The was a volunteer

militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...

raised by

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 the Chōshū domain during the

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

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

Background

Formed in 1863 by

Shimonoseki file:141122 Shimonoseki City Hall Yamaguchi pref Japan01s3.jpg, 260px, Shimonoseki city hall is a Cities of Japan, city located in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 248,193 in 128,762 households and a pop ...

Yamaguchi Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Yamaguchi Prefecture has a population of 1,377,631 (1 February 2018) and has a geographic area of 6,112 Square kilometre, km2 (2,359 Square mile, sq mi). ...

, the Kiheitai militia consisted of 300 men, who came from all social classes, including farmers, merchants, ''

samurai The samurai () were members of the warrior class in Japan. They were originally provincial warriors who came from wealthy landowning families who could afford to train their men to be mounted archers. In the 8th century AD, the imperial court d ...

'' and others. Most were from Chōshū, but a few volunteers were from other domains. The Kiheitai was known for its discipline, and use of western-style weapons and military techniques. It was partly funded by the Chōshū domain, but gained the rest of its financial support through donations by wealthy merchants and farmers. Kiheitai followed a developing trend which had been spearheaded by the shogunate following the

Convention of Kanagawa The Convention of Kanagawa, also known as the or the , was a treaty signed between the United States and the Tokugawa Shogunate on March 31, 1854. Unequal treaty#Japan, Signed under threat of force, it effectively meant the end of Japan's 220-ye ...

to form military units based on ability rather than hereditary social status.

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 ...

, a Kyoto-based, pro-Tokugawa police force, was founded in the same year as Kiheitai, and was also composed of people from a broad variety of social classes.

Battles

The Kiheitai militia saw action in the Bombardment of Shimonoseki in June 1863, during which the fleets of

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 ...

, 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 ...

, and 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 ...

fired upon the Chōshū port city of

, and subsequently landed troops. On 16 August 1863, the Kyohoji incident, which involved the conflict between the Kiheitai and another Chōshū unit Senkitai (撰鋒隊) forces at the Kyohoji temple, leaving two people dead. The Kiheitai's inspecting officer Hikosuke Miyagi was forced to commit seppuku at the temple while Takasugi himself was held liable and was dismissed as the leader of the Kiheitai on 27 August, only about two months after its formation. The Kiheitai was taken over by Kawakami Yaichi and Taki Yataro as its second leaders. In October the Kiheitai was taken over again by Akane Taketo as the third leader with

Yamagata Aritomo Prince was a Japanese politician and general who served as prime minister of Japan from 1889 to 1891, and from 1898 to 1900. He was also a leading member of the '' genrō'', a group of senior courtiers and statesmen who dominated the politics ...

as the commander. In February 1865, a Second Kiheitai was formed in the

Suō Province was a Provinces of Japan, province of ancient Japan in the area that is today the eastern part of Yamaguchi Prefecture. Suō bordered on Aki Province, Aki, Iwami Province, Iwami, and Nagato Province, Nagato Provinces. Its abbreviated form na ...

with Kosuke Shirai as its first leader with Shūzō Sera as the commander. As the military arm of the pro-reform faction within the Chōshū domain, the Kiheitai helped overthrow the pro-''bakufu'' faction in the Chōshū civil war, repulsed the

Second Chōshū expedition The Second Chōshū expedition (), also called the Summer War, was a punitive expedition led by the Tokugawa shogunate against the Chōshū Domain. It followed the First Chōshū expedition of 1864. Campaign The Second Chōshū expedition was a ...

sent by the

Tokugawa bakufu 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 ...

on 7 June 1866. Takasugi died of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

on 17 May 1867. The Kiheitai militia played an important role in 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 coalition seeking to seize political power in the name of the Impe ...

, which led to 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 ...

Disband

The Kiheitai was disbanded in 1868, with total enlistment of 622 men since 1863. The success of the socially mixed unit and its Western armaments and tactics was an important influence on the development of the

Imperial Japanese Army The Imperial Japanese Army (IJA; , ''Dai-Nippon Teikoku Rikugun'', "Army of the Greater Japanese Empire") was the principal ground force of the Empire of Japan from 1871 to 1945. It played a central role in Japan’s rapid modernization during th ...

, and on the later system of universal military

conscription Conscription, also known as the draft in the United States and Israel, is the practice in which the compulsory enlistment in a national service, mainly a military service, is enforced by law. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it conti ...

in Japan.

Other Usage

The forces defending

Aizu-Wakamatsu is a city in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 118,159 in 50,365 households, and a population density of 310 persons per km2. The total area of the city was . History The area of present-day Aizuwakamatsu w ...

during the Boshin War in 1868, and the forces of

Saigō Takamori Saigō Takamori (; 23 January 1828 – 24 September 1877) was a Japanese samurai and politician who was one of the most influential figures in Japanese history. He played a key role in the Meiji Restoration, which overthrew the Tokugawa shogunate ...

in the

Satsuma rebellion The Satsuma Rebellion, also known as the , was a revolt of disaffected samurai against the new imperial government of the Empire of Japan, nine years into the Meiji era. Its name comes from the Satsuma Domain, which had been influential in ...

in 1877 also used the term ''Kiheitai'' to describe themselves.

In popular culture

* The Kiheitai appeared in an expansion of Creative Assembly's Total War: Shogun 2, Fall of the Samurai as special units of the Choshu domain. They are featured as an elite unit, having below-par statistics with other late game elite infantry but requiring less money and time to recruit and maintain, and can be recruited on unlimited number unlike other elite units. * In

Rurouni Kenshin is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Nobuhiro Watsuki. The story begins in 1878, the 11th year of the Meiji era in Japan, and follows a former assassin of the Bakumatsu, known as Hitokiri Battosai. After his work against ...

the Kiheitai is seen in a number of flashbacks as the title character, Kenshin, was recruited into the force by Takasugi Shinsaku himself. * In

Gintama is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hideaki Sorachi. It was serialized in Shueisha's manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from December 2003 to September 2018, later in '' Jump Giga'' from December 2018 ...

the Kiheitai also appears as a terrorist faction led by Gintoki's old friend turned enemy,

Shinsuke Takasugi The characters from the anime and manga series ''Gintama'' were created by Hideaki Sorachi. The story is set in Edo, the "Land of the Samurai", which has been invaded by aliens named Amanto, who subsequently coexist with humans. Despite the time ...

, who is loosely based on Takasugi Shinsaku.

References

{{No footnotes, date=August 2009 *Huber, Thomas M.: ''The Revolutionary Origins of Modern Japan.'' Stanford, California: Stanford University Press, 1981. *Craig, Albert M.: ''Chôshû in the Meiji Restoration.'' Lanham et al.: Lexington Books, 2000. Meiji Restoration Militias in Asia Military units and formations established in 1863 Military units and formations established in 1868