Japanese animation is really a huge system, including Japanese history, folklore, legends, and religious beliefs. In short, there are too many. Since you asked about the Meiji Restoration, I suggest you read "Concise" "General History of Japan", and other books on Japanese customs and religious studies. Some of these books are very easy to understand and can be found in larger libraries in cities, as well as in university libraries.

The Meiji Restoration destroyed the old feudal order and created a new era, which had a profound impact on both Japanese history and world history. The protagonists of the restoration were not the four powerful feudal lords, but the middle and lower-level samurai and civilians. Below, I will first introduce the situation of this era according to the vassal genus.

Changshu (Maori) Domain

Changshu was the vanguard of the founding of the country and the fall of King Zun. The feudal lord Mori Jingqin led a powerful group of retainers to twice resist the shogunate's call. The feudal clan encircled and suppressed him, and in the subsequent Boshin War, he became the main force in the overthrow of the Tokugawa shogunate.

The Furious Takasugi Shinsaku (1839-1867)

The first time I met Takasugi was in the manga "Makumi Western Medicine Gaiden" written by Kazuo Manfune. At that time, we only knew that he was a reformer who founded the Qi Brigade. He died of lung disease at the age of twenty-seven. Later, after reading relevant historical records, I understood his amazing charm.

There were three heroes of the Meiji Restoration (Kido Takayoshi, Okubo Toshimichi and Saigo Takamori), but there were three other people at the same time who were more famous than the three heroes, namely Takasugi Shinsaku of Choshu, Sakamoto Ryoma of Tosa and The ministers are better than Haizhou.

Takasugi Shinsaku's first name was Kazusuke, also known as Spring Breeze, and his name was Dongxing. The lord of the domain was also named Toichi (the first person in Toboku) and Tani Hunzou (deep valley hidden dragon). His family was an important minister of the Choshu Dynasty, and he studied under the great thinker Yoshida Shoin. Together with Hisaka Genzui and Irie Hisashi, he was known as the "Three Disciples of Matsushita".

In 1862, Gao Shan traveled to China and witnessed the Manchu Qing being oppressed by foreign powers and reduced to a semi-colony, which aroused his sense of crisis. After returning to the country, he led the anti-makuta movement within the domain. He proposed the strategy of "great separatism" and organized a "surprise team" composed of civilians and farmers as the main body, which was deeply respected by Maori.

In 1864, the fleets of Britain, France, the Netherlands and the United States attacked Choshu Shimonoseki, and the Choshu army was defeated. Shortly thereafter, the shogunate launched the first Changchang War. The conservative forces in Choshu took the opportunity to seize the vassal government and surrendered to the shogunate to apologize. On December 15, Takasugi led an uprising of eighty people at Maguan Gongshan Temple. In just three months, he swept across the entire Choshu region and regained power.

In 1866, the shogunate launched the second expedition war, dispatching more than 20 vassals and 150,000 troops to march along the four routes of Oshimakou, Yishukou, Shishukou and Kyushukou. Therefore, Also known as the "Four Realms War". Takasugi served as the naval governor of Choshu and the staff officer of Kyushukou. With one against ten, he won a complete victory. In January of the following year, he forced the surrender of Ogura Domain, the main force of the expedition. In April, Takasugi died of tuberculosis.

Gao Shan was the most earth-shattering hero in the Restoration Era, and his contemporaries called him "no one can match". KOEI's masterpiece "The Arashi of Restoration" sets him as ranked first in terms of martial power 162, academic ability 128, charm 161, and advancement in advancement, which is no exaggeration. Gao Shan has visited China and lived in Shanghai. He has always had strong friendly feelings towards China, which is what makes him different from other people with lofty ideals.

But what is interesting is that although Takasugi advocates "the equality of the four peoples" and recruits farmers to join the surprise team, he himself often behaves like a superior samurai. During his lifetime, he called himself the "Governor of the Unexpected Force" and led his followers, geishas, ??and parasols on a leisurely drunken walk through the streets of Shimonoseki. He also warned his wife, Masako, to "keep in mind the difference in status between a samurai's wife and a town citizen's wife." . After his death, Masako always refused to accept funding from his old friends Takasugi Hirobumi Ito and Aritomo Yamagata, who were in high positions. He said: "A samurai's wife, no matter how poor she is, cannot live on the support of her juniors.

His original name was Katsura Kogoro (his father’s surname was Wada, he was adopted by the Katsura family). Later, in order to avoid persecution by the shogunate, he changed his name to Kido Kanji, and then changed his name again. His name is Kido Takayun, and his name is Shogiku.

Katsura is one of the three heroes of the Restoration. He also came from the Yoshida Shoin sect and learned swordsmanship (Shinto Muken-ryu) at the dojo of Saito Yakuro in Edo. , achieved outstanding results, and became the head of the school in the second year. In 1858, he was appointed as the chief inspector of the Choshu Domain in Edo.

