Tosa Kinnō-tō (土佐勤王党, Tosa Imperialism party) was a political shishi (organization) of

Bakumatsu were the final years of the Edo period when the Tokugawa shogunate Meiji Restoration, ended. Between 1853 and 1867, under foreign diplomatic and military pressure, Japan ended its isolationist foreign policy known as and changed from a Feudali ...

era Japan which was loyal to the ideals of 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 sou ...

movement. It was formed by

Takechi Hanpeita , also known as , was a samurai of Tosa Domain during the Bakumatsu period in Japan. Influenced by the effects of the Perry Expedition, Takechi formed the Tosa Kinnō-tō (土佐勤王党, Tosa Imperialism party) which was loyal to the ideals ...

, influenced by the effects of the

Perry Expedition ] The Perry Expedition (, , "Arrival of the Black Ships") was a diplomatic and military expedition in two separate voyages (1852–1853 and 1854–1855) to the Tokugawa shogunate () by warships of the United States Navy. The goals of this expedit ...

. The Kinnō-tō killing of

Yoshida Tōyō Yoshida Toyo was a Japanese samurai and Karō from Tosa domain. Gotō Shōjirō Count was a Japanese samurai and politician during the Bakumatsu period, Bakumatsu and early Meiji period of Japanese history.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005 ...

on 6 May 1862, led to ''sonnō jōi'' becoming the prevalent philosophy of Tosa Domain, but the party was destroyed when Takechi was imprisoned and forced to commit ''

seppuku , also known as , is a form of Japanese ritualistic suicide by disembowelment. It was originally reserved for samurai in their code of honor, but was also practiced by other Japanese people during the Shōwa era (particularly officers near ...

'' by the former ''

daimyō were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji era, Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and no ...

'' of Tosa Domain

Yamauchi Yōdō Yamauchi Toyoshige , also known as , was a Japanese ''daimyō'' in the Shikoku region in the late Edo period. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"Yamauchi Toyoshige"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 1045. He was usually referred to as Lord Yōdō in We ...

in 1865.

History

Background

In February 1859, the ''

'' of Tosa Domain

, was forced from office and placed under

house arrest House arrest (also called home confinement, or nowadays electronic monitoring) is a legal measure where a person is required to remain at their residence under supervision, typically as an alternative to imprisonment. The person is confined b ...

by the ''

tairō ''Tairō'' (, "great elder") was a high-ranking official position in the Tokugawa shogunate government of Japan, roughly comparable to the office of prime minister. The ''tairō'' presided over the governing '' rōjū'' council in the event of an ...

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

for his efforts to establish

Hitotsubashi Yoshinobu Prince was the 15th and last ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan. He was part of a movement which aimed to reform the aging shogunate, but was ultimately unsuccessful. He resigned his position as shogun in late 1867, while aiming at ...

as successor to the shogunate. This outraged many of the Tosa samurai, who later applauded Ii's assassination in the Sakuradamon Incident of March 1860. 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 sou ...

'' movement also spread quickly in Tosa, after many were alarmed by the arrival of the

in 1858 and what they perceived to be the weak response of the Tokugawa shogunate to this threat. In May 1860, Takechi went on a tour of

Kyushu is the third-largest island of Japan's Japanese archipelago, four main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands (i.e. excluding Okinawa Island, Okinawa and the other Ryukyu Islands, Ryukyu (''Nansei'') Ryukyu Islands, Islands ...

and western Japan with a number of his closest disciples, and returned with some of the works of ''

kokugaku was an academic movement, a school of Japanese philology and philosophy originating during the Edo period. scholars worked to refocus Japanese scholarship away from the then-dominant study of Chinese, Confucian, and Buddhist texts in favor of ...

'' scholar

Hirata Atsutane was a Japanese scholar, conventionally ranked as one of the Four Great Men of Kokugaku (nativist) studies, and one of the most significant 19th century theologians of the Shintō religion. His literary name was , and his primary assumed name ...

, which further reinforced his belief in the ''Sonnō jōi'' movement.

Formation

In April 1861, Takechi returned to Edo under the guise of practicing swordsmanship, but in reality to meet with like-minded samurai of various domains, including Katsura Kogōrō,

Kusaka Genzui , (born Kusaka Hidezaburō; May 1840 – 20 August 1864) was a samurai of the Japanese domain of Chōshū who was active during the Bakumatsu period and a key proponent of the ''sonnō jōi'' movement. Early life He was born Kusaka Hide ...

