Sakurada Gate ( 桜田門 , sakurada-mon ) is a gate in the inner moat of Tokyo Imperial Palace , in Tokyo , Japan.
41-545: It was the location of the Sakuradamon Incident in 1860, in which Tairō Ii Naosuke was assassinated outside the gate by samurai of the Mito Domain and Satsuma Domain . In 1932, it was the location of another assassination attempt , when Korean independence activist Lee Bong-chang attempted to kill Emperor Hirohito as his procession passed through the gate. Opposite the gate of Sakurada Gate
82-754: A three-month war which met stiff resistance, Satsuma captured the Ryukyuan capital of Shuri and King Shō Nei . In the ensuing peace treaty, Satsuma annexed the Amami and Tokara Islands , demanded tribute, and forced the King and his descendants to pledge loyalty to Satsuma's daimyō . For the remainder of the Edo period, Satsuma influenced their politics and dominated their trading policies to take advantage of Ryukyu's tributary status with China. As strict maritime prohibitions were imposed upon much of Japan beginning in
123-569: A consequence of the treaties. Ii was also criticized for reinforcing the authority of the Tokugawa shogunate against regional daimyōs through the Ansei Purge . He also made strong enemies in the dispute for the succession of Shōgun Tokugawa Iesada , and because he forced retirement on his opponents, specifically the retainers of Mito , Hizen , Owari , Tosa , Satsuma , and Uwajima . These policies generated strong sentiment against
164-461: A serious threat to the power of the daimyō , and the peace and order of the domain; the shogunal ban on Christianity was enforced more strictly and brutally in Satsuma, perhaps, than anywhere else in the archipelago. The ban on smuggling, perhaps unsurprisingly, was not so strictly enforced, as the domain gained significantly from trade performed along its shores, some ways away from Nagasaki , where
205-456: A year, and to spend some portion of the year there, away from his domain and his power base. The Shimazu were granted permission to make this journey only once every two years. These exceptions thus allowed Satsuma to gain even more power and wealth relative to the majority of other domains. Though arguably opposed to the shogunate, Satsuma was perhaps one of the strictest domains in enforcing particular policies. Christian missionaries were seen as
246-433: Is not questioned. The Shimazu continually made efforts to emphasize their unique position as the only feudal domain to claim an entire foreign kingdom as its vassal, and engineered repeated increases to their own official Court rank, in the name of maintaining their power and prestige in the eyes of Ryukyu. In 1871, however, Emperor Meiji abolished the han system , and the following year informed King Shō Tai that he
287-433: Is nothing when I see the danger threatening the future of the country". Ii's entourage was composed of around 60 samurai guards and Ii's palanquin carriers. A total of 17 Mito rōnin ambushed Ii together with Arimura Jisaemon , the lone member of the group who was not from Mito since he was a samurai from Satsuma Domain . While an attack at the front drew the attention of the guards, a lone assassin fired one shot into
328-505: Is the headquarters of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department , which shares "Sakurada Gate" as a metonym (akin to London's Scotland Yard ). This article about a Japanese building- or structure-related topic is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Sakuradamon Incident (1860) The Sakuradamon Incident ( 桜田門外の変 , Sakuradamon-gai no Hen , or 桜田門の変 Sakuradamon no Hen )
369-533: The Battle of Toba–Fushimi 1868. The shōgun, defeated, escaped to Edo. Saigo Takamori then led his troops to Edo, where Tenshō-in was instrumental in the bloodless surrender of Edo castle . The Boshin War continued until the last of the shogunate forces were defeated in 1869. The Meiji government , which was established in the aftermath of these events, was largely dominated by politicians from Satsuma and Chōshū. Though
410-795: The Boshin War , and the installation of the Meiji Restoration in 1868. Despite the defeat of the Bakufu, the new government adopted a policy of trade and diplomatic relations with the Western powers closer to that of Ii Naosuke than that of his assassins. Satsuma Domain The Satsuma Domain ( 薩摩藩 , Satsuma-han Ryukyuan: Sachima-han ) , briefly known as the Kagoshima Domain ( 鹿児島藩 , Kagoshima-han ) ,
