was a Japanese statesman during the early

Meiji period The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization ...

, remembered chiefly for his role in the unsuccessful

Saga Rebellion The was an 1874 uprising in Kyūshū against the new Meiji government of Japan.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Saga no ran" in . It was led by Etō Shinpei and Shima Yoshitake in their native domain of Hizen. Background Following the 1868 ...

Early life and Meiji bureaucrat

Etō was born into a crestless and poor

samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They h ...

family in Yae (modern-day

Saga is a series of science fantasy role-playing video games by Square Enix. The series originated on the Game Boy in 1989 as the creation of Akitoshi Kawazu at Square (video game company), Square. It has since continued across multiple platforms, ...

), in Hizen Province (present-day Prefectures of Saga and

Nagasaki is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. It became the sole port used for trade with the Portuguese and Dutch during the 16th through 19th centuries. The Hidden Christian Sites in the ...

), on the island of

Kyushu is the third-largest island of Japan's five main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands ( i.e. excluding Okinawa). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regional name referred to Kyushu and its surroun ...

. He lived near the house of Sagara Chian (Tomoyasu) who also played an influential role in Meiji Japan. In 1848 Etō entered the school of the Nabeshima Clan and soon drew attention as a gifted young man, but after his father lost his employment, he continued his studies in a private school run by Edayoshi Shinyō, an ardent adherent of National Studies (''

Kokugaku ''Kokugaku'' ( ja, 國學, label=Kyūjitai, ja, 国学, label=Shinjitai; literally "national study") was an academic movement, a school of Japanese philology and philosophy originating during the Tokugawa period. Kokugaku scholars worked to refo ...

''). Together with other ambitious young samurai such as

Ōkuma Shigenobu Marquess was a Japanese statesman and a prominent member of the Meiji oligarchy. He served as Prime Minister of the Empire of Japan in 1898 and from 1914 to 1916. Ōkuma was also an early advocate of Western science and culture in Japan, and ...

Soejima Taneomi Count was a diplomat and statesman during early Meiji period Japan. Life and career Soejima was born into a ''samurai'' family in Saga, in Hizen Province (present-day Saga Prefecture). His father was a teacher in the domain's school and a schol ...

Ōki Takatō , was a Japanese statesman during the early Meiji period. He was Governor of Tokyo in 1868 and a member of the Japanese Privy Council in 1889.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Ōki Takatō" in . Biography Ōki was born into a ''samurai' ...

Shima Yoshitake was a samurai from Saga domain. He later became a chamberlain and later a governor for Akita Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Provinces and prefectures" in ; " ...

, Etō joined the ''Gizai-dōmei'' ("Ceremonial League") established by Edayoshi in 1850. Three years later he wrote a paper (''Tokaisaku''), in which he propagated the opening of Japan and a series of plans to gain economic and military strength. After his marriage (1857) he worked for the Saga domain. During the

Boshin War The , sometimes known as the Japanese Revolution or Japanese Civil War, was a civil war in Japan fought from 1868 to 1869 between forces of the ruling Tokugawa shogunate and a clique seeking to seize political power in the name of the Imperi ...

to overthrow the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tokugawa-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia ...

, he served as a general in the imperial army. After 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 ...

, Etō was appointed to a number of posts, including that of Minister of Justice in 1872, and was responsible for drafting Japan's first modern

penal code A criminal code (or penal code) is a document that compiles all, or a significant amount of a particular jurisdiction's criminal law. Typically a criminal code will contain offences that are recognised in the jurisdiction, penalties that might ...

the ''(Kaitei Ritsurei).'' In 1873, he became a ''sangi'' (Councilor) in the

Daijō-kan The , also known as the Great Council of State, was (i) (''Daijō-kan'') the highest organ of Japan's premodern Imperial government under the Ritsuryō legal system during and after the Nara period or (ii) (''Dajō-kan'') the highest organ of Jap ...

, but resigned the same year, after the ''

Seikanron The ''Seikanron'' ( ja, 征韓論; ko, 정한론; ) was a major political debate in Japan during 1873 regarding a punitive expedition against Korea. The ''Seikanron'' split the Meiji government and the restoration coalition that had been establ ...

'' proposal made by

Saigō Takamori was a Japanese samurai and nobleman. He was one of the most influential samurai in Japanese history and one of the three great nobles who led the Meiji Restoration. Living during the late Edo and early Meiji periods, he later led the Satsum ...

to invade

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

was rejected.

Anti-government agitator and rebel

After resigning from the government, Etō returned home to his native Saga, and gathered together a group of disaffected former ''samurai'' who were unhappy with the current regime. He formed the ''

Aikoku Kōtō The was a political party in Meiji-period Japan. The ''Aikoku Kōtō'' was formed in January 1874 by Itagaki Taisuke, Etō Shinpei, Gotō Shōjirō and others as part of the Freedom and People's Rights Movement. Its purpose was to petition the Me ...

'' political party which criticized the government and called for the formation of a national assembly. Receiving little support, he then resorted to armed insurrection (the

), gathering some 3000 followers, attacking a local bank for funds, and capturing government offices. The revolt was quickly suppressed by government forces under Ōkubo Toshimichi, and Etō, along with 13 other ringleaders, was executed. Then their heads were displayed in public. It was the ultimate sanction in Japan.

Reference and further reading

* Duus, Peter. ''The Abacus and the Sword: The Japanese Penetration of Korea, 1895–1910 (Twentieth-Century Japan - the Emergence of a World Power, 4).'' University of California Press (1998). . * Hane, Mikiso. ''Modern Japan: A Historical Survey''. Westview Press (2001). * Harries, Meirion. ''Soldiers of the Sun: The Rise and Fall of the Imperial Japanese Army''. Random House; Reprint edition (1994). * Najita, Tetsuo. ''Japan: The Intellectual Foundations of Modern Japanese Politics''. University Of Chicago Press (1980). * Ryōtarō Shiba 1971 ''Saigetsu'' (

Kodansha is a Japanese privately-held publishing company headquartered in Bunkyō, Tokyo. Kodansha is the largest Japanese publishing company, and it produces the manga magazines ''Nakayoshi'', ''Afternoon'', ''Evening'', ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' an ...

External links

Source material kept by the Saga Prefecture Library

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eto, Shimpei 1834 births 1874 deaths Meiji Restoration People from Saga (city) People of Meiji-period Japan Nabeshima retainers Aikoku Kōtō politicians People executed by Japan by decapitation

Early life and Meiji bureaucrat

Anti-government agitator and rebel

See also

Reference and further reading

External links