The was a
special police
Special police usually describes a police force or unit within a police force whose duties and responsibilities are significantly different from other forces in the same country or from other police in the same force, although there is no consiste ...
force created by 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 ...
during the late
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 govern ...
to restore public order to
Kyoto
Kyoto (; Japanese language, 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, Keihanshin metropolitan area along wi ...
.
History
In the unsettled period after to ending of the
national isolation policy, the political situation in Japan became increasingly chaotic. Anti-government and anti-foreign
rōnin
A ''rōnin'' ( ; ja, 浪人, , meaning 'drifter' or 'wanderer') was a samurai without a lord or master during the feudal period of Japan (1185–1868). A samurai became masterless upon the death of his master or after the loss of his master ...
congregated on the old imperial capital of Kyoto, and many of the ''
daimyō
were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and nominal ...
s'' from the western
feudal domains also established residences in Kyoto in an attempt to exert influence on the
Imperial Court to pressure the shogunate towards the ''
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 ...
'' movement ("Revere the Emperor, Expel the Barbarians") against the foreign powers.
Establishment
In 1864, the ''
Kyoto Shugoshoku
The was a Japanese bureaucratic office of the Tokugawa shogunate from 1862 through 1868.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Kyōto-shugoshoku''" in ; n.b., Louis-Frédéric is pseudonym of Louis-Frédéric Nussbaum, ''see'Deutsche Nationalbibl ...
''
Matsudaira Katamori
Matsudaira Katamori after the Meiji restoration
was a samurai who lived in Bakumatsu period and the early to mid Meiji period Japan. He was the 9th ''daimyō'' of the Aizu Domain and the Kyoto Shugoshoku (Military Commissioner of Kyoto). He i ...
authorized the establishment of a militia of approximately 200
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 ...
formed into two companies under the command of Maita Hirotaka and Matsudaira Yasutada to restore public order to Kyoto. The two companies took their names from the courtesy titles of their commanders: the ''Sagami-no-kami-gumi'' and the ''Izumo-no-kami-gumi''. The headquarters for the force was
Nijō Castle
is a flatland castle in Kyoto, Japan. The castle consists of two concentric rings ( Kuruwa) of fortifications, the Ninomaru Palace, the ruins of the Honmaru Palace, various support buildings and several gardens. The surface area of the castle is ...
in Kyoto.
The purpose of the Mimawarigumi was very similar to that of much more famous ''
Shinsengumi
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 wh ...
.''
The Mimawarigumi was composed entirely of higher-ranking ''samurai'' and sons of ''
hatamoto
A was a high ranking samurai in the direct service of the Tokugawa shogunate of feudal Japan. While all three of the shogunates in Japanese history had official retainers, in the two preceding ones, they were referred to as '' gokenin.'' Howev ...
-''class retainers, all of whom were direct retainers to the Tokugawa Shogunate, predominantly through the
Hoshina-Matsudaira clan of the
Aizu domain, as opposed to the ''rōnin''-based ''Shinsengumi''.
[Jansen, Marius. (1994). ] Indicative of this difference in status, the Mimawarigumi was assigned primarily to protect the
Kyoto Imperial Palace
The is the former palace of the Emperor of Japan. Since the Meiji Restoration in 1869, the Emperors have resided at the Tokyo Imperial Palace, while the preservation of the Kyoto Imperial Palace was ordered in 1877. Today, the grounds are open t ...
and area around Nijo Castle, whereas the Shinsengumi was assigned to the
Gion
is a district of Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto, Japan, originating as an entertainment district in the Sengoku period, in front of Yasaka Shrine (Gion Shrine). The district was built to accommodate the needs of travellers and visitors to the shrine. ...
entertainment district and areas of the commoners and shopkeepers.
Boshin War
On January 1868, the Mimawarigumi moved to
Osaka
is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...
and stationed at Honkakuji Temple. On January 8, 1868, the Mimawarigumi was renamed to Shin Yūgekitai (新遊撃隊), but later on January 19, only to rename back to Mimawarigumi.
In the
Battle of Toba-Fushimi
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 ...
of the
Boshin War, they engaged with the
Satsuma Domain forces at the Toba Highway. However they were not equipped with firearms, struggled and retreated with other Shogunate forces. Later, They engaged in a battle near Hashimoto. However during the battle,
Sasaki Tadasaburō, who was the leader of the unit, was fatally injured and died a few days later. The Mimawarigumi retreated back to Osaka to regroup with other Shogunate forces by January 31, 1868.
Disbandment
However in the evening,
Tokugawa Yoshinobu, accompanied by the ''daimyōs'' of
Aizu and
Kuwana, slipped away from
Osaka Castle
is a Japanese castle in Chūō-ku, Osaka, Japan. The castle is one of Japan's most famous landmarks and it played a major role in the unification of Japan during the sixteenth century of the Azuchi-Momoyama period.
Layout
The main tower ...
and headed to
Edo. When the remnants of the forces learned that the Shōgun had abandoned them, they departed as well. The Mimawarigumi first moved to
Kishū by foot, and sailed back to Edo, where they were tasked to defend the
Edo Castle.
On April 10, 1868, the Mimawarigumi was renamed to Sogekitai (狙撃隊), but on the following day the Tokugawa surrendered to the new Meiji government. In June, the Meiji government decided to move the Tokugawa family to the
Sunpu Castle
was a Japanese castle in Shizuoka City, Shizuoka Prefecture in Japan. The sobriquet of this feudal fortress was the "Castle of the Floating Isle".Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS)Shizuoka It was also referred to as or .
His ...
in Suruga (present day
Shizuoka
Shizuoka can refer to:
* Shizuoka Prefecture, a Japanese prefecture
* Shizuoka (city), the capital city of Shizuoka Prefecture
* Shizuoka Airport
* Shizuoka Domain, the name from 1868 to 1871 for Sunpu Domain, a predecessor of Shizuoka Prefecture
...
). However, many of the Sogekitai members were not allowed to move to Suruga, and the unit was disbanded. Even after their unit's disbandment,
Imai Noburō and others would continue to fight alongside the Shogunate remnants of the forces against the
Imperial Army. They eventually surrendered by the end of the
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 ...
, the last battle of the Boshin War.
In 1870 Imai Noburō, a former member of the Mimawarigumi confessed to a Military Judiciary Panel that he and other Mimawarigumi members, including Sasaki Tadasaburō had assassinated
Sakamoto Ryōma
was a Japanese ''samurai'', a '' shishi'' and influential figure of the ''Bakumatsu'' and establishment of the Empire of Japan in the late Edo period.
He was a low-ranking ''samurai'' from the Tosa Domain on Shikoku and became an active oppo ...
in 1867, although the veracity of his confession remains a matter of historical debate.
Notes
References
* Hillsborough, Romulus. ''Shinsengumi: The Shogun's Last Samurai Corps'', Tuttle Publishing (2005) {{ISBN, 0-8048-3627-2
*
Jansen, Marius B. (1961). ''Sakamoto Ryoma and the Meiji Restoration.'' Princeton: Princeton University Press
OCLC 413111
Japanese warriors
Meiji Restoration
Law enforcement in Japan