Itō Sukeyuki and the leadership behind the Six-Six Fleet

Admiral Itō Sukeyuki is often absent from accounts of the Six-Six Fleet despite holding the navy's most powerful professional post. He was probably a genrō, one of the informal senior counsellors whose influence could extend beyond a listed cabinet office. In Meiji political culture, a powerful official's humble or innocuous public profile could coexist with a very large private shadow. His low profile in popular accounts may signal discreet influence rather than irrelevance. The episode uses that question to reconsider who shaped the plan.