In order to combat the emperor's anti-barbarian faction, the shogunate leader Ii Naobi. The Ansei Prison was established in 1858, and Yoshida Shoin, Hashimoto Sanai, Yori Misaki Saburo and other patriots were all executed. Katsura was stimulated by this incident and his thoughts became mature. From then on, he traveled between Edo, Kyoto and Hagi. Contact comrades and prepare for the uprising.

In June 1864, Katsura and the patriots of the Choshu, Tosa, and Kumamoto domains met for a secret meeting at the hotel Ikedaya in Sanjo Kawaramachi, Kyoto. They were attacked by the Shinsengumi, killing many people. Katsura was lucky. Not only did she escape because she was late, but she also met a confidante - the second generation geisha Ikumatsu, whose original surname was Ikusaki. Kido Takayoshi's wife Matsuko

When the Boshin War broke out, Saigo was at the front with troops, and Katsura and Okubo were at the back.

After the victory of the Restoration, Katsura and Okubo also joined the Iwakura Mission to visit European and American countries. Although the conflicts between them became increasingly intensified, they still joined forces to defeat Saigo Takamori in 1877, who was eager to expand abroad.

Later, when the Okubo dictatorship was established, Katsura was marginalized and for a time resigned angrily. Shortly after the outbreak of the Southwest War in 1877, he died of illness in Kyoto at the age of 45.

The strange thing is that in "Restoration Lan", Gui's various numerical values ??are set to be very ordinary, especially the advancement of thought is on the low side, which is really inexplicable.

The first Prime Minister Ito Hirobumi (1841～1909)

His original name was Shunsuke, a disciple of Shoin clan. He was a loyal follower of Katsura before visiting Europe and the United States with the Iwakura mission in 1871. From then on, he became increasingly close to Okubo Toshimichi.

Ito first came to prominence after Takasugi Shinsaku established the Kaisei Team. He also organized the Rikishi Team and participated in the Kozanji Uprising in 1864. After the victory of the Restoration, he held important positions in the government for a long time. Katsura died of illness in 1877, Okubo was assassinated in 1878, and Okuma Shigenobu resigned in 1881, and he became a key figure in the government. In 1885, he was appointed Prime Minister of the first cabinet.

Ito is a veteran imperialist who actively advocates the invasion of Korea and China. In 1909, he secretly discussed the annexation of North Korea with the Russian envoy and went to Harbin. On October 26, he was shot dead by North Korean patriot An Jung-geun.

"Common official" Inoue Kaoru (1835～1915)

Born as a low-level samurai in Choshu, he was a loyal figure in the rebellion. He once guarded the entrance of Eishu in the Shikoku War. He not only defeated the enemy, but also counterattacked and forced the Eishu clan to sue for peace. After the Restoration, he held important positions many times and actively promoted bourgeois reforms with Okuma Shigenobu of Hizen and others. However, he was defeated by the conservative Saigo Takamori. He and Eto Shinpei were called "vulgar officials" - of course Inoue also called Saigo a "fool" in return.

Inoue once abandoned his official position and entered business, helping to lay the foundation of the Mitsui Consortium. In 1876, he signed the Ganghwa Treaty, an unequal treaty against Korea, on behalf of Japan. In 1907, he was awarded the title of Marquis.

Military genius Omura Masujiro (1824～1869)

His original surname was Hayashida, his given name was Nagatoshi, a doctor from Choshu. He studied Western medicine and Dutch from Ogata Koan in Osaka, and later entered the shogunate. He served as a professor at the Institute of Military Arts and translated Western military books.

Katsura Kogoro came into contact with him and felt that this taciturn, strange (looking like a catfish) guy seemed to be full of knowledge. When he found out that he was from the feudal clan, he tried his best to get him back to Honshu and study in the feudal school. Myung Lun Hall teaches military science.

During the Four Borders War, Omura defended Shishukou, wearing long clothes and clogs, and commanding decisively, he invaded Hamada Domain and won a complete victory. After the new government's Eastern Expeditionary Army invaded Edo in 1868, Amano Hachiro and others organized the Shogi Corps in Ueno to confront the Eastern Expeditionary Army. Saigo Takamori and others were defeated in repeated battles. As a result, Omura had an absolutely inferior force and the battle ended in one day. Amano was captured and Akihito dispersed, and the whole of Japan was shocked.

Omura never speaks, so he just works hard. During the Battle of Ueno, the Shoui Corps was so powerful that Omura planned to place the Satsuma soldiers, the most powerful among the government troops, in the most dangerous positions. When Xixiang Longsheng saw this plan, he was surprised and asked Omura: "Do you want to destroy all the soldiers?" Omura thought for a long time and answered honestly: "Yes". Xixiang was speechless.

