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Kōyō Chinbutai
The was a special police force organized by the (military government) during Japan's Bakumatsu period (late Tokugawa shogunate) in 1863. It was active until 1869. It was founded to protect the shogunate representatives in Kyoto at a time when a controversial imperial edict to exclude foreign trade from Japan had been made and the Chōshū clan had been forced from the imperial court. They gained considerable fame in the Ikedaya incident and the August 18 coup events etc. The men were drawn from the sword schools of Edo. History Japan's forced opening to the west in 1854, which required it to open its shores for trade or face military conflict, exacerbated internal political instability. One long-standing line of political opinion was (meaning, "revere the emperor, expel the barbarians"). Loyalists (particularly in Chōshū Domain) in Kyoto began to rebel. In response, the Tokugawa shogunate formed the on October 19, 1862. The was a squad of 234 (samurai without m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kyoto
Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the city had a population of 1.46 million. The city is the cultural anchor of a substantially larger metropolitan area known as Greater Kyoto, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) home to a census-estimated 3.8 million people. Kyoto is one of the oldest municipalities in Japan, having been chosen in 794 as the new seat of Japan's imperial court by Emperor Kanmu. The original city, named Heian-kyō, was arranged in accordance with traditional Chinese feng shui following the model of the ancient Chinese capital of Chang'an/Luoyang. The emperors of Japan ruled from Kyoto in the following eleven centuries until 1869. It was the scene of several key events of the Muromachi period, Sengoku period, and the Boshin War, such as the Ōnin War, the Ho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of Shirakawa
A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force commitment. An engagement with only limited commitment between the forces and without decisive results is sometimes called a skirmish. The word "battle" can also be used infrequently to refer to an entire operational campaign, although this usage greatly diverges from its conventional or customary meaning. Generally, the word "battle" is used for such campaigns if referring to a protracted combat encounter in which either one or both of the combatants had the same methods, resources, and strategic objectives throughout the encounter. Some prominent examples of this would be the Battle of the Atlantic, Battle of Britain, and Battle of Stalingrad, all in World War II. Wars and military campaigns are guided by military strategy, whereas bat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bakumatsu Period
was the final years of the Edo period when the Tokugawa shogunate ended. Between 1853 and 1867, Japan ended its isolationist foreign policy known as and changed from a feudal Tokugawa shogunate to the modern empire of the Meiji government. The major ideological-political divide during this period was between the pro-imperial nationalists called and the shogunate forces, which included the elite swordsmen. Although these two groups were the most visible powers, many other factions attempted to use the chaos of to seize personal power.Hillsborough, ''page # needed'' Furthermore, there were two other main driving forces for dissent: first, growing resentment on the part of the (or outside lords), and second, growing anti-Western sentiment following the arrival of Matthew C. Perry. The first related to those lords whose predecessors had fought against Tokugawa forces at the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, after which they had been permanently excluded from all powerfu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bakufu
, officially , was the title of the military dictators of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, though during part of the Kamakura period, shoguns were themselves figureheads, with real power in hands of the Shikken of the Hōjō clan. The office of shogun was in practice hereditary, though over the course of the history of Japan several different clans held the position. The title was originally held by military commanders during Heian period in the eighth and ninth centuries. When Minamoto no Yoritomo gained political ascendency over Japan in 1185, the title was revived to regularize his position, making him the first shogun in the usually understood sense. The shogun's officials were collectively referred to as the ; they were the ones who carried out the actual duties of administration, while the Imperial court retained only nominal authority.Beasley, William G ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saitō Hajime
(born ; February 18, 1844 – September 28, 1915) was a Japanese samurai of the late Edo period, who most famously served as the captain of the third unit of the Shinsengumi. He was one of the few core members who survived the numerous wars of the Bakumatsu period. He was later known as and worked as a police officer in Tokyo during the Meiji Restoration where he was worked mostly undercover for them. Early years He was born in Edo, Musashi Province (now Tokyo).Itō, "Takada kinshin kara Tonami zaijūroku," p. 145 Very little is known about his early life. He was born to , an ''ashigaru'' of the Akashi Domain, who had bought the rank of ''gokenin'' (a low-ranking retainer directly serving the Tokugawa shogunate, Tokugawa shōgun), and his wife . He had an older brother named Hiroaki and an older sister named Katsu. According to the published records of his family, Saitō left Edo in 1862, after accidentally killing a ''hatamoto''.Itō, "Shinsengumi kessei made," p. 40. He we ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hijikata Toshizō