451-520: The Meiji government when Kagoshima-han became Kagoshima-ken , with some parts of the domain separated as part of Miyakonojō Prefecture ( Miyakonojō-ken ). The first prefectural governor of Kagoshima was Ōyama Tsunayoshi until 1877 when he was executed in the Satsuma Rebellion . Since the 1880s, the former territory of Kagoshima Domain is now part of Kagoshima and Miyazaki Prefecture which
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#1732772647495492-461: The bombardment of Kagoshima by the Royal Navy the following year. Even though Satsuma was able to withstand the attack, this event showed how necessary it was for Japan to import western technology and reform its military. Meanwhile, the focus of Japanese politics shifted to Kyoto, where the major struggles of the time occurred. The shogunate entrusted Satsuma and Aizu with the protection of
533-651: The invasion of Ryukyu in 1609, and clashing with the British during the bombardment of Kagoshima in 1863 after the Namamugi Incident . The Satsuma Domain formed the Satchō Alliance with the rival Chōshū Domain during the Meiji Restoration and became instrumental in the establishment of the Empire of Japan . The Kagoshima-han was dissolved in the abolition of han and establishment of ken in 1871 by
574-399: The palanquin containing Ii, with a Japanese-made Colt 1851 Navy Revolver , which had been copied from the firearms that Commodore Matthew Perry had given the shogunate as gifts. Drawing the injured and likely paralyzed Ii out, Arimura decapitated Ii and then performed seppuku . The conspirators carried a manifesto on themselves, outlining the reason for their act: While fully aware of
615-644: The 1200s, and covered territory in the provinces of Satsuma, Ōsumi and Hyūga . The Satsuma Domain was assessed under the Kokudaka system and its value peaked at 770,000 koku , the second-highest domain in Japan after the Kaga Domain . The Satsuma Domain was one of the most powerful and prominent of Japan's domains during the Edo period, conquering the Ryukyu Kingdom as a vassal state after
656-531: The 1630s, Satsuma's ability to enjoy a trade in Chinese goods, and information, via Ryukyu, provided it a distinct and important, if not entirely unique, role in the overall economy and politics of the Tokugawa state. The degree of economic benefits enjoyed by Satsuma, and the degree of their influence in Ryukyu, are subjects debated by scholars, but the political prestige and influence gained through this relationship
697-591: The American West. On June 12, 1860, The New York Times reported that Japan's first diplomatic mission to the West received the news about what had happened in Edo. The assassination dealt a severe blow to the prestige of the shogunate such that officials refused to admit Naosuke's death for a month, claiming that he was merely injured and was recuperating. The minister's death was only made official in April when
738-599: The Bakufu to soften its stance, and to adopt a compromise policy of kōbu gattai ("Union of the Emperor and the Shogun") suggested by Satsuma Domain and Mito Domain , in which both parties vied for political supremacy in the years to follow. This soon amplified into the violent Sonnō Jōi ("Revere the Emperor, Expel the Barbarians") movement. The Sakuradamon Incident ushered in a decade of violence in Japan, reviving
779-679: The Imperial court, against attempts of the Sonnō jōi faction to take over, as in the Kinmon Incident of 1864. The shogunate decided to punish Chōshū for this event with the First Chōshū expedition , under the leadership of a Satsuma retainer, Saigō Takamori . Saigō, however, avoided a military conflict and allowed Chōshū to resolve the issue with the Seppuku of the three perpetrators behind
820-480: The Ryukyus and sought not only trade, but formal diplomatic relations. To increase his influence in the shogunate, Nariakira engineered a marriage between Shōgun Tokugawa Iesada and his adopted daughter, Atsu-hime (later Tenshō-in ). In 1854, the first year of Iesada's reign, Commodore Perry landed in Japan and forced an end to the isolation policy of the shogunate. However, the treaties signed between Japan and
