The Kōzanji Uprising

Background — The Kinmon Incident, the Bakan War, and the First Chōshū Expedition

In Genji 1 (1864), Chōshū domain suffered defeat at the Kinmon Incident in Kyoto and was branded an enemy of the court. It was then crushed by the combined fleets of Britain, France, the United States, and the Netherlands in the Shimonoseki bombardment by the Four-Nation Fleet (the Bakan War), leaving the domain gravely damaged both at home and abroad. The shogunate seized the opportunity to dispatch the First Chōshū Expedition, and the punitive force, said to number 150,000, came to surround the domain.

Facing this unprecedented crisis, a faction within the domain favoring submission to the shogunate, the so-called junronha, rapidly gained strength. Centered on Mukunashi Tōta, the junronha seized control of domain policy. Holding the three senior councilors Kunishi Shinano, Masuda Uemonnosuke, and Fukuhara Echigo responsible for the Kinmon Incident, it ordered them to commit seppuku, and it executed four staff officers. Moreover, prominent figures of the reformist faction, who had long pursued sonnō jōi and tōbaku, were imprisoned and executed one after another, driving the reformist faction to the brink of annihilation. Chōshū domain was outwardly showing its submission to the shogunate in an attempt to deflect the punitive expedition.

The Uprising at Kōzan-ji

Under these circumstances, Takasugi Shinsaku, a central figure of the reformist faction, had been quietly watching for an opportunity to overthrow the junronha government. Late at night on the 15th day of the 12th month of Genji 1 (January 12, 1865), Takasugi visited Sanjō Sanetomi and the other Five Nobles, who were sheltering at Kōzan-ji temple in Chōfu (present-day Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture). He told them of his resolve to rise up, declaring, "Now I shall show you the mettle of Chōshū's men." He then galloped off on horseback through the snow and took up arms.

At this point, only 84 men followed Takasugi. This small rebel force was made up of the Rikishi-tai under Itō Hirobumi (then known as Shunsuke), the Yūgeki-tai under Ishikawa Kogorō (later known as Mihori Kōsuke), and volunteers gathered from the surrounding populace. On the following day, the 16th, the rebels attacked and seized the Chōshū domain's kaisho (magistrate's office) at Bakan (Shimonoseki), and they began taking direct action against the junronha government, including an attempt to seize the domain's warships.

The Militia Units Join and the Battles of Edō and Ōta

Initially, the militia units, led by the Kiheitai, avoided direct clashes with the junronha government and still maintained a posture of submission. However, as the junronha government continued executing reformist leaders, indignation spread rapidly among the militia units as well. The following year, Genji 2 (1865), on the 5th day of the 1st month, the militia units finally resolved to engage the domain government forces at Isa. In the Battle of Edō, fought from the night of the 6th into the early morning of the 7th, the militia units won a victory by defeating the domain government forces. In the subsequent battle at Ōta on the 10th of the 1st month, the rebel side likewise pressed the fight with the upper hand.

Takasugi Shinsaku joined the main body of militia forces at Isa on the 14th of the 1st month, unifying the chain of command of the rebel forces, which had until then been acting separately. On the 16th of the 1st month, at Akamura, the rebels defeated the vanguard of the domain government forces under Awaya Tatewaki, continuing their string of victories in various battles.

The Fall of Hagi Castle and the Collapse of the Junronha Government

Having won battle after battle, the rebel forces finally seized Hagi Castle, where the domain government was seated, on the 14th day of the 2nd month of Genji 2. The leaders who had led the junronha government fled or lost their positions, and domain policy came under the control of the reformist faction. What had begun as an uprising of just 84 men at Kōzan-ji had, after about two months of fighting within the domain, fundamentally transformed the political system of Chōshū domain itself.

Aftermath — The Shift in Chōshū Domain Policy and the Road to Overthrow of the Shogunate

The reformist faction, having taken control of domain policy, adopted the so-called "bibi kyōjun" line: outwardly feigning submission to the shogunate while preparing its armed forces, and building a system ready for the coming renewed confrontation with the shogunate. This shift in policy led to Chōshū's armed resistance in the Second Chōshū Expedition the following year, Keiō 2 (1866); to the conclusion of the Satchō Alliance, brokered in part by Sakamoto Ryōma; and to Chōshū's leadership of the movement to overthrow the shogunate during the Boshin War, which began in Keiō 4 (1868).

Although it was an uprising by only 84 men, a small force, Takasugi Shinsaku's decision at Kōzan-ji fundamentally transformed the policy of the entire Chōshū domain. In that it ultimately influenced even the course of the Meiji Restoration, it has been passed down to the present day as one of the most dramatic events in Bakumatsu history. The uprising is also known in later ages as the "Kaiten Gigi," and it is widely recognized as one of the greatest achievements of Takasugi Shinsaku's life.

Surviving Historical Sites

Kōzan-ji temple in Chōfu Kawabata, Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture, where the uprising took place, today houses an equestrian statue of Takasugi Shinsaku, and it welcomes many visitors as a popular sightseeing destination among Bakumatsu historical sites. Explanatory boards recounting the course of the uprising have also been set up within the temple grounds, and many people interested in the history of the Bakumatsu and Meiji Restoration visit. Kōzan-ji itself is an ancient temple said to have been founded in the Kamakura period, and its main hall (butsuden) is designated a National Treasure. Yet in Bakumatsu history, it is especially renowned as the stage where Takasugi Shinsaku, with only a handful of companions, lit the fuse that launched the domain policy shift.