History of Asia

Birth of Shinsengumi, a police organization in Kyoto that has become a hotbed of terrorism

Since the Ansei Purge, the radical debate has continued to smolder, especially among the lower samurai.

According to the treaty in 1859, Yokohama, Hakodate, Nagasaki The next month, the Mito clan attacked Russian officers in Yokohama. In the wake of this incident, foreign attack incidents occur in various places.

Sonnojoi's trend and Kobu Gattai

Public opinion, which was worried about the sharp rise in prices associated with trade, led to a rise in the idea of ​​jōi toward criticism of the country's opening policy. In addition, the assassination of Naosuke Ii in the Sakuradamon Incident triggered such terrorist attacks to continue to intensify.

1860 An American interpreter who came to Japan with Harris was also killed by the Satsuma Domain, 1861 . The Mito clan and others attack the British legation. In addition, the following year, the British Embassy under construction was burned down by the Choshu Sonno sect made by Shinsuke Takasugi.

It was the Satsuma Domain's Hisamitsu Shimazu that had a strong presence under these circumstances. was.

Hisamitsu, a Kobu Gattai theorist, entered Kyoto in 1862 with a large army and appealed to Emperor Komei, who hated the radical debate movement, to emphasize the shogunate and suppress radical actions. However, this action of Hisamitsu is [ Battle of Uji ], The Satsuma feudal lords who misunderstood will gather at the inn Teradaya in Kyoto to plan an assassination of a VIP.

Hisamitsu dispatches Satsuma's revered faction to try to persuade him, but it develops into amicable fire. As a result, he will purge the Satsuma domain's radicals. This incident, later called the Teradaya Incident, resulted in the name of Hisamitsu Shimazu becoming known to the world, and gained the trust of Emperor Komei.

After Hisamitsu entered Edo, the revered scholars gathered again in Kyoto [ Tenchu ​​. ] The terrorist activity called is flourishing.

When Sakon Shimada, who was arrested by the revered sect during the Ansei Purge, was beaten and his head was exposed to Shijo Ohashi, the following year, the vassal of Chikina Yubun, who worked together with Tomomi Iwakura to join the Kobu Gattai, was assassinated. .. It seems that a part of the cut body was thrown into the house of Tomomi Iwakura.

The Tosa Domain and Choshu Domain were the backing of these radical scholars. was.

Birth of Shinsengumi

In Kyoto, which has become a hotbed of such terrorism, an organization was born in 1863 to protect its security.

Mibu Roushigumi … Later [ newly selected group ] Is the birth.

Kyoto Shugoshoku, Matsudaira Katamori By crackdown on unscrupulous acts by debates And city guard They were entrusted with the August 18 coup that occurred in the same year. The work is highly evaluated.

After that, Ikedaya incident, Kinmon incident Through such means, we will purge many radical scholars. Their existence is a symbol of the Samurai faction, and has become a great threat to the revered scholars.

The Shinsengumi, feared by such a revered sect, guarded and cracked down on Fushimi, the entertainment district of Kyoto, the northern part of the eastern ward where Kiyomizu-dera and Yasaka Shrine are located, the area around Nishi Hongan-ji Temple, and the current west side of Kyoto Station.

It is said that many soldiers were purged at the site of Maekawa House, which is the headquarters of the corps, and graffiti and sword wounds still remain. Shinsengumi was the best swordsman group in Kyoto and struggled to protect public order, but from the perspective of Kyoto people, it was a group of rural ronin, and from the perspective of Kyoto citizens, [ Mibu Wolf ] Was despised.

Also attached to the guard of Kyoto [ Kyoto Mimawarigumi ] Was a regular organization composed of bakushin, but the Shinsengumi was composed of ronin [ Aizu clan custody ] Was a non-regular employment organization.