861-467: The Shimazu then formed sub-fiefs within their domain, and doled out castles to their vassals, administering the domain in a manner not unlike a mini-shogunate. They also received special exceptions from the shogunate in regard to the policy of sankin-kōtai , another policy meant to restrict the wealth and power of the daimyō. Under this policy, every feudal lord was mandated to travel to Edo at least once
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#1732772647495902-644: The United States (negotiated by U.S. Consul to Japan Townsend Harris ) and, soon afterwards, similar treaties with other Western countries. The Harris Treaty was signed by the Tokugawa Shogunate in defiance of Emperor Kōmei 's instructions not to sign the treaty, thus branding the Shogunate as having betrayed the emperor and by extension, the country. From 1859, the ports of Nagasaki , Hakodate , and Yokohama became open to foreign traders as
943-450: The attack on Andō Nobumasa ) and foreigners alike ( Richardson murder ), as the Sonnō Jōi movement continued to expand. According to Sir Ernest Satow : "A bloody revenge was taken on the individual [Ii], but the hostility to the system only increased with time, and in the end brought about its complete ruin". The conflict reached its resolution with the military defeat of the shogunate in
984-404: The attack on the Imperial palace. When the shogunate decided to finally defeat Chōshū in a Second Chōshū expedition the next year, Satsuma, under the lead of Saigo Takamori and Ōkubo Toshimichi , decided to switch sides. The Satchō Alliance between Satsuma and Chōshū was brokered by Sakamoto Ryōma from Tosa . This second expedition ended in a disaster for the shogunate. It was defeated on
1025-483: The battlefield, and Shōgun Iemochi died of illness in Osaka Castle . The next shōgun , Tokugawa Yoshinobu , brokered a cease fire. Despite attempts by the new shōgun to reform the government, he was unable to contain the growing movement to overthrow the shogunate led by Satsuma and Chōshū. Even after he stepped down as shōgun and agreed to return the power to the Imperial court, the two sides finally clashed in
1066-418: The culture of the warrior rule and warrior spirit. Prior to the event, the warrior class had been described as weak and incapable of fighting, having lost all sense of warrior mission amid Japan's move toward modernization. For the following years until the fall of Bakufu in 1868, Edo, and more generally the streets of Japan, would remain notably hazardous for Bakufu officials (as displayed in events such as
1107-537: The evil religion , and to allow the three Foreign Ministers to reside in the land ... Therefore, we have consecrated ourselves to be the instruments of Heaven to punish this wicked man, and we have taken on ourselves the duty of ending a serious evil, by killing this atrocious autocrat. Accounts of the violent event were sent via ship across the Pacific to San Francisco and then sped by the Pony Express across
1148-419: The imperial court". The marriage between Tokugawa Iemochi , the next shōgun , and imperial princess Kazunomiya was a major success for this faction. However, this put Satsuma at odds with the more radical Sonnō jōi , or "revere the Emperor and repel the barbarians" faction, with Chōshū as the major supporter. In 1862, in the Namamugi Incident an Englishman was killed by retainers of Satsuma, leading to
1189-495: The incident in 1862, investigation was completed and verdicts were reached to punish the surviving guards. The seriously wounded, such as Shugoro Kusakari, were exiled to the Sano, Shimotsuke Province and had their stipends reduced. The slightly wounded were ordered to commit seppuku , and all the unharmed were beheaded, with their samurai status revoked. The popular upheaval against foreign encroachment and assassination of Ii forced
1230-614: The losing side. Satsuma was one of the most powerful feudal domains in Tokugawa Japan . It was controlled throughout the Edo period by the tozama daimyō of the Shimazu clan . Since the mid-15th century, Satsuma fought with the Ryukyu Kingdom for control of the Northern Ryukyu Islands , which lie southwest of Japan. In 1609, Shimazu Iehisa requested permission from the shogunate to invade Ryukyu. After
1271-527: The necessity for some change in policy since the coming of the Americans at Uraga , it is entirely against the interest of the country and a stain on the national honour to open up commercial relations with foreigners, to admit foreigners into the Castle, to conclude treaties with them, to abolish the established practice of trampling on the picture of Christ , to allow foreigners to build places of worship for
