| Kuki Ryūichi | |
| Native Name: | 九鬼 隆一 くき りゅういち |
| Native Name Lang: | ja |
| Birth Date: | 12 September 1852 |
| Birth Place: | Sanda Domain, Settsu Province, Tokugawa shogunate |
| Death Place: | Kamakura Town, Kamakura District, Kanagawa, Empire of Japan |
| Alma Mater: | Keio Gijuku |
| Baron | |
| Office: | Privy Councilor |
| Office1: | Member of the House of Peers |
| Office2: | Member of the Genrōin |
was a Japanese politician and samurai. He is best known as the father of philosopher Kuki Shūzō.
Kuki was born Hoshizaki Sadajirō in Sanda Domain (present-day Sanda, Hyōgo Prefecture), the second son of Hoshizaki Sadamoto, a retainer of the Sanda Domain. After his mother died in 1860, he was adopted by Kuki Takahiro, the karō of Ayabe Domain, through the mediation of Kuki Takayoshi, the daimyo of Sanda. In 1866, he succeeded as the head of the Kuki family.[1]
In the early years of the Meiji period, after studying under Fukuzawa Yukichi, he took a post in the Japanese Ministry of Education, specializing in cultural policy. In 1884, he was appointed Japanese ambassador to the United States.
Complications in his career arose when his wife Hatsu had an affair with Okakura Kakuzō. He eventually returned to Japan where he continued to work in the Ministry of Education, and play a role as a patron of the arts.[2]
From the Japanese Wikipedia article