was a multi-year event in Japanese history of the

Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional ''daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was character ...

between 1858 and 1860, during which the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in ...

imprisoned, executed, or exiled those who did not support its authority and foreign trade policies. The purge was undertaken by

Ii Naosuke was '' daimyō'' of Hikone (1850–1860) and also Tairō of the Tokugawa shogunate, Japan, a position he held from April 23, 1858, until his death, assassinated in the Sakuradamon Incident on March 24, 1860. He is most famous for signing th ...

in opposition to Imperial Loyalists.

History

The Ansei Purge was ordered by

on behalf of the

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 ...

faction.Cullen, Louis. (2003). ''A History of Japan, 1582–1941: Internal and External Worlds'', pp. 184–188. He was the Senior Minister during the period preceding the

Meiji Restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were r ...

and was part of the '' kōbu gattai'', the movement opposed by the Revere the Emperor, Expel the Foreigner (''

sonnō jōi was a '' yojijukugo'' (four-character compound) phrase used as the rallying cry and slogan of a political movement in Japan in the 1850s and 1860s during the Bakumatsu period. Based on Neo-Confucianism and Japanese nativism, the movement soug ...

'') faction. The purge was carried out in an effort to quell opposition to trade treaties with the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

and the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, particularly under the U.S. - Japan Treaty of Amity and Commerce. It involved the removal from power all opposition by way of imprisonment, torture or exile, and execution. The crackdown also targeted those who opposed the succession of Tokugawa Iesada and the ''kōbu gattai'' or the policy that attempted to unite the imperial court and the

shogunate , 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 Kamakur ...

. Some of the victims included the ''sonno joi'', the group who opposed Naosuke's appointment of

Tokugawa Iemochi (July 17, 1846 – August 29, 1866) was the 14th ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan, who held office from 1858 to 1866. During his reign there was much internal turmoil as a result of the "re-opening" of Japan to western nations. ...

over Hitotsubashi Keiki, the candidate of the Mitō clan, which was one of the three branches of the Tokugawa family. Japan descended into chaos after the purge. Elements seeking revenge, particularly radicals from Choshu and sympathizers of the victims launched widespread terrorism. Naosuke was also assassinated by a band of samurai and ronin from Mito. Those who were victimized by the purge reemerged in national politics such as Hitotsubashi Keikei and Matsudaira Shungaku. Attacks against Westerners also increased.

Victims

Over 100 influential people were victims of the purge. Men were forced out of positions within the Bakufu, or from han leadership or from the

Imperial Court in Kyoto The Imperial Court in Kyoto was the nominal ruling government of Japan from 794 AD until the Meiji period (1868–1912), after which the court was moved from Kyoto (formerly Heian-kyō) to Tokyo (formerly Edo) and integrated into the Meiji go ...

. Victims of the purge included the following: ;Death Penalty * Yoshida Shōin * Hashimoto Sanai ;Permanent house arrest * Mito Nariaki * Nagai Naoyuki *

Prince Kuni Asahiko was a member of a collateral line of the Japanese imperial family who played a key role in the Meiji Restoration. Prince Asahiko was an adopted son of Emperor Ninkō and later a close advisor to Emperor Kōmei and Emperor Meiji. He was the g ...

;House arrest * Hitotsubashi Yoshinobu *

Tokugawa Yoshikatsu was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the late Edo period, who ruled the Owari Domain as its 14th (1849–1858) and 17th daimyō (1870–1880). He was the brother of Matsudaira Katamori. His childhood name was Hidenosuke (秀之助). Early years Yoshik ...

Matsudaira Shungaku , also known as Matsudaira Keiei,Beasley, William G. (1955). ''Select Documents on Japanese Foreign Policy, 1853–1868'', p. 335. or better known as Matsudaira Shungaku (春嶽) was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the Edo period. He was head of the ...

* Date MunenariShiba, Ryōtarō and Eileen Katō. (2001). ''Drunk as a lord: samurai stories,'' p. 227. * Yamauchi Yōdō * Hotta Masayoshi

Timeline

* 1858 (''Ansei 5''): Beginning of the Ansei Purge * 1859 (''Ansei 6''): Arrests and investigations continuing. SakuradaGate2

* March 24, 1860 (''Ansei 7, 3rd day of the 3rd month'') NengoCalc
安政七年三月三日 -->: Ii Naosuke was assassinated at the Sakurada Gate of Edo Castle. This is also known as the " Sakurada-mon Incident"Cullen, p. 184.

References

External links

* National Diet Library
photograph of Sakurada-mon (1900)
{{Authority control Bakumatsu Japanese historical terms Political and cultural purges 1858 in Japan 1859 in Japan

History

Victims

Timeline

References

Further reading

External links