close of this meeting, Konoe realized that he had lost the struggle with the military.

Konoe believed that only a member of the Imperial Family with a distinguished military background could restrain the pro-war faction led by Generals Hajime Sugiyama, Hideki Tōjō, and Akira Mutō ).

Matsuoka became a fervent supporter of the idea of a Japanese attack on Siberia, and constantly pressured Konoe and the leaders of the Imperial Japanese Army and Imperial Japanese Navy to mobilize the military for that purpose.

In the end, both the army and the navy as well as Konoe decided to concentrate military efforts on targets south of Japan.

Matsuoka's hostility towards the United States ( a vocal opponent of Japan's military campaigns ) alarmed Konoe, who wanted to avoid war with the United States.

Konoe and the military hierarchy colluded to get rid of Matsuoka.

During the 13th century, the Fujiwara northern house ( Hokke ) was split into the five regent houses: Konoe, Takatsukasa, Kujō, Nijō and Ichijō.

Prince Fumimaro Konoe was born into the ancient Fujiwara clan, and was the heir of the princely Konoe family in Tokyo.

Konoe asserted that the proposed League of Nations was designed to cement the hegemony of the victorious nations.

Once the conference was concluded, Konoe left the delegation and visited France and Germany, then England and the United States.

Konoe as a traveler was very taken with Western society.

Even though Saionji considered him brash and " ill-informed ," Konoe was considered his protégée by all parties, including Saionji himself.

Despite his outspokenness, Prince Konoe was destined to achieve the very heights of political life in Japan.

Prime Minister Konoe began to realize that he was in a very difficult predicament.

Konoe was not the only one to be frustrated ; the Army wanted a settlement so that it could transfer more troops to the north in order to be prepared for combat with the Soviet Union.

Konoe was awarded the 1st class of the Order of the Rising Sun in 1939.

Konoe was also discouraged over his failure to negotiate an end to the conflict in China, having broken off the Trautmann Mediation with Chiang.

On 23 June, Konoe resigned his position as Chairman of the Privy Council, and on 16 July 1940, the Yonai cabinet resigned and Konoe was appointed Prime Minister.

Konoe knew he was not acquiring a tame cabinet member, but he hoped that Matsuoka would be able to navigate the deeply complex international waters to Japan's advantage.

A meeting for negotiation between United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Konoe was proposed for Honolulu, to commence as early as May.

Konoe was elated by this development, and began to line up support for the idea of a summit conference in Hawaii.

Matsuoka was furious that Konoe had offered concessions behind his back.

Konoe was unable to wear him down, and was afraid of the Army's reaction if he overrode the Foreign Minister.

This was not expected by Konoe and the leadership group.

Konoe resigned, only to form a new government without Matsuoka as Foreign Minister.

Konoe and his allies had become convinced that if the Army would only agree, in principle, to an ultimate withdrawal from China, a negotiated settlement could be reached with the United States.

An earlier, influential concept was the geographically smaller version called New Order in East Asia ( 東亜新秩序 Tōa Shin Chitsujo ), which was announced by Prime Minister Fumimaro Konoe on 22 December 1938 and was limited to Northeast Asia only.

Saionji had recommended Konoe to Emperor Hirohito despite his hesitations, because he felt that the Prince might be able to keep the Imperial Japanese Army in check and protect the position of the Emperor.

He served in the same position under the subsequent first Fumimaro Konoe and Kiichirō Hiranuma administrations, through August 1939.

* Ninpei 3, on the 2nd day of the 1st month ( 1153 ): Konoe visited his father's home ; and in the same month Taira-no Tadamori, the head of the criminal tribunal, died ; and this position was soon filed by his son, Taira-no Kiyomori.

In 1940, Matsuoka was asked to assume the cabinet position of Minister of Foreign Affairs under Prime Minister Fumimaro Konoe.

* 1309 ( Enkyō 2, 2nd month ): Konoe Iehira is elevated to the position of sadaijin.