was a Japanese warrior. As of the ''Shinsengumi'', he resisted the Meiji Restoration and fought to his end. Background was born on May 31, 1835, in the Ishida village, Tama region of Musashi Province (present day Ishida, Hino, Tokyo), Japan. He was the youngest of ten children and his father Hijikata Yoshiatsu (Hayato), a well-to-do farmer, died a few months before his birth. His eldest brother Tamejiro, was born blind and as a result, could not inherit the family property. His third older brother Daisaku (later Kasuya Ryojin), was adopted to another family and would later become a physician. His eldest sister Shuu died when he was about three years old and his mother Etsu also died when he was six years old, and he was therefore raised by his second older brother Kiroku and sister-in-law. He was apparently tall compared to the average Japanese men of the period, and it is said that he was very handsome. He was said to be spoiled at an early age and was alleged to be mean ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kondō Isami
was a Japanese swordsman and official of the late Edo period. He was the fourth generation master of Tennen Rishin-ryū and was famed for his role as commander of the Shinsengumi. Background He was born Miyagawa Katsugorō to a farmer Miyagawa Hisajirō and his wife Miyo in Kami-Ishihara village in Musashi Province (present city of Chōfu, Tokyo, Chōfu) in Western Tokyo on November 9, 1834. He had two older brothers, Otojirō (音次郎; later known as Otogorō 音五郎) and Kumezō (粂蔵; later known as Sōbei 惣兵衛) and an older sister Rie (リエ), who died two years before he was born. Katsugorō began training at the Shieikan (the main dojo of the Tennen Rishin-ryū) in 1848. As a young man he was said to be an avid reader, and especially liked the stories of the ''Forty-seven rōnin'' and the ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms''. His renown as a scholar and his fame at having defeated a group of thieves who tried to break into his family home was great, and caught ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Serizawa Kamo
Serizawa Kamo (芹沢 鴨; September 2, 1826 – October 30, 1863) was a samurai known for being the original lead commander of the Shinsengumi. He trained in and received a licence in the Shindō Munen-ryū. "Kamo" means goose or duck in Japanese which was an odd name to call oneself at the time. His full name was ''Serizawa Kamo Taira no Mitsumoto''. Background The Serizawa family were upper-seat Goshi rank samurai in Serizawa village in Mito which is now the capital of Ibaraki Prefecture in Japan. Kamo was born as the youngest son and his childhood name was Genta. He had two older brothers and an older sister. He was educated with the Sonnō jōi ideals (meaning revere the Tenno (emperor) and expel the foreigners) and swordsmanship since childhood at Kodoukan which was a state school in Mito. Mito is a sub-branch of the Tokugawa family and it was considered the motherland of the Sonnō Jōi ideology and was a center of support for the Tennō and the Imperial court, which helped ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of Hakodate
The was fought in Japan from December 4, 1868 to June 27, 1869, between the remnants of the Tokugawa shogunate army, consolidated into the armed forces of the rebel Ezo Republic, and the armies of the newly formed Imperial government (composed mainly of forces of the Chōshū and the Satsuma domains). It was the last stage of the Boshin War, and occurred around Hakodate in the northern Japanese island of Hokkaidō. In Japanese, it is also known as the According to the Japanese calendar, the Battle of Hakodate was fought from Meiji-1 year (''gannen''), 10-month, 21-day until Meiji-2 year, 5-month 18-day. Background The Boshin War erupted in 1868 between troops favorable to the restoration of political authority to the Emperor and the government of the Tokugawa shogunate. The Meiji government defeated the forces of the Shōgun at the Battle of Toba–Fushimi and subsequently occupied the Shōgun's capital at Edo. Enomoto Takeaki, vice-commander of the Shogunate Navy, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of Futamata
A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force commitment. An engagement with only limited commitment between the forces and without decisive results is sometimes called a skirmish. The word "battle" can also be used infrequently to refer to an entire operational campaign, although this usage greatly diverges from its conventional or customary meaning. Generally, the word "battle" is used for such campaigns if referring to a protracted combat encounter in which either one or both of the combatants had the same methods, resources, and strategic objectives throughout the encounter. Some prominent examples of this would be the Battle of the Atlantic, Battle of Britain, and Battle of Stalingrad, all in World War II. Wars and military campaigns are guided by military strategy, whereas bat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
