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Battles, incidents, and historical events related to Japanese swords
8 events
18th day, 8th month, Bunkyū 3 (September 30, 1863)
On September 30, 1863 (Bunkyū 3/8/18), the Satsuma and Aizu domains, acting together, carried out a coup that expelled the radical sonnō-jōi faction centered on the Chōshū domain from Kyoto. Also called the "Bunkyū Coup," it set off the "Flight of the Seven Nobles" (Shichikyō-ochi), in which Sanjō Sanetomi and six other court nobles fled to Chōshū. As a coup that profoundly changed bakumatsu politics, it led on to the Kinmon Incident and the Chōshū expeditions.
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Bunkyū 3 (1863)
Formed in the 3rd year of Bunkyū (1863) from the rōshi band that the bakufu had recruited, the Shinsengumi stayed in Kyoto and was placed under the protection of the Aizu Domain, which held the post of Kyoto Shugoshoku (Kyoto Military Governor). It was a band of swordsmen that suppressed sonnō jōi shishi in Kyoto during the bakumatsu period. Under its kyokuchō (commander) Kondō Isami and fukuchō (deputy commander) Hijikata Toshizō, its members were feared for their unmatched elite swordsmanship and strict rules. As the period when the Japanese sword was last used in real combat, it holds a special place in the history of bakumatsu swordsmanship.
15th day, 1st month, Bunkyū 2 (February 13, 1862)
On February 13, 1862 (Bunkyū 2/1/15), six Mito rōnin attacked Andō Nobumasa, a senior councilor (rōjū), outside the Sakashitamon Gate of Edo Castle. Though Nobumasa survived with minor wounds, the incident demonstrated the rising power of the sonnō-jōi faction and the weakening of bakufu authority, becoming a major political upheaval. The direct motivation is attributed to opposition to the kōbu gattai policy brought about by the imperial princess Kazunomiya's marriage to Shogun Tokugawa Iemochi.
21st day of the 1st month, Keiō 2 (1866)
On the 21st day of the 1st month of Keiō 2 (March 7, 1866), a secret military agreement was concluded between the Satsuma and Chōshū clans through the mediation of Sakamoto Ryōma and Nakaoka Shintarō. One of the most influential political alliances in Japanese history, it enabled the overthrow of the shogunate and the Meiji Restoration.
1858–1859 (Ansei 5–6)
In 1858–1859, Tairō Ii Naosuke launched a sweeping purge of opponents who contested the shogunate's succession dispute and the Harris Treaty with the United States. Over 100 activists, scholars and daimyo were punished; Yoshida Shōin and Hashimoto Sanai were executed. The crackdown directly provoked the Sakuradamon assassination of Ii in 1860.
7th–12th month, Genji 1 (1864–1865)
In the 8th month of Genji 1 (1864), the Tokugawa shogunate organized a large-scale punitive expedition against the Chōshū Domain, which had fired on the imperial court during the Kinmon Incident. With Saigō Takamori serving as mediator, the Chōshū Domain apologized and submitted, and the campaign ended without bloodshed.
January 3, 1868 (9th day of the 12th month of Keiō 3)
Issued in the name of Emperor Meiji on the 9th day of the 12th month of Keiō 3 (January 3, 1868), the Imperial Restoration Proclamation abolished the offices of regent and shogunate and declared the establishment of a new government with three posts. That same night, the Kogo-sho Conference decided Tokugawa Yoshinobu must resign his offices and return his domains, marking the effective end of the Edo shogunate.
November 9, 1867 (14th day of the 10th month of Keiō 3)
On the 14th day of the 10th month of Keiō 3 (November 9, 1867), the 15th shogun Tokugawa Yoshinobu returned political authority to the imperial court. This act brought the 265-year Edo shogunate to an end and enabled the transfer of power to the new Meiji government — one of the most decisive turning points in Japanese history.