Marquess Inoue Kaoru was a Japanese politician and a prominent member of the Meiji oligarchy during the Meiji period of the Empire of Japan. As one of the senior statesmen (Genrō) in Japan during that period, he had a tremendous influence on the selection of the nation's leaders and formation of its policies.

The Meiji oligarchy was the new ruling class of Meiji period Japan. In Japanese, the Meiji oligarchy is called the domain clique .