, and

Takasugi Shinsaku was a samurai from the Chōshū Domain of Japan who contributed significantly to the Meiji Restoration. He used several aliases to hide his activities from the Tokugawa shogunate. Early life Takasugi Shinsaku was born in the castle town Ha ...

of Chōshū, Kabayama Sanin from

Satsuma Satsuma may refer to: * Satsuma (fruit), a citrus fruit * ''Satsuma'' (gastropod), a genus of land snails Places Japan * Satsuma, Kagoshima, a Japanese town * Satsuma District, Kagoshima, a district in Kagoshima Prefecture * Satsuma Domain, a ...

and Iwama Kanpei from Mito. Takechi was particular interested in the teachings of Chōshū

Yoshida Shōin , commonly named , was one of Japan's most distinguished intellectuals in the late years of the Tokugawa shogunate. He devoted himself to nurturing many '' ishin shishi'' who in turn made major contributions to the Meiji Restoration. Early lif ...

as relayed to him by Kusaka. Increasingly concerned by the lack of action by their domain governments, the samurai of the three domains agreed to a three-point course of action: to force their domains to take action to expel the foreigners from Japan, to force their lords to enter Kyoto, and to force the Imperial Court to issue edicts against the

unequal treaties The unequal treaties were a series of agreements made between Asian countries—most notably Qing China, Tokugawa Japan and Joseon Korea—and Western countries—most notably the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy, the Unit ...

with the foreign powers and Tokugawa shogunate. In August, Takechi secretly created the Tosa Kinnō-tō, recruiting 192 members, mostly from the lower-ranked samurai and some '' ronin'' formerly of Tosa Domain. Around this time, Tosa Domain was largely governed by

, a trusted advisor to Yamauchi Yōdō. Yoshida was pursuing Yōdō's policy of supporting the opening of the country to foreign trade in order to gain western technology and weaponry which would help guard its independence, and also the ''

Kōbu gattai was a policy in the Bakumatsu era of Japanese history aiming to strengthen Japan against the perceived "foreign threat" by obtaining a political coordination between the Tokugawa shogunate, certain major feudal domains and the Japanese Imperi ...

'' policy of uniting the shogunate and imperial court. He dismissed Takechi's petitions as being childishly simplistic and unrealistic and rejected thoughts of uniting with other domains to oppose the shogunate.

Assassination of Yoshida Tōyō

While the situation did not improve for the Kinnō-tō, their saving grace was that Yoshida Tōyō's political base was also not solid. Although Tōyō originally had a weak political foundation, the former feudal lord Yamauchi Yōdō, who had been his backing, had fallen from power due to the

Ansei Purge The was a multi-year event during the Bakumatsu period of Japanese history, between 1858 and 1860, during which the Tokugawa shogunate imprisoned, executed, or exiled those who did not support its authority and foreign trade policies. The purge ...

, and he was dissatisfied with his policy of reforming the domain system. It appeared that there were many conservatives among the powerful senior officers. The Kinnō-tō was originally in a position that was at odds with the conservatives, it was able to establish a cooperative relationship with the conservatives. Eventually, Takechi decided that his only course of action would be to assassinate Yoshida and to kidnap the young daimyō, Yamauchi Tomonori en route to Edo on his '' sankin kōtai''. On April 8, 1862, three members of the Tosa Kinnō-tō murdered Tōyō before fleeing Tosa and Takechi took action to seize control of the Tosa government.

National affairs negotiations

Prior to this,

Shimazu Hisamitsu Prince , also known as , was a Japanese samurai of the late Edo period. The younger brother of Shimazu Nariakira, Hisamitsu was the virtual sovereign and strongman of Satsuma Domain while serving as regent for his underage son Tadayoshi, who be ...

of Satsuma had entered Kyoto but was soon expelled after the

Teradaya incident The Teradaya Incident is the name used for two clashes between samurai during the ''bakumatsu'' period. Both of them took place in Teradaya, a ryokan inn in Fushimi, south of Kyōto. The first one, in May 1862 (also called the Teradaya Disturba ...

by the forces of Chōshū, when then received an Imperial order mediate in national political affairs and to expel all foreigners from Japan. Takechi dispatched the Tosa Kinnō-tō to Kyoto to seek a similar privilege for Tosa, which was granted. The number of Tosa troops in Kyoto was increased to over 2000 and Yamauchi Yōdō established his residence there, while Tosa Kinnō-tō members (including " Man-Slayers" such as

Okada Izō was a Japanese samurai of the late Edo period, feared as one of the four most notable assassins of the Bakumatsu period. He was a member of (Tosa Imperialism party, a loyalist clique of Tosa) in his hometown, Tosa Domain. Izō and Tanaka Sh ...

and Tanaka Shinbei) roamed Kyoto and its surroundings as a

death squad A death squad is an armed group whose primary activity is carrying out extrajudicial killings, massacres, or enforced disappearances as part of political repression, genocide, ethnic cleansing, or revolutionary terror. Except in rare cases in w ...