After the Restoration, Omura served as the Daifu of the Ministry of War of the new government. Because he wanted to change the military system to a Western style, he was attacked by the anti-barbarian faction and was eventually assassinated. Unfortunately, he was not stabbed to death at that time. After a month of torture, he died due to infection of the wound.

Army Marshal Shanxian Youpeng (1838～1922)

No. Sukuang, Yanxue, also known as Yacheng Shanren, Chunshan Village Master, Wulin Nunnery Master, Xiaotao Nunnery Master, Gu Xi The master of the nunnery (the guy who is addicted to the name) is commonly known as Kuangjie. When he was young, he joined the Qi soldiers and served as military supervisor. Shortly after the Gongshanji Uprising, he defected to Takasugi with his troops, and later participated in the Shikoku War and the Boshin War, with outstanding achievements.

In Watsuki Nobuhiro's "Rurouni Kenshin - The Romance of the Meiji Swordsman", Yamagata Sogata makes a small appearance, so everyone may still have an impression. At that time he was a lieutenant general, but in 1899 he was promoted to field marshal. In addition, he formed the government twice in 1889 and 1898.

Choshu, where talents abound

The ancestor of the idea of ??respecting and rejecting foreigners in Choshu is, of course, Yoshida Shoin (1830-1859). His disciples include Takasugi, Katsura, and Ito. , as well as Irie Kuichi (1837～1864), Hisasaka Genzui (1840～1864), Shinagawa Yajirō (1843～1900), Masuda Eemon Monsuke (1833～1864), who are as famous as Takasugi in the school, etc., are all He made an immortal contribution to the reform cause.

The reason why Songyin was able to blatantly advocate the idea of ??respecting the king had a lot to do with the support of Zhou Buzhengnosuke (1823~1864), an important minister of Changzhou. In addition, Nagai Gagaku (1819-1863)'s "Navigation Strategy" laid the foundation for the ideological transformation of the reformers from resisting the foreigners to founding the country.

The person who became the leader of the Choshu Restoration without coming out of the Shoin clan was Katasawa Maomi (1833～1871). He once went to Beijing with Okubo Toshimichi to accept the secret edict to suppress the curtain. However, his final fate was the same as Okubo's: he was assassinated.

In addition, there was a guy named Nogi Nogi Nogi (1849-1912) from Changzhou. He joined the army after the Restoration. He participated in the Sino-Japanese War of 1891-1898 and later served as the governor of Taiwan. He also fought with the Russians in Lushun We have fought against each other (really the biggest enemy of our country). However, the reason why he is famous is that when Emperor Meiji died, Nogi and his wife committed suicide. Therefore, he was revered as the "God of War" by Japanese militarists, and was compared with Kusunoki Masashige during the Southern and Northern Dynasties. In the short story "Shogun", Akutagawa Ryunosuke scolded him until he was bitten.

Satsuma (Shimadzu) Domain

Satsuma Domain’s actions during the Restoration were second only to Choshu, but its authority in the new government was higher than that of Choshu. The lord of the feudal lord, Shimazu Qibin, was an ambitious man, so the Sa army was the strongest.

"Hero of the common people" Saigo Takamori (1827～1877)

His nickname was Yoshihei, Yoshinosuke, and his daimyo Takayaga. After the Restoration, he changed his name to Takamori and his nickname was Nanzhou. He once advocated respecting the king and fighting the barbarians with the monk Yuezhao, but they were not tolerated by the vassal, so they agreed to commit suicide by drowning. The moonlight sank to the bottom, but Xixiang was lucky to be rescued.

Sa and Naga had a long-standing feud. Thanks to the contact between Nakaoka Shintaro and Sakamoto Ryoma, Saigo and Katsura Kogoro finally met and agreed on the joint collapse of the two vassals. He served as military commander during the Boshin War. After the victory, he resigned and returned to Satsuma because of his opposition to Okubo on the issue of conquering Korea (Saigo advocated using the Korean war to divert domestic conflicts).

Saigo recruited many disciples in Satsuma (Kagoshima Prefecture), opened a military academy, and maintained public security. In fact, he established an independent kingdom that was not controlled by the central government. In 1877, he was supported by the dissatisfied nobles to launch the Southwest War, but soon failed and committed seppuku.

However, the Japanese have a very good impression of Saigo (second only to Ryoma). They call it "the hero of the common people" and interpret various legends - why? God knows.

His younger brother Xixiang followed Taoism and did not join the gentry rebellion with his brother. In 1898, he was promoted to field marshal.

