Two Sakuradamon Incidents That Would Have Changed the Course of World History “While fully aware of the necessity for some change in policy since the coming of the Americans at Uraga, it is entirely against the interest of the country and a stain on the national honour to open up commercial relations with foreigners, to admit foreigners into the Castle, to conclude treaties with them, to allow foreigners to build places of worship for the evil religion, and to allow the three Foreign Ministers to reside in the land (...) Therefore, we have consecrated ourselves to be the instruments of Heaven to punish this wicked man, and we have taken on ourselves the duty of ending a serious evil, by killing this atrocious autocrat.” — Manifesto of the Sakuradamon Conspirators (24 March 1860)– The Sakuradamon Incident of 1932 Sakuradamon Incident or Patriotic Deed of Lee Bong-chang was an assassination attempt against Emperor Hirohito of the Empire of Japan by a Korean independence activist, Lee Bong-chang (hangul: 이봉창, hanja: 李奉昌) in Tokyo on 9 January 1932. Background As Emperor Hirohito was departing the Imperial Palace via the Sakuradamon Gate on his way to reviewing a military parade, Lee Bong-chang, a member of the Korean Patriotic Legion (Haninaegukdan, Hangul: 한인애국단, hanja: ) under the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea headed by Kim Gu in Shanghai, threw a hand grenade at the emperors horse carriage. Kim knew of the emperors schedule from a newspaper article, and managed to approach close to the procession disguised as a Kempeitai military policeman. However, the hand grenade missed, and exploded near the carriage of Imperial Household Minister Baron Ichiki Kitokuro instead, killing two horses. The would-be assassin was quickly apprehended by the Imperial Guard. Lee was convicted on September 30, 1932 and was executed in Ichigaya Prison (市谷刑務所) on October 10 of the same year. Consequences To take responsibility for the lapse in security, Prime Minister Tsuyoshi Inukai offered his resignation, which was not accepted by the emperor. The attempted assassination had no impact on Japanese policies towards the Korean peninsula, and was quickly dismissed in Japan as an isolated terrorist incident. However, the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea hailed the event as evidence of the ongoing opposition to Japanese rule in Korea. When these sentiments were echoed in the newspaper of the ruling Kuomintang party in the Republic of China, the Japanese government formally issued a diplomatic protest, and the issue led to an increase in anti-Chinese sentiment in Japan at a time when relations were already extremely strained. Lee was posthumously honored by the government of the Republic of Korea with the Order of Merit for National Foundation in 1962, and a commemorative postage stamp in 1992. The Sakuradamon Incident of 1860 The Sakuradamon Incident (桜田門外の変 Sakuradamon-gai no Hen, or 桜田門の変 Sakuradamon no Hen) was the assassination of Japanese Chief Minister (Tairō) Ii Naosuke (1815–1860) on 24 March 1860 by rōnin samurai of the Mito Domain, outside the Sakurada Gate of Edo Castle. Li Naosuke, a leading figure of the Bakumatsu period and a proponent of the reopening of Japan after more than 200 years of Seclusion, was widely criticized for signing the 1858 Treaty of Amity and Commerce with the United States Consul Townsend Harris and, soon afterwards, similar treaties with other Western countries. From 1859, the ports of Nagasaki, Hakodate and Yokohama became open to foreign traders as a consequence of the Treaties. Li Naosuke was also criticized for reinforcing the authority of the Shogunate against regional Daimyos through the Ansei Purge. Naosuke made strong enemies in the dispute for the succession of Shogun Tokugawa Iesada, and because he forced retirement on his opponents, specifically the retainers of Mito, Hizen, Owari, Tosa, Satsuma and Uwajima. These policies generated strong sentiment against the Shogunate, especially among proponents of the Mito school. The Assassination The assassination took place outside the Shoguns Edo Castle in Edo (modern Tokyo), just as Ii Naosuke was reaching the premises. Ii Naosuke had been warned about his safety, and many encouraged him to retire from office, but he refused, replying that My own safety is nothing when I see the danger threatening the future of the country. A total of 17 Mito rōnin ambushed Ii Naosuke together with Arimura Jisaemon (有村次左衛門), a samurai from Satsuma Domain. Arimura cut Ii Naosukes neck and then committed seppuku. The conspirators carried a manifesto on themselves, outlining the reason for their act. The Consequences The popular upheaval against foreign encroachment and assassination of Ii Naosuke forced the Bakufu to soften its stance, and to adopt a compromise policy of Kōbu Gattai (Union of the Emperor and the Shogun) suggested by Satsuma Domain and Mito Domain, in which both parties vied for political supremacy in the years to follow. This soon amplified into the violent Sonnō Jōi (Revere the Emperor, Expel the Barbarians) movement. For the following years until the fall of Bakufu in 1868, Edo, and more generally the streets of Japan, would remain notably hazardous for Bakufu officials and foreigners alike (Richardson murder), as the Sonno Joi movement continued to expand. According to Sir Ernest Satow: A bloody revenge was taken on the individual [Ii Naosuke], but the hostility to the system only increased with time, and in the end brought about its complete ruin. The conflict reached its resolution with the military defeat of the Shogunate in the Boshin war, and the installation of the Meiji restoration in 1868. Dr. Delmar Topinio Taclibon, Bt., DKR, KRSS, BSCE, MBA, PhD.D.A. References: Michio Morishima, Why Has Japan Succeeded? Western Technology and the Japanese Ethos Satow, Sir Ernest, 2006, A Diplomat in Japan Stone Bridge Classics, ISBN 978-1-933330-16-7 Samurai Assassination, 1965 Film Inspired by the 1860 Incident Chūshichi Tsuzuki, The Pursuit of Power in Modern Japan, 1825-1995 Sakurada Gate Incident, 2010 Film Li Naosuke-Harris Treaty, Tokugawa Shogunate, Meiji Period MeijiShowa, Vintage Images of Japan Ryko’s case File No. 03 Ookaboo Free Pictures Freebase L’Encyclopedie Libre Wikis Encyclopaedia
Posted on: Mon, 15 Sep 2014 12:56:51 +0000
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