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1312-486: The office of Tairo was declared vacant. Out of the 60 samurai guards defending Ii Naosuke, four died in combat and four died within days from fatal wounds. Those samurai who were killed in action were allowed to keep and pass-on their hereditary samurai titles (thus privilege) to their heirs. Survivors, however, all received various degree of punishment for failing to protect the Chief Minister. Two years after
1353-500: The samurai class, domain system, and much of the political and social structures surrounding these were abolished shortly afterwards, figures from these two areas dominated the Japanese government roughly until World War I . However, the beginning of the period was marked by growing discontent of the former samurai class, which erupted in the Satsuma Rebellion under Saigo Takamori in 1877. The hereditary daimyōs were head of
1394-407: The shogunate monopolized commerce. In the 1830s, Satsuma used its illegal Okinawa trade to rebuild its finances under Zusho Hirosato . The Satsuma daimyō of the 1850s, Shimazu Nariakira , was very interested in Western thought and technology, and sought to open the country. At the time, contacts with Westerners increased dramatically, particularly for Satsuma, as Western ships frequently landed in
1435-759: The shogunate, especially among proponents of the Mito school . The assassination took place on March 24, 1860, on the day of the Double Third Festival where all daimyos stationed in Edo (modern Tokyo ) were scheduled to enter Edo Castle for meetings. The assassins attacked Ii's entourage just outside the Castle, near the Sakuradamon ( Sakurada Gate ) when Ii was reaching the premises. Ii had been warned about his safety, and many encouraged him to retire from office, but he refused, replying that "My own safety
1476-407: The size and productive wealth of Satsuma province itself, and from their extreme distance from Edo , and thus from the shōgun ' s armies. The Shimazu exercised their influence to exact from the shogunate a number of special exceptions. Satsuma was granted an exception to the shogunate's limit of one castle per domain, a policy which was meant to restrict the military strength of the domains;
1517-467: The western powers, particularly the Harris Treaty of 1858, put Japan at a serious disadvantage. In the same year, both Iesada and Nariakira died. Nariakira named his nephew, Shimazu Tadayoshi , as his successor. As Tadayoshi was still a child, his father, Shimazu Hisamitsu , effectively held the power in Satsuma. Hisamitsu followed a policy of Kōbu gattai , or "unity between the shogunate and
1558-640: Was a domain ( han ) of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan during the Edo period from 1602 to 1871. The Satsuma Domain was based at Kagoshima Castle in Satsuma Province , the core of the modern city of Kagoshima , located in the south of the island of Kyushu . The Satsuma Domain was ruled for its existence by the Tozama daimyō of the Shimazu clan , who had ruled the Kagoshima area since
1599-469: Was designated "Domain Head of Ryukyu Domain ", transferring Satsuma's authority over the country to Tokyo. Though not the wealthiest han in terms of kokudaka (the official measure of the wealth and therefore power of a han , measured in koku ), Satsuma remained among the wealthiest and most powerful domains throughout the Edo period. This derived not only from their connection to Ryukyu, but also from
1640-561: Was the assassination of Ii Naosuke , Chief Minister ( Tairō ) of the Tokugawa shogunate , on March 24, 1860 by rōnin samurai of the Mito Domain and Satsuma Domain , outside the Sakurada Gate of Edo Castle . Ii Naosuke, a leading figure of the Bakumatsu period and a proponent of the reopening of Japan after more than 200 years of seclusion , was widely criticized for signing the 1858 Treaty of Amity and Commerce with
1681-410: Was ultimately split from Kagoshima in 1883. The Shimazu family controlled Satsuma province for roughly four centuries prior to the beginning of the Edo period. Despite being chastised by Toyotomi Hideyoshi in his 1587 Kyūshū campaign , and forced back to Satsuma, they remained one of the most powerful clans in the archipelago. During the decisive battle of Sekigahara in 1600, the Shimazu fought on