Dictator Okubo Toshimichi (1830-1878)

He was famous and well-known, commonly known as Shosuke, later known as Ichizo, and also known as Kotō. One of the three heroes of the Restoration and an important minister of Safan. He initially pursued a policy of combining public and military affairs (the imperial court was held by the public and the shogunate was held by the armed forces. The combination of public and military affairs meant that the emperor and the generals shared power). Later, due to changes in circumstances, he transformed into the shogunate faction.

He had a close personal relationship with Saigo. During the Boshin War, Saigo was in charge of the army and Okubo was in charge of the people, and they cooperated very well. However, through his subsequent participation in the Iwakura mission to Europe and the United States, Okubo increasingly agreed with Katsura Kogo's idea of ??putting internal governance first and opposed Saigo's "conquest of Korea" theory. Saigo was forced to resign and return home, while Okubo, as the Secretary of the Interior, controlled the real power of the Meiji government. From then on, the feud between the two deepened.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs at that time, in addition to administration, also included public security, industry and commerce, and some financial and judicial powers. Okubo also established a complete dictatorship system with Okuma Shigenobu (Minister of the Ministry of Industry) and Hirobumi Ito (Minister of the Ministry of Industry) as his right-hand men.

Okubo in "Kenshin" is calm and wise, caring about the country and the people - indeed his rule played a great role in promoting Japan's rapid prosperity.

In the second year of the Southwest War (1878), Okubo was assassinated while traveling.

The Heroes of Kagoshima

At the end of the Warring States Period, the Shimazu family dominated Kyushu with its powerful retainers. More than two hundred years later, under the leadership of Shimazu Hisamitsu (Shimazu Saibin's brother and the father of the next generation Tsu Tadayoshi), talented people emerged in large numbers, becoming the most powerful feudal clan in the southwest and the main force in its downfall.

In addition to Saigo, Shimazu’s family members of the overthrow faction also included Komatsu Taito (1835-1870), who formed the Seichua group with Toshimichi Okubo. Other talents include Arima Shinchi (1825-1862), who conspired to assassinate the shogunate eldest brother Ii Naomi, Ichi Masaharu (1828-1886), who was good at military strategy despite his shortcomings in eyesight and feet, and the diplomatic genius Tadanori Terajima (1832). ~1893), Tanaka Shinbei (? ~1863), a great assassin known as "Jinzhan Shinbei", Togo Heihachiro (1847~1934) who participated in the Sino-Japanese War of 1894, and Nakamura Hanjiro (1838~1877), nicknamed "The Executioner" wait.

There are two other characters worth writing about. The first is Kuroda Kiyotaka (1840-1900), who served as Hakodate's expeditionary staff to capture Goryokaku, Enomoto Takehi's base. But after the war was won, he ran around begging for Enomoto's life and finally had him released. In 1888, Kuroda also formed a cabinet and became prime minister.

There is also the great chaebol Godai Tomohou (1835-1885), who was famous in Kansai for a while. Unlike other industrialists, he was not from a family of merchants, but was a scholar-turned-businessman and an outstanding talent of the Saban dynasty. .

Tosa (Yamuchi) Domain

The feudal lord Yamauchido is a strong advocate of the public discussion system (the feudal lords collectively manage state affairs), so the feudal discussions at the upper and lower levels are not immune to its influence. ——Even the famous "Eight Strategies in the Boat" by Long Ma has a strong flavor of public discussion.

Ryoma Fei Teng - Sakamoto Ryoma (1835～1867)

Friends who are familiar with the history of the Warring States Period must remember that the center of Akechi Mitsuhide's fiefdom was in Sakamoto Castle - Ryoma's Sakamoto surname originated from That's why.

Mitsuhide's son-in-law, Akechi Hidemitsu (Zomanosuke), is said not to have died in the Yamazaki battle, but to have fled to Nagaoka County, Tosa. From the fourth generation to Hachibei, he opened an izakaya "Saitaniya", and from the sixth generation to Hachirobei first obtained the qualification of a rural scholar. Hachirobei's name is Naomasu, and he is the grandfather of Sakamoto Ryoma (real name Naoru). Therefore, Ryoma is different from most other reformers. First, he has a low status, just a country scholar, and secondly, he is very rich (Saitaya is one of the largest merchants in Tosa). His swordsmanship came from the Chiba Dojo, where he learned Beichen Itto-ryu - that is, the origin of Beichen-ryu's wolf-tooth drawn sword shooting technique ("Quick Gunner" Ryoma?).

The story happened around the time Ryoma left the feudal clan and went east to Edo, plotting to assassinate the shogunate Katsu Kaishu. Ryoma once said to a close friend: "I like the Kodachi. The Kodachi is more flexible and more practical than the Kodachi." The friend agreed, and never wanted to see Ryoma again, but he took out a pistol and said, "This is more powerful than the Kodachi."