, killing political opponents, such as supporters of the assassinated Yoshida Tōyō and members of the

Shinsengumi The was a small secret police organization, elite group of swordsmen that was organized by commoners and low rank samurai, commissioned by the (military government) during Japan's Bakumatsu period (late Tokugawa shogunate) in 1863. It was ac ...

and other Shogunal paramilitary forces in Kyoto. Takechi drafted petitions in the name of Yamauchi Tomonori to the emperor advocating a restoration of imperial rule, whereby the five provinces of the

Kinai region is a Japanese term denoting an ancient division of the country. ''Kinai'' is a name for the ancient provinces around the capital Nara and Heian-kyō. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Kinai''" in . The five provinces were called ''go-kina ...

should be placed under direct imperial control, a national military responsible to the emperor should be created, and that future ordinances should be issued from the throne and not the shogun, and that the foreigners should be immediately expelled. He was sent to Edo as an official envoy of the Emperor, and was received in audience by Shogun

Tokugawa Iemochi (17 July 1846 – 29 August 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. I ...

, which gave a vague and noncommittal response. He returned to Kyoto to receive unprecedented honors; however, he also received the increasing displeasure of Yamauchi Yōdō, who soon took action to suppress the Tosa Kinnō-tō and to prohibit their political negotiations with the Court and other domains. Takechi was dismissed and ordered back to Tosa, but he continued to work towards creating the

Satchō Alliance The , or was a powerful military alliance between the southwestern feudal domains of Satsuma and Chōshū formed in 1866 to combine their efforts to restore Imperial rule and overthrow the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan. History The name ''Satc ...

Arrests and end

Yamauchi Yōdō meanwhile had been searching for the assassins of Yoshida Tōyō and arrested three members of the Tosa Kinnō-tō, who confessed to the crime under interrogation. Takechi refused suggestions that he should flee Tosa, and continued to offer unsolicited political advice to Yamauchi Yōdō. In September, Takechi and other Tosa Kinnō-tō members were arrested, and although lower-ranking members were tortured, Takechi himself was initially not harmed and continued to deny involvement in Yoshida Tōyō's murder. In September the following year, an uprising of samurai sympathetic to Takechi was suppressed and the roundup of Tosa Kinnō-tō members and supporters continued. On July 3, 1865, four leaders of the Tosa Kinnō-tō were sentenced to death by decapitation, and Takechi was ordered to commit ''

'' by Yamauchi Yōdō. He had been imprisoned for 1 year 8 months and 20 days. With Takechi's death, the Tosa Kinnō-tō was destroyed. Some survivors, including

Nakaoka Shintarō was a samurai in Bakumatsu period Japan, and a close associate of Sakamoto Ryōma in the movement to overthrow the Tokugawa shogunate.National Diet Library (NDL), Portraits of Modern Japanese Historical Figures Nakaoka, Shintaro/ref> Biograph ...

, left the domain, becoming ronin and continued to engage in anti-shogunate activities. Later, through Nakaoka's mediation, Tosa eventually joined the anti-shogunate alliance, and

Gotō Shōjirō Count was a Japanese samurai and politician during the Bakumatsu period, Bakumatsu and early Meiji period of Japanese history.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Gotō Shōjirō" in He was a leader of which would evolve into a political par ...

, a domain official who had led the suppression of the Tosa Kinnō-tō eventually became a political advisor and working with Sakamoto Ryoma towards restoration of Imperial rule. Takechi received posthumous pardons in 1877, and he was posthumous promoted to Senior Fourth Court rank by the Imperial Court in 1891.

Bibliography

* *Jansen, Marius B. Sakamoto Ryoma and the Meiji Restoration. Princeton: Princeton UP, 1961. Print. {{Authority control Bakumatsu Meiji Restoration Defunct political parties in Japan Political parties disestablished in 1865