Eto Shimpei
Encyclopedia
, was a Japan
ese statesman during the early Meiji period
, remembered chiefly for his role in the unsuccessful Saga Rebellion
.
family in Saga
, in Hizen province
(present-day Saga prefecture
). During the Boshin War
to overthrow the Tokugawa shogunate
, he served as a general in the imperial army.
After the Meiji Restoration
, Etō was appointed to a number of posts, including that of Minister of Justice in 1872, and was responsible for drafting Japan's first modern penal code the (Kaitei Ritsurei). In 1873, he became a sangi (Councilor) in the Daijō-kan, but resigned the same year, after the Seikanron
proposal made by Saigō Takamori
to invade Korea
was rejected.
political party which criticized the government and called for the formation of a national assembly. Receiving little support, he then resorted to armed insurrection (the Saga Rebellion
), gathering some 3000 followers, attacking a local bank for funds, and capturing government offices. The revolt was quickly suppressed by government forces under Ōkubo Toshimichi
, and Etō, along with 13 other ringleaders, was executed. Then their heads were displayed in publichttp://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Head_of_Eto_Shinpei.jpg. It was ultimate sanction in Japan.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese statesman during the early Meiji period
Meiji period
The , also known as the Meiji era, is a Japanese era which extended from September 1868 through July 1912. This period represents the first half of the Empire of Japan.- Meiji Restoration and the emperor :...
, remembered chiefly for his role in the unsuccessful Saga Rebellion
Saga Rebellion
The was an 1874 uprisings in Kyūshū against the new Meiji government of Japan. It was led by Etō Shimpei and Shima Yoshitake in their native domain of Hizen.-Background:...
.
Early Life & Meiji Bureaucrat
Etō was born into a crestless and poor samuraiSamurai
is the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character 侍 was originally a verb meaning to wait upon or accompany a person in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau...
family in Saga
Saga, Saga
is the capital of Saga Prefecture, located on the island of Kyūshū, Japan.Saga was the capital of Saga Domain in the Edo period, and largest city of former Hizen Province....
, in Hizen province
Hizen Province
was an old province of Japan in the area of Saga and Nagasaki prefectures. It was sometimes called , with Higo Province. Hizen bordered on the provinces of Chikuzen and Chikugo. The province was included in Saikaidō...
(present-day Saga prefecture
Saga Prefecture
is located in the northwest part of the island of Kyūshū, Japan. It touches both the Sea of Japan and the Ariake Sea. The western part of the prefecture is a region famous for producing ceramics and porcelain, particularly the towns of Karatsu, Imari, and Arita...
). During the Boshin War
Boshin War
The was a civil war in Japan, fought from 1868 to 1869 between forces of the ruling Tokugawa shogunate and those seeking to return political power to the imperial court....
to overthrow the Tokugawa shogunate
Tokugawa shogunate
The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the and the , was a feudal regime of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family. This period is known as the Edo period and gets its name from the capital city, Edo, which is now called Tokyo, after the name was...
, he served as a general in the imperial army.
After the Meiji Restoration
Meiji Restoration
The , also known as the Meiji Ishin, Revolution, Reform or Renewal, was a chain of events that restored imperial rule to Japan in 1868...
, Etō was appointed to a number of posts, including that of Minister of Justice in 1872, and was responsible for drafting Japan's first modern penal code the (Kaitei Ritsurei). In 1873, he became a sangi (Councilor) in the Daijō-kan, but resigned the same year, after the Seikanron
Seikanron
The Seikanron debate was a major political conflagration which occurred in Japan in 1873....
proposal made by Saigō Takamori
Saigo Takamori
was one of the most influential samurai in Japanese history, living during the late Edo Period and early Meiji Era. He has been dubbed the last true samurai.-Early life:...
to invade Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
was rejected.
Anti-government agitator & rebel
After resigning from the government, Etō returned home to his native Saga, and gathered together a group of dissaffected former samurai who were unhappy with the current regime. He formed the Aikoku KōtōAikoku Koto
The ' was a political party in Meiji period Japan.The Aikoku Kōtō was formed in January 1874 by Itagaki Taisuke, Etō Shimpei, Gotō Shōjirō and others as part of the Freedom and People's Rights Movement. Its purpose was to petition the Meiji government to establish a national assembly...
political party which criticized the government and called for the formation of a national assembly. Receiving little support, he then resorted to armed insurrection (the Saga Rebellion
Saga Rebellion
The was an 1874 uprisings in Kyūshū against the new Meiji government of Japan. It was led by Etō Shimpei and Shima Yoshitake in their native domain of Hizen.-Background:...
), gathering some 3000 followers, attacking a local bank for funds, and capturing government offices. The revolt was quickly suppressed by government forces under Ōkubo Toshimichi
Okubo Toshimichi
, was a Japanese statesman, a samurai of Satsuma, and one of the three great nobles who led the Meiji Restoration. He is regarded as one of the main founders of modern Japan.-Early life:...
, and Etō, along with 13 other ringleaders, was executed. Then their heads were displayed in publichttp://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Head_of_Eto_Shinpei.jpg. It was ultimate sanction in Japan.
See also
- María Luz IncidentMaría Luz IncidentThe was a diplomatic incident between the early Meiji government of the Empire of Japan and the Republic of Peru over a merchant ship with Chinese indentured labourers in Yokohama in 1872...
- Kosaburo EtoKosaburo EtoEto Kosaburo was a Japanese nationalist, thinker, social activist, and Japan Ground Self-Defense Force official, and a member of a leading Japanese political family...
- great-grandson. He committed protest suicide after 95 years later Shinpei's death.
Reference and further reading
- Duus, Peter. The Abacus and the Sword: The Japanese Penetration of Korea, 1895-1910 (Twentieth-Century Japan - the Emergence of a World Power, 4). University of California Press (1998). ISBN 0-520-21361-0.
- Hane, Mikiso. Modern Japan: A Historical Survey. Westview Press (2001). ISBN 0-8133-3756-9
- Harries, Meirion. Soldiers of the Sun: The Rise and Fall of the Imperial Japanese Army. Random House; Reprint edition (1994). ISBN 0-679-75303-6
- Najita, Tetsuo. Japan: The Intellectual Foundations of Modern Japanese Politics. University Of Chicago Press (1980). ISBN 0-226-56803-2
- Ryotaro ShibaRyotaro Shiba, born in Osaka, Japan, was a Japanese author best known for his novels about historical events in Japan and on the Northeast Asian sub-continent, as well as his historical and cultural essays pertaining to Japan and its relationship to the rest of the world....
1971 Saigetsu (KodanshaKodansha, the largest Japanese publisher, produces the manga magazines Nakayoshi, Afternoon, Evening, and Weekly Shonen Magazine, as well as more literary magazines such as Gunzō, Shūkan Gendai, and the Japanese dictionary Nihongo Daijiten. The company has its headquarters in Bunkyō, Tokyo...
).