Sheng Haizhou is the pioneer of founding theory. Long Ma, who holds the idea of ??resisting foreigners, regards him as an assassination target and a traitor who must be killed. However, Sheng's insightful thinking finally made Long Ma realize that without founding a country, developing its economy, and strengthening its national strength, it would be impossible to resist foreign powers. When that friend met Ryoma again, Ryoma took out a book on the founding of the nation: "Pistols can only kill the enemy, this book can revitalize Japan!"

Ryoma, who became Katsu Kaishu's disciple, conceived his own unique Theory of politics and government. In 1864, he founded the trading company "Shezhong" in Kameyama, Nagasaki, also known as "Kameyama Shezhong", which later became the famous "Sea Aid Team". The "Sea Aid Team" is not just a business and trade organization, it is the general liaison station and information station for the people who respect the king. Using the "Sea Aid Team", Ryoma invested a large amount of money into the king's overthrow movement, and ran repeatedly, finally promoting the alliance between the two sects.

In 1867, Ryoma and Goto Shojiro completed the "Eight Strategies in the Ship" together, advocating that the general return to power and change the country's system to a constitutional monarchy. Many provisions in the "Eight Strategies in the Ship". It was later moved intact into the constitution and various laws and regulations of the new Meiji government.

In his short life, Ryoma devoted all his efforts to the revitalization of Japan, so he said: "I believe that Japan's long night will eventually usher in the dawn." But he failed to see the dawn. On November 15, 1867, he was suddenly attacked by an assassin who claimed to be Yamato Totsugawa Goshi in Omiya, Kyoto. Ryoma was stabbed in the heart and died immediately. Also killed at the same time was Shintaro Nakaoka, the captain of the "Marine Rescue Team". The assassin was rumored to be Sasaki Tosaburo, one of the leaders of the "Ronin Squad", the predecessor of the "Shinsengumi" - but a closer look at the situation revealed that many people had the motive to kill Ryoma at the time. Who actually killed him may always be a mystery. .

Ryoma can be said to be the luckiest man in Japanese history, because after his death his name spread all over the world, even overseas, and he was deeply loved by all walks of life - the common people believed that he was the civilian who saved Japan. A hero; bourgeois consider him the founder of modern Japanese business; democrats consider him a pioneer of democracy; conservatives consider him a loyal minister of the emperor; militarists consider him the patron saint of the imperial navy. Therefore, Ryoma's reputation is far higher than that of the "Three Heroes of the Restoration" and even Takasugi Kazuma and others, and he cannot but be said to be an anomaly.

Ryoma’s ally from birth to death—Nakaoka Shintaro (1838～1867)

“Sea Aid” and “Land Aid” are mutually exclusive, although Shintaro founded "Marine Rescue Team" is inspired by "Shezhong", but Ryoma adapted "Shezhong" into "Sea Aid Team", which is actually imitating "Marine Rescue Team". In comparison, the "sea aid team" is more like a business corps, Ryoma is more like a debater, and the "ground aid team" is like an army, and Shintaro is undoubtedly a soldier. Although the argument that "Ryoma's main purpose is to make money, Shintaro's main purpose is the Restoration" is simply nonsense, Nakaoka Shintaro's role in the Meiji Restoration is indeed no less than Ryoma. At the age of 23, Shintaro joined the Tosa Kinnoi Party headed by Takeichi Mizuzan (Hanheita). In 1865, he launched the Sa Chang Alliance Movement and achieved complete success with the help of Ryoma. In the same year, he completed the famous book "The Theory of Current Affairs", advocating that the center of the reform was the word "war". He founded the "Marine Relief Corps" in July 1867. In November of the same year, he went to Kyoto to visit Ryoma and died in the Omi House Incident. He was 30 years old at the time, 3 years younger than Ryoma.

A rare assassin—Okada Izo (1838-1865)

Izo was born into a family of the lowest-ranking countrymen in the Tosa Domain. He aspired to be like Miyamoto Musashi since he was a child. A great swordsman, however, with his status, it is difficult to enter a first-class dojo to study. He could only learn secretly while hiding outside the dojo, and thus developed a unique style of assassination swordsmanship.

The dojo of Takeshi Ruishan, a senior country scholar and leader of the Tosa Kinou Party, opened. Izo finally got the opportunity to formally learn from his master, and was praised by Ruishan for his amazing talent. In 1856, Zuishan went to Edo to study and practice, and Izo was allowed to accompany him. At Momoi Dojo, one of the three major temples in Edo, Izo studied hard and received the true teachings of Kashin Akechi-ryu. After that, he accompanied Ruishan and traveled and practiced in the defense ministers and Kyushu areas. From then on, the name of the swordsman Yizo spread throughout the world.

