The was a multi-year event during the

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 ...

period of Japanese history, between 1858 and 1860, during which the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. The Tokugawa shogunate was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu after victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, ending the civil wars ...

imprisoned, executed, or exiled those who did not support its authority and foreign trade policies. The purge was undertaken by Ii Naosuke in opposition to Imperial Loyalists.

History

The Ansei Purge was ordered by Ii Naosuke on behalf of the

bakufu , officially , was the title of the military rulers of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, except during parts of the Kamak ...

faction.Cullen, Louis. (2003). ''A History of Japan, 1582–1941: Internal and External Worlds'', pp. 184–188. He was the Senior Minister during the period preceding the

Meiji Restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored Imperial House of Japan, imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Althoug ...

and was part of the '' kōbu gattai'', the movement opposed by the Revere the Emperor, Expel the Foreigner (''

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 ...

'') faction. The purge was carried out in an effort to quell opposition to trade treaties with the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, particularly under the U.S. - Japan Treaty of Amity and Commerce. It involved the removal from power all opposition by way of imprisonment, torture or exile, and execution. The crackdown also targeted those who opposed the succession of Tokugawa Iesada and the ''kōbu gattai'' or the policy that attempted to unite the imperial court and the

shogunate , officially , was the title of the military rulers of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, except during parts of the Kamak ...

. Some of the victims included the ''sonno joi'', the group who opposed Naosuke's appointment of

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 ...

over Hitotsubashi Keiki, the candidate of the Mito clan, which was one of the three branches of the Tokugawa family. Japan descended into chaos after the purge. Elements seeking revenge, particularly radicals from Choshu and sympathizers of the victims launched widespread terrorism. Naosuke was also assassinated by a band of samurai and ronin from Mito. Those who were victimized by the purge reemerged in national politics such as Hitotsubashi Keikei and Matsudaira Shungaku. Attacks against Westerners also increased.

Victims

Over 100 influential people were victims of the purge. Men were forced out of positions within the Bakufu, or from han leadership or 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 go ...

. Victims of the purge included the following: ;Death Penalty * Yoshida Shōin * Hashimoto Sanai ;Permanent house arrest * Mito Nariaki * Nagai Naoyuki *

Prince Kuni Asahiko was a member of a collateral line of the Japanese imperial family who played a key role in the Meiji Restoration. Prince Asahiko was an adopted son of Emperor Ninkō and later a close advisor to Emperor Kōmei and Emperor Meiji. He was the gr ...

;House arrest * Hitotsubashi Yoshinobu *

Tokugawa Yoshikatsu was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the late Edo period, who ruled the Owari Domain as its 14th (1849–1858) and 17th daimyō (1870–1880). He was the brother of Matsudaira Katamori. His childhood name was Hidenosuke (秀之助). Early years Yoshi ...

* Matsudaira Shungaku * Date MunenariShiba, Ryōtarō and Eileen Katō. (2001). ''Drunk as a lord: samurai stories,'' p. 227. * Yamauchi Yōdō *

Hotta Masayoshi was the 5th Hotta ''daimyō'' of the Sakura Domain in the Japanese Edo period, who served as chief ''rōjū'' in the Bakumatsu period Tokugawa shogunate, where he played an important role in the negotiations of the Ansei Treaties with various ...

Timeline

* 1858 (''Ansei 5''): Beginning of the Ansei Purge * 1859 (''Ansei 6''): Arrests and investigations continuing. * March 24, 1860 (''Ansei 7, 3rd day of the 3rd month'') NengoCalc
安政七年三月三日 -->: Ii Naosuke was assassinated at the Sakurada Gate of

Edo Castle is a flatland castle that was built in 1457 by Ōta Dōkan in Edo, Toshima District, Musashi Province. In modern times it is part of the Tokyo Imperial Palace in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is therefore also known as . Tokugawa Ieyasu established th ...

. This is also known as the " Sakurada-mon Incident"Cullen, p. 184.

Notes

References

External links