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.

However, Fujiwara princes remained close advisors, regents and ministers to the emperors for centuries, even until the 20th century ( Prince Konoe and Morihiro Hosokawa ).

That left Konoe with the title of Prince, plenty of social standing but not much money, and plenty of room for a mentor / father-figure.

When later asked for clarifications, Konoe said he meant more than just non-recognition of Chiang's regime but " rejected it " and would " eradicate it ".,

But Prime Minister Konoe had a surprise for Matsuoka.

Konoe secured backing from the Navy and the Emperor for this move.

A Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers | SCAP coroner performing a postmortem on Konoe ( 17 December 1945 )

* Annotated bibliography for Fumimaro Konoe from the Alsos Digital Library for Nuclear Issues

Before the start of the Second World War, on 15 October 1941, outgoing Prime Minister Fumimaro Konoe proposed Prince Higashikuni to Emperor Hirohito as his successor for prime minister.

Konoe planned the Sphere in 1940 in an attempt to create a Great East Asia, comprising Japan, Manchukuo, China, and parts of Southeast Asia, that would, according to imperial propaganda, establish a new international order seeking " co prosperity " for Asian countries which would share prosperity and peace, free from Western colonialism and domination.

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.

famous for Konoe Fumimaro.

In 1711, the Fujiwara regent, Konoe Motohiro, arrived in Edo from Kyoto to be the mediator for talks between Shogun Ienobu and Emperor Nakamikado and his nobles ( in Kyoto ).

In 1155, Konoe died and a succession dispute arose for the imperial throne.

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.

During 1940 Prince Konoe proclaimed the Shintaisei ( New National Structure ), making Japan into an " advanced state of National Defense ", and the creation of the Tasei Yokusankai ( Imperial Authority Assistance Association ), for organizing a centralized " consensus state ".

Tojo later became War Minister and Prime Minister in the Konoe cabinet, Matsuoka Foreign Minister, and Hoshino chief of Project departments charged with establishing a new economic structure for Japan.

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

Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal ( 1940 ), he recommended to the Emperor that Fumimaro Konoe succeed Mitsumasa Yonai for a second term as Prime Minister of Japan.

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 replied that, of course, negotiations were primary, and the military option was only a fall-back position if negotiations failed.

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 ).

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.