While learning swordsmanship from Ruishan, Yizang also gradually accepted the idea of ??respecting the king. After his study tour, he entered Kyoto and began to snipe and kill members of the Samu sect, which was also known as "Tenchu". Therefore, he was called "Executioner Izo" (human beheading Izo).

Not only did he assassinate officials and ronin, nearly 20 of whom had only documented cases, but he also took down the wooden statue of the third Ashikaga shogun in the Kyoto Edoji-in Temple on February 23, 1863, and exposed it in the Shijo River. , to express intimidation to the Tokugawa Shoguns of the current regime.

In 1865, Izo was arrested in Kyoto, and was later extradited to the Tosa Domain. After brutal torture, he was executed and his head was displayed in public in Yankiri River. He was 28 years old. Although Itagaki died, freedom will not perish - Itagaki Taisuke (1837-1919)

An important minister of Yamauchi Hall, proficient in Western military art, became one of the leaders of the Tosa Kinou Party. During the Boshin War, he served as a staff officer of the Governor-General's Office and attacked Aizu Castle, the center of the Ou Etsurie Alliance, and won a great victory. In the early years of Meiji, he served as a councilor of the government. In 1873, he resigned together with Saigo Takamori because he proposed the conquest of Korea. The following year, he organized the Patriotic Public Party, proposed the establishment of an elected chamber, launched the freedom and civil rights movement, and led the establishment of groups such as the Li Chi Society and the Patriot Society to promote the petition movement for the establishment of Congress.

In 1881, Itagaki founded the Liberal Party and was elected prime minister. Okuma Shigenobu, Ito Hirobumi and other rulers were very troubled by him, so in 1882, the government sponsored him to travel to various European countries for inspection. After returning to Japan in 1883, Itagaki disbanded the Liberal Party and broke away from the civil rights movement. In 1896, he was appointed Minister of the Interior. In 1898, he formed a cabinet with Shigenobu Okuma, commonly known as the "Kuma Ita Cabinet", and was appointed Minister of the Interior again.

While promoting the freedom and civil rights movement, Itagaki was assassinated and seriously injured. then. He said the famous saying: "Although Itagaki dies, freedom will never die."

The powerful vassal of the four countries, the hero of Tosa

In terms of ideological progress, Tosa is not as good as Choshu. In terms of promoting role in the reform, Tosa is not as good as Satsuma; but from Ryoma to Itagaki, from the "Eight Strategies in the Ship" to the freedom and civil rights movement, Tosa's heroes also have their own unusual and glorious existence.

The progress of Tosa feudal theory began with Yoshida Toyo (1816～1862). Toyo presided over the feudal government for a long time and relied on Itagaki Taisuke and Goto Shojiro (1838-1897) as his right-hand men. After the radical Tosa Ginou Party was established, they sent people to assassinate Toyo Yoshida and replaced him with Takeichi Zuisan (1829-1865).

During this period, Ryoma organized a sea relief team. Most of the team members were Tosa people. The main cadres included Nagaoka Kenkichi (1834-1872, Ryoma's descendant was in charge of the sea relief team after his death), Mutsu Munemitsu (a member of the Kii domain, Described in another article), Kondo Chojiro (1840-1886, nicknamed "Steamed Bun House Chojiro"), Shingu Monosuke (1836-1886) and Ikeuchi Zouta (1841-1866), as well as Ryoma's nephew Takamatsu Taro ( 1842～1898) etc.

In 1865, Takeshi Zuishan was imprisoned and died, and Goto Shojiro returned to the feudal government. After the Meiji Restoration, although the four powerful Yun clans were in power, most of the heroes of the Tu clan were pushed out of office. Goto formed the Liberal Party with Itagaki, and the former vice president of the Liberal Party was Nobuyuki Nakajima (1846-1869), who was also a Tosa feudal lord and had joined the sea relief team.

There are two other people that must be mentioned. One is Torataro Yoshimura (Tatarou, 1837-1863), who was the first to break away from the feudal clan and organize the "Tenchu-gumi", who was defeated in Yamato in 1863. The second is Iwasaki Yataro (1834-1885), a cadre of the sea rescue team who later dominated maritime transportation in the Meiji era. He once combined his Sankai Hisashi family crest with the Yamauchi Sanye Kashiwa family crest to create a world-famous trading company. Company emblem - Mitsubishi.

Higo (Nabeshima Domain, Saga)

The feudal lords were Nabeshima Kanuna and Nabeshima Naoda. Compared to the top three powerful clans, Saga is almost a handful, and its talent pool is far inferior to that of Mito and Kumamoto clans. There are only three worth mentioning.

