New History Textbook (Chapter 4 & 5) 2005 version - Bakumatsu Films

47 The Satsuma-Choshu Alliance and the Fall of the Shogunate
How did the reign of the Tokugawa Shogunate come to an end?
The Satsuma-Choshu Alliance and the Movement to Overthrow the Shogunate
In 1863, the Shogunate expelled Choshu forces and nobles who sympathized with them from the
Court. It then set up a leadership coalition consisting mainly of Tokugawa family members and
powerful fiefs, such as Satsuma and Aizu (now Fukushima Prefecture). The following year, the
Shogunate led armies from several fiefs in a victorious assault on Choshu. But in Choshu,
Takasugi Shinsaku organized a revolt against fief officials because they had given in to Shogunate
demands. He and Kido regained control of Choshu, and recommenced their campaign to topple the
Shogunate.
Similarly, in Satsuma, Okubo Toshimichi and Saigo Takamori had acquired positions of leadership
in the fief government. Their experiences in the Anglo-Satsuma War had convinced them that the
joi or exclusionist strategy should be abandoned in favor of improving Japan’s military strength.
Eventually, they began preparing to confront the Shogunate, which by then was again in power,
having expelled the Choshu faction from the capital, Kyoto.
In 1866, Sakamoto Ryoma of Tosa fief (now Kochi Prefecture) indicated that it was necessary to
build a united Japan strong enough to compete with foreign forces. He succeeded in arranging a
meeting between former enemies Saigo Takamori of Satsuma and Kido Takayoshi of Choshu. The
result was the Satsuma-Choshu Alliance, whereby the two fiefs entered into a secret agreement to
overthrow the Shogunate. The sonno-joi movement was now a campaign to overthrow the
Shogunate.
The Fall of the Shogunate
Tokugawa Keiki became the 15th shogun in 1866, when the previous shogun died. In 1867,
Emperor Komei, who had been sympathetic to the Shogunate, also died. With the ascension to the
throne of his successor, 14-year-old Emperor Meiji, the anti-Shogunate faction gained the upper
hand.
In October 1867, Keiki decided that the Tokugawa family could no longer retain the reins of
government, at least not in the form of a shogunate. He returned the powers vested in him to the
Court. Keiki convened a meeting of all feudal lords in the presence of the Emperor. He expected
the Tokugawa family, the largest landholders in Japan, to maintain actual control.
Saigo Takamori and Okubo Toshimichi of Satsuma deduced Keiki’s plan. Together with Iwakura
Tomomi, a Court noble, and Kido Takayoshi and other Choshu leaders, the two men plotted to
drive Keiki out and confiscate his land.
At the end of 1867, the Court issued a proclamation announcing the restoration of imperial rule.
The proclamation stated that Japan would return to the system that had prevailed in ancient times,
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