The was a group of Japanese political extremists formed in 1868 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 ...

History

Formation

During the

, the Sekihōtai was formed on February 1, 1868 at Kongōrin-ji temple in Matsuoji, Ōmi Province with the support of

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 ...

and

Iwakura Tomomi was a Japanese statesman during the Bakumatsu and Meiji period. He was one of the leading figures of the Meiji Restoration, which saw Japan's transition from feudalism to modernity. Born to a noble family, he was adopted by the influential Iwa ...

. Imperial court officials Ayanokoji Toshizane and Shigenoi Kinhisa were appointed as leaders of the army. The Sekihōtai had three units. Sagara Sōzō was the captain of the first unit. The Sekihōtai's second unit had as its captain the former captain of the

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 when ...

's ninth unit,

Suzuki Mikisaburō is a Japanese multinational corporation headquartered in Minami-ku, Hamamatsu, Japan. Suzuki manufactures automobiles, motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), outboard marine engines, wheelchairs and a variety of other small internal com ...

, and was composed of his elder brother Itō Kashitarō's followers who had deserted the Shinsengumi. The third unit's captain was Yukawa Rensaburō of the Minakuchi Clan and it was composed mainly of Minakuchi Clan warriors. The Sekihōtai traveled the countryside spreading news about the upcoming change of regime. The Meiji government had made promises such as tax cuts that could not be kept, so the Sekihōtai were used as a scapegoat, with the government calling them a "false army".

Disbandment

The Sekihōtai's actions gradually became a burden to the new government which repealed the 50% reduction in land rent on the 27th. On the same day, Ayanokoji Toshizane was ordered by his father Ohara Shigetomi to return to Kyoto. The 2nd and 3rd units returned to Kyoto without the 1st unit. The 1st unit—which was under Sagara Sōzō—changed its name to and continued its attack along the Tosan Highway. Sagara and members of the first unit were arrested on March 24, 1868 outside

Shimosuwa is a Towns of Japan, town located in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 20,055 in 8864 households, and a population density of 300 persons per km². The total area of the town is . Geography Shimosuwa is located ...

and were sentenced to death by decapitation on March 26, 1868. However, Suzuki and the second unit continued to serve the

Ishin Shishi , sometimes known as , were a group of Japanese political activists of the late Edo period. While it is usually applied to the anti-shogunate, pro-''sonnō jōi'' (尊皇攘夷; "Revere the Emperor, Expel the Barbarian ) samurai primarily from t ...

(Imperialists). As for the members of third unit, many were executed due to their plundering behavior.

Other usage

Recently, the name Sekihōtai refers to a 1980s political group of a similarly extreme, though less military bent. The full name of the group was Nippon Minzoku Dokuritsu Giyugun Betsudo Sekihōtai, which translates roughly as Blood Revenge Division of the People's Partisan Corps Working for the Independence of the Japanese Race. This group was responsible for the death of reporter,

Tomohiro Kojiri Tomohiro Kojiri ( ja, 小尻知博; December 12, 1957 – May 4, 1987) was a Japanese journalist for the Tokyo-based newspaper ''Asahi Shimbun''. Kojiri was killed in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, near Osaka, during a shooting at the ''Asahi Shim ...

, when a member fired a shotgun at the Hanshin Bureau of the '' Asahi Shimbun'' in

Nishinomiya 270px, Nishinomiya City Hall 270px, Aerial view of Nishinomiya city center 270px, Hirota Shrine is a city located in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 484,368 in 218948 households and a population density of 48 ...

Hyōgo Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Hyōgo Prefecture has a population of 5,469,762 () and has a geographic area of . Hyōgo Prefecture borders Kyoto Prefecture to the east, Osaka Prefecture to the southeast, an ...

on January 24, 1987. The group also made several threats against the lives of two prime ministers,

Yasuhiro Nakasone was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Liberal Democratic Party from 1982 to 1987. He was a member of the House of Representatives for more than 50 years. He was best known for pushing through the ...

and Noboru Takeshita, citing as their cause the changes made to textbooks about

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The actions of the Sekihōtai have been listed as evidence of increased violence among Japanese political extremists. The case was named Metropolitan Designated Case 116. The statute of limitations on the crimes expired in March 2003, but supralegal investigations have been made since. In February 2009, a group claiming to be Sekihōtai sent threatening messages to a NHK news anchor.

Fiction

*In the

manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...

and

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

series '' Rurouni Kenshin'', the character

Sagara Sanosuke is a Character (arts), fictional character from the ''Rurouni Kenshin'' manga and anime series created by Nobuhiro Watsuki. In the English anime adaptations he is known as Sanosuke Sagara and nicknamed Sano. Watsuki, being a fan of the Shinsengu ...

was the sole survivor of the first unit. Although fictional, he is described as being the adopted son of Sagara Sozo. *In the 1969 film '' Red Lion (film)'', the protagonist, a stammering, none-too-bright foot soldier named Gonzo, is a member of the first unit.

References

External links

Website about 1980s crime
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sekihotai Far-right politics in Japan Political organizations based in Japan 1868 establishments in Japan 1868 disestablishments in Japan