Itō Jūzō

Itō Jūzō (伊藤 十蔵) was a Japanese samurai of the Bakumatsu. He was the father of the first Prime Minister Itō Hirobumi. His original clan name (honsei) was Hayashi.

Career
Hayashi Jūzō (林 十蔵) was born in December 1817, in Tsukari, Suō Province (present-day Hikari, Yamaguchi Prefecture), the son of a farmer. In 1854, he and his family was adopted by Itō Naoemon (伊藤 直右衛門), an ashigaru of the Hagi Domain, and changed his surname to Itō. In 1855, he went to Kyoto with his family and served as an accountant for the Hagi Domain.

In 1864, after the Hagi Domain was defeated at the Kinmon incident, he returned to his hometown and joined Nan'Entai (南園隊) Militia.