First there are the "two majors", namely Oki Kashihito (1832~1899) who first proposed moving the capital to Edo (Tokyo) and became the first governor of Tokyo, and Okuma Shigenobu (1838) who organized Japan's earliest political party cabinet ~1922). There was also Eto Shinpei (1834-1874), who advocated the alliance between male and feudal lords and the integration of public and military forces. During the Restoration, he made great contributions in the battle with the Changyi Corps. Later, he advocated the conquest of Korea and went to power at the same time as Saigo Takamori. However, Saigo launched a rebellion in Saga and was defeated and killed.

vc8698 2005-05-19 22:31

The shogunate in the changing situation

Tenryo (the territory directly under the Tokugawa shogunate) occupies the entire Japanese land One-third stronger, and the talents under the curtain are doubled. If the current situation is not compelling, just a few vassals will not be able to shake it.

Ryuma’s Master—Katsu Kaishu (1823～1899)

Originally named Katsu Yoshikuni, later known as Rintaro, he was born into a poor Hatamoto family. He assiduously studied Orchidology (a knowledge introduced from the Netherlands, later referred to as Western learning). After Perry knocked on the door of Japan, he submitted a coastal defense proposal to the shogunate.

Katsu has long held important positions such as instructor supervisor of the Naval Training Institute and professor of the Warship Training Institute, and once visited the United States on a long voyage. When he opened a naval training center in Kobe, Ryoma and Yoshimura Totarō came to assassinate him, but they were both persuaded and instead became Katsu's loyal disciples.

During the shogunate’s campaign against Choshu, Katsu served as a special envoy to negotiate for peace. During the Restoration, he spent a lot of effort to complete the bloodless opening of Edo.

After the Restoration, Katsu changed his name to Anfang, and his name was Haizhou, and he served as Navy Commander, Senate President and other positions in the new Meiji government. It can also be said that he is one of the founders of Japan's modern navy.

Tekifune and Mudfune

The so-called "Shogunate Sanfune" refers to Katsu Kaishu and a pair of sworn brothers: Yamaoka Tetsufune (1836~1888), Takahashi Mudfune (1836-1888) 1835～1903).

Tie Zhou is the adopted brother. His swordsmanship comes from Chiba Dojo and belongs to the straight heart shadow style. When the shogunate recruited the ronshi corps (new recruits), he was appointed director of the ronshi. After that, he was promoted to the important position of the shogunate - Omatsuke. During the Boshin War, he was ordered by General Tokugawa Yoshiki to negotiate with Saigo Takamori for the bloodless opening of the city of Edo. During the negotiations, his attitude was neither humble nor arrogant. People at the time said: "When the enemy Tokugawa celebrates, there is a retainer named Yamaoka Tiezhou."

Nizhou is a sworn brother who is good at spearmanship and became a martial artist at the age of 25. 's master. He also made great contributions to the shogunate in the organization of the Rongs, and for a time became Tokugawa's bodyguard.

President Takehiro Enomoto (1836～1908)

A true legend among the ministers. He spent a lot of time in Hokkaido when he was a boy, and studied in the Netherlands as an adult to learn naval technology. Upon his return, he became an important member of the navy.

As the shogunate forces entered Edo, Enomoto led nine warships to launch a rebellion, went all the way north to occupy Hokkaido, established the Japanese Republic, and appointed himself president. After defeating the Ou Etsurie Domain Alliance, the Tosho Shogun army marched directly towards its base camp Goryokaku. Enomoto was defeated, surrendered and imprisoned. He survived because of Kuroda Kiyotaka's running.

Enomoto’s right-hand man was Otori Keisuke (1833～1911) who was good at military science.

The industrialist who fought against Shikigami - Shibusawa Eiichi (1840～1931)

Shibusawa was born as a rich farmer. When he was young, he served Hitotsubashi Keiki until Keiki recovered. After taking the Tokugawa surname and succeeding as Shogun, Shibusawa became the Shogun.

After the Restoration, he served in the Ministry of Finance (Ministry of Finance). He resigned in the sixth year of Meiji and became active in the industrial world. He founded the First National Bank, and his other businesses included silk making, paper making, railways, hotels, and more than 500 other businesses, so he was called the "Grand Imperial Palace of Finance."

As for "fighting shikigami", it comes from the famous Japanese science fiction novel (magic novel bar) "The Imperial Capital Story": In the 45th year of Meiji, Kato Yasuhiro attempted to awaken the resentful spirit of Taira Shomon thousands of years ago. Relying on the "earth line" to destroy Tokyo, Shibusawa Eiichi, Koda Rohan and others and Japan's first robot "Gakutenori" launched a tit-for-tat struggle with them. In 1988, Toho Film Company put part of it on the screen. Shibusawa's battles with shikigami, guardian boys, asuras, etc. are dazzling...

The loyal and disobedient Xiao Su Zhongshun (1827～1868)

The shogunate followed the foreign affairs, the survey and the infantry followed. He was the ancestor of Japan's modern army and navy. He made superhuman contributions to the military system, armament reform, and weapons innovation, and helped complete the establishment of the Yokosuka Shipyard in Kanagawa Prefecture.

