Tenchūgumi Incident

The was a military

uprising Rebellion, uprising, or insurrection is a refusal of obedience or order. It refers to the open resistance against the orders of an established authority. A rebellion originates from a sentiment of indignation and disapproval of a situation and ...

of ''

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 ...

'' (revere the Emperor and expel the barbarians) activists in

Yamato Province was a province of Japan, located in Kinai, corresponding to present-day Nara Prefecture in Honshū. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric (2005). "Yamato" in . It was also called . Yamato consists of two characters, 大 "great", and 和 " Wa". At first, th ...

, now

Nara Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Nara Prefecture has a population of 1,321,805 and has a geographic area of . Nara Prefecture borders Kyoto Prefecture to the north, Osaka Prefecture to the northwest, Wakayam ...

, on 29 September 1863 (

Bunkyū was a after ''Man'en'' and before '' Genji''. This period spanned the years from March 1861 through March 1864. The reigning emperor was . Change of era * March 29, 1861 (''Man'en 2/Bunkyū 1, 19th day of the 2nd month'') : The new era name of ...

3/8/17 in the old

Japanese calendar Japanese calendar types have included a range of official and unofficial systems. At present, Japan uses the Gregorian calendar together with year designations stating the year of the reign of the current Emperor. The written form starts with t ...

), during the

Bakumatsu 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 governm ...

period.

Emperor Kōmei was the 121st Emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession.Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'')孝明天皇 (121)/ref> Kōmei's reign spanned the years from 1846 through 1867, corresponding to the final years of the ...

had issued a dispatch to shōgun

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. ...

to expel the foreigners from Japan in early 1863. The shōgun answered with a visit to Kyoto in April, but he rejected the demands of the Jōi faction. On September 25 (8/13 in the old Japanese calendar) the emperor announced he would travel to Yamato province, to the grave of Emperor

Jimmu was the legendary first emperor of Japan according to the '' Nihon Shoki'' and ''Kojiki''. His ascension is traditionally dated as 660 BC.Kelly, Charles F"Kofun Culture"Tenchūgumi consisting of 30 samurai and

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 ...

from Tosa and other fiefs marched into Yamato Province and took over the Magistrate office in Gojō. They were led by Yoshimura Toratarō. The next day, shogunate loyalists 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 sou ...

and Aizu reacted by expelling several imperial officials of the sonnō jōi faction 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 gover ...

, in the Bunkyū coup. The shogunate sent troops to quell the Tenchūgumi, and they were finally defeated in September 1864. 1863 in Japan Conflicts in 1863 19th-century rebellions September 1863 events Rebellions in Japan Meiji Restoration {{japan-history-stub