Ote club (大手倶楽部)

Ote club was a political association during the mid-Meiji Period (October 20, 1894 - February 24, 1896).

As a political truce was called due to the Sino-Japanese war that started during the 4th general elections for the House of Representatives, a move was made to restore the Dainihon Kyoukai (a political association) that had been disbanded by the Second Ito cabinet the previous year. It was formed by Kanichi OTAKE and Ritaro UEDA, both former members of Dainihon Kyokai and independent Diet members, who then recruited Tadaharu SUEYOSHI and others who were non-partisan, independent Diet members and who sympathized with the hard-line foreign policies. Ote club announced its participation to the hard-line six parties, which made the hard-line six parties win a majority in the House of Representatives.

During the Sino-Japanese War, it backed political ceasefire and agreed with spending the extra military expenditures, but it took a more clearly adversarial stand against the government, criticizing the signing of the Anglo-Japanese Treaty of Commerce and Navigation and the accepting of the Triple Intervention after the end of the war. They were dissolved in February of 1896 in response to their plan to form a new party to compete wih the Liberal Party (Meiji), and it's Diet members joined the formation of the Progressive Party (Meiji) on March 1 of the same year.

[Original Japanese]