was a Japanese

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 ...

who lived during the transition from the

Edo period The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...

to the

Meiji era The was an Japanese era name, era of History of Japan, Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868, to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feu ...

. He is best known for his role in the assassination of

Ōkubo Toshimichi Ōkubo Toshimichi (; 26 September 1830 – 14 May 1878) was a Japanese statesman and samurai of the Satsuma Domain who played a central role in the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was one of the Three Great Nobles of the Restoration (維新の� ...

Background

Shimada Ichirō was born to an

ashigaru were peasant infantry employed by the warlords of Japan to supplement the samurai in their armies. The first known reference to ''ashigaru'' was in the 14th century, but it was during the Ashikaga shogunate (Muromachi period) that the use of ' ...

in the

Kaga Domain The , also known as the , was a domain of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan during the Edo period from 1583 to 1871.Kanazawa is the capital of Ishikawa Prefecture in central Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 466,029 in 203,271 households, and a population density of 990 persons per km2. The total area of the city was . Etymology The name "Kanazaw ...

), which was later merged to the

Ishikawa Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu island. Ishikawa Prefecture has a population of 1,096,721 (1 January 2025) and has a geographic area of 4,186 Square kilometre, km2 (1,616 sq mi). Ishikawa Pr ...

by the

Meiji government The was the government that was formed by politicians of the Satsuma Domain and Chōshū Domain in the 1860s. The Meiji government was the early government of the Empire of Japan. Politicians of the Meiji government were known as the Meiji ...

. Following the death 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 ...

during 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 ...

, a group of samurai among his sympathizers formed an antigovernment faction called ''Sankō-ji'', led by Shimada. The faction began plotting the assassination of

Kido Takayoshi , formerly known as , was a Japanese statesman, samurai and ''Shishi (Japan), shishi'' who is considered one of the Three Great Nobles of the Restoration, three great nobles who led the Meiji Restoration. Early life Born Wada Kogorō on Augu ...

and

to avenge Saigō. However, the passing of Kido on May 26, 1877 shifted the focus solely on Ōkubo. Shimada along with Chō Tsurahide disappeared from Kanazawa in March 1878, keeping the central government on high alert. Shimada left his family with poetry, setting his motives and coming to terms with his demise. On May 14, 1878 in Tokyo, Shimada along with six other men, dragged Ōkubo out of a carriage and cut his throat and left the body with their weapons and an explanatory note. Immediately after, they turned themselves in to a nearby palace. All were executed in July of the same year.

References

Footnotes

Bibliography

* * 1848 births 1878 deaths Japanese assassins Japanese swordfighters People of the Meiji era People from Ishikawa Prefecture Samurai 19th-century executions by Japan People executed by Japan by decapitation Executed assassins {{samurai-stub