First Chōshū expedition
Encyclopedia
The First Chōshū expedition (Japanese:第一次長州征討) was a punitive military expedition led by the Tokugawa Shogunate
against the Chōshū Domain in retaliation for the attack of Chōshū on the Imperial Palace in the Hamaguri rebellion
. The First Chōshū expedition was launched on 1 September 1864.
The conflict finally led to a compromise brokered by the Satsuma Domain at the end of 1864. Although Satsuma initially jumped on the opportunity to weaken its traditional ally Chōshū, it soon realized that the intention of the Bakufu was first to neutralize Chōshū, and then to neutralize Satsuma. For this reason, Saigo Takamori
, who was one of the Commanders of the Shogunate forces, proposed to avoid fighting and instead obtain the head of the ones responsible for the Hamaguri rebellion. Choshu was relieved to accept, as were the Shogunate Han forces, who were not much interested in battle. Thus ended the First Chōshū expedition without a fight, as a nominal victory for the Bakufu.
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...
against the Chōshū Domain in retaliation for the attack of Chōshū on the Imperial Palace in the Hamaguri rebellion
Hamaguri rebellion
The rebellion at the Hamaguri Gate of the Imperial Palace in Kyōto took place on August 20, 1864 and reflected the discontent of pro-imperial and anti-alien groups...
. The First Chōshū expedition was launched on 1 September 1864.
The conflict finally led to a compromise brokered by the Satsuma Domain at the end of 1864. Although Satsuma initially jumped on the opportunity to weaken its traditional ally Chōshū, it soon realized that the intention of the Bakufu was first to neutralize Chōshū, and then to neutralize Satsuma. For this reason, Saigo 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:...
, who was one of the Commanders of the Shogunate forces, proposed to avoid fighting and instead obtain the head of the ones responsible for the Hamaguri rebellion. Choshu was relieved to accept, as were the Shogunate Han forces, who were not much interested in battle. Thus ended the First Chōshū expedition without a fight, as a nominal victory for the Bakufu.