Kosu himself advocates the founding theory, but because he is loyal to the shogunate, he is at odds with the overthrow faction. He is led by the conservative leader Ii Naomi (who can be called a devil in the eyes of the overthrow faction). He planned the March War and took a hard-line stand against Katsu Kaishu and others during the Boshin War. Therefore, although he lived in seclusion in Gonada Village, Ueno, he was found and executed. At the place where he was executed, there was a stone tablet with the inscription: "The great man Oguri Uenosuke was executed here despite being innocent."

A World of Heroes

Except for the four powerful vassals and the shogunate, in that turbulent era, countless heroes emerged from all over Japan. First, let me introduce two courtiers (gongqing) to my friends.

Minister Sanjo Sanimi (1837～1891)

He was the leader of the imperial court who symbolized the collapse of the imperial court. The original purpose was to revive the imperial power and restore the status of the emperor and ministers. Due to the August 18th coup of the public-military alliance, they were forced to escape from Kyoto and were trapped in Dazaifu (in Kitakyushu). At that time, seven Japanese ministers were also in trouble. It is called "Qi Qing is in trouble". From then on, his thoughts changed and he became the Minister of Taizheng after the Restoration, and actually served as the head of the new government (the initial structure of the new government was headed by the Minister of Taizheng, with lofty ideals from various feudal lords serving as counselors as assistants).

Iwakura Tomomi (1825～1883), who acted according to the prevailing circumstances

The actual leader of the overthrown faction among the public ministers. He was born into a family of run-down ministers and rose to prominence in the Eighty-Eight Ministers' Alliance who opposed the signing of the "Japan-US Trade Treaty".

When the shogunate put forward the idea of ??integrating the public and military forces in order to resist the upsurge of the fall of the shogunate, Iwakura planned the "wamiya surrender" (marrying the emperor's sister and the palace princess to the shogun's family), and was therefore revered. Pi denounced him as a traitor and traitor. Iwakura was forced to retreat to Iwakura Village to reflect. Afterwards, he had many contacts with Saigo, Katsura and others, and confirmed the idea of ??overthrowing the curtain. He made extraordinary achievements in the struggle to "seize the jade" (seize the emperor and conquer the shogunate).

After the Restoration, he became the Minister of the Interior, and soon led Okubo, Kido (Katsura) and others to organize the Iwakura Mission to visit Europe and the United States. Saigo and others who stayed behind suppressed different opinions and proposed the theory of conquering Korea. Okubo and others hurried back to debate with them. At the inner court meeting, the Saigo faction gained the upper hand, and Sanjo Sanimi was forced to agree to the conquest of Korea, but requested a one-day delay in announcing it.

That night, Sanjo complained of illness, and Iwakura was appointed as Taizheng Minister. Iwakura immediately went to the palace to obtain the emperor's edict, and then overturned Sanjo's decision at the meeting the next day. Saigo and others went out of office in anger, and the prototype of Okubo's dictatorship was formed.

From Zunzhuo to the integration of public and military forces to his downfall, many people in later generations even talked about Iwakura Tomato seeing the wind and steering the ship, being cunning and cunning, and comparing him to "Cao Cao". But we should see his powerful role in promoting the reform movement. Moreover, once the idea of ??collapse was determined, Iwakura was more determined than anyone else. A person's thoughts should be allowed to grow. This is not a "weed on the wall, falling on both sides."

Other lofty ideals, the main ones are two--

Ikedaya-Miyabe Daizo (1820～1864)

Kumamoto Domain’s Yamashikawa Ryūsho A teacher, he was also very knowledgeable about Chinese studies (Japanese, of course) and Shinto. Later, he resigned due to guilt because his disciples violated the feudal laws. He went to Luo to participate in the Zunban movement and became Sanjo Sanimi's confidant. He was seriously injured in the Ikedaya incident and committed suicide.

The hot-handed Foreign Minister——Mutsu Munemitsu (1844～1897)

Ryoma’s younger brother, formerly known as Yonosuke, was a member of the Kii domain. Due to the coup in the feudal clan, his father was imprisoned and wandered away from the feudal clan. He once went to Edo to participate in the Zunban Movement. Later, he was appreciated by Ryoma and entered the naval training center to study. He became a disciple of Sheng Haizhou and soon joined the Guishan Society (Sea Aid Team).

Mutsu was a thoughtful person, and he once instilled in Iwakura Tomomi his thoughts on the founding and collapse of the country. After the Restoration, he returned to the domain and served as governor (the Kii domain was later changed to Wakayama Prefecture). In 1870, he traveled to Europe for inspection, and in 1875, he was appointed as an officer of the Senate.

1878,