In the pre-Meiji Restoration, the assassinations became a unique sight in Japan at that time. Whether it was the shogunate or the shogunate, the assassinations were always endless. It can be said that the Meiji Restoration in Japan was completely built under the sword of the samurai. However, when the Boshin War ended and Japan entered a new era, this assassination became active again. The conflict between the new government and the old samurai class eventually turned into an assassination again. Toshitsu Okubo of the Three Great Restorations has also become the ghost of the assassins. So what happened, the lower-level samurai who once supported the government forces suddenly did this?
1. Kioisaka's change
1878 was not an easy year for Toshito Okubo, but it was another year of satisfaction. Many reforms in Japan have been very smooth, and new factories have been built, which makes Japan appear to be advancing by leaps and bounds on the road of capitalism. Of course, Okubo Toshitsu at this time was also overwhelmingly powerful. Since ousted Nishigo Takamori in 1973, he established the Ministry of the Interior, took the post of Minister of the Interior, and established his iron-blooded dictatorship. In a sense, is his long-cherished wish, because he admires Bismarck very much, hoping to be like Bismarck, and can implement his own policies without any consultation.
Saigo Takamori, who originally disagrees with Okubo's political views, has also been defeated in the Southwest War. With the death of Saigo Takamori, Okubo has no opponents in the court, and he can implement his policies unscrupulously. . The Japanese government in this period was called the Okubo government, and Okubo's power is evident. To put it bluntly, Okubo Toshiro at this time is truly below one person and above 10,000 people. It is conceivable that when Okubo Toshitsu looked at the history of Japan’s development according to his planned path, he felt a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction in his heart.
On May 14, 1978, Okubo Toshitsu met the governor of Fukushima Prefecture at the Fukushima Prefecture Governor Yamayoshi Festival. One big reason Okubo Toshitsu met him was because the Fukushima Prefecture under the management of the Sanyoshi Festival was Aizu during the Boshin War. The territories of the eleven vassal states headed by the vassal are combined. After confirming the gratifying progress of Fukushima Prefecture’s reforms, Okubo Toshihide encouraged the Sanyoshi Festival and said that the first two phases of the Meiji Restoration have been completed. The ten years of the last stage will be consolidated by people like Sanyoshi Festival. Some achievements, waiting for the outstanding talents of later generations to further the reform achievements.
But Toshitsu Okubo never expected that his encouragement to the Sanyoshi Festival became his political will in his life. After sending off the Sanji Festival, Okubo Toshitsu planned to take a carriage to the Taizheng Palace to handle government affairs, but he never thought that someone would ambush him on the road. Five samurai led by Shimada Ichiro ambushed Okubo Toshitsu on the road. Okubo Toshitsu was not a man of high martial arts, and now he does not have a sword by his side, and it is not even the opponent of these samurai. Toshitsu Okubo sternly rebuked the assassin, but this did not help his life, and eventually fell to the ground and died at the age of 49.
2. Why do you want to assassinate Toshito Okubo?
So maybe someone has to ask, why did these lower-level samurai assassinate Okubo Toshitsu? Are they all remnants of the shogunate? is actually not the case. Shimada Ichiro is actually a veteran who participated in the Boshin War, and it can be regarded as a military exploit. So in this case? Why did he kill Okubo Toshimoto? After all, himself was also a hero of the Boshin War, but he was going to carry out assassination activities during the rapid development of Japan, or to assassinate important members of the Japanese government. This is really an incredible thing. What exactly prompted this veteran to do What about such a choice? The reason for
is actually very simple, that is, to be dissatisfied with Okubo Totsuki and Okubo Totsuki's policies. First of all, since the beginning of the Meiji Restoration, the Meiji government has instead extended its sword to the lower-level samurai who made great contributions in the Boshin War. A large number of lower-level warriors and civilians who participated in the Boshin War were driven out of the army. Not to mention, the salary originally given to the lower-level warriors was also cancelled. This has caused their livelihood to be very problematic, because they can do nothing except fighting, how can they adapt to civilian life? And the leader in this process is Okubo Toshito.
In addition, for a long timePolycom himself is not a good person, Xixiang Longsheng's resignation and death are related to him. In the case of Xixiang Takamori provoking the Southwest War, the fuse was Okubo Toshitsu sent people to monitor and even assassinate Xixiang Takamori. And Takamori Nishigo himself was defeated and died in the Southwest War, which made the lower-ranking samurai hate Okubo Totsuki.
Because Xixiang Takamori is a moderate politician and commander, he takes care of the lower-level warriors and civilians a lot, and can be said to be their spiritual leader. Now that Xixiang Takamori is defeated and killed, then these people must be looking for the mastermind of Okubo Toshitsu.
If you look at it in this way, Okubo Toshitsu has undoubtedly become a target of hatred by the lower-level samurai, and it makes sense to assassinate him now. After all, the lower-level samurai will not punish him, and they are really sorry for the Japanese tradition of "suppressing the uppermost". But if we think about it carefully, even if Okubo Toritsu is no more virtuous, the samurai will not commit such crimes. Especially when I think of the deaths of many of the Japanese government’s reform leaders during this period, then this is not so simple. So is there any secret behind this assassination?
3. The sharp contradictions behind the Meiji Restoration
In fact, Okubo's death is not so much a pure hatred of him, as a hatred of the entire Meiji government. Let's first look at the five crimes listed by Okubo Lee in Shimada Ichiro's "Book of Despair" : 1, failure to establish a parliamentary system, and suppression of civil rights. 2. Indiscriminately promulgate laws and regulations, accept bribes, and form parties for private gains. 3. Daxing useless projects, wasting the country's finances. 4. Exclusion suppressed the state's loyal ministers and caused division within the country. 5. Diplomatic work was extremely poor and failed to abolish the old unequal treaties. This is Okubo's crime in the eyes of Shimada Ichiro and others, and he has become a traitor that must be eliminated.
Are these charges convicted? From a certain point of view, these charges are convicted. Okubo Toshitsu's character is different from Nishigo Takamori, he respects the power system. Therefore, he did not choose to establish an elected parliament system, but adopted power politics. The Ministry of the Interior that he established is controlled by him alone. All government orders and policies are reviewed and decided by the Minister of the Interior of the Ministry of the Interior, which is Okubo Toshitsu. This is because Okubo Toshitsu admires the iron-blooded prime minister of Germany Bismarck very much, and believes that he should be like Bismarck in formulating policies alone, and therefore he suppressed many civil rights figures.
Indeed, we can’t deny Okubo’s contribution to the Meiji Restoration. His three policies of “prosperity and industry, civilization and enlightenment, enriching the country and strengthening the army” have indeed played a role in the development of Japan. However, it is undeniable that his eager for quick success and his excessive support of chaebols have caused the suppression of the bottom Japanese people.
This is like taking a stimulant, although the burst of power, it leaves too much hidden danger. Okubo Toshitsu is not more than that, in fact, he is very clear about these. But his attitude is to leave the problem of accumulation to successors, and he should focus on development now. As for the opposition, it will inevitably be suppressed by his iron fist.
In this way, the people at the bottom of Japan did not actually enjoy too many benefits during the Meiji Restoration, but more turmoil occurred instead. For example, the junior samurai, who accounted for one-tenth of the Japanese population, immediately became a destabilizing factor in society after losing his salary. Farmers who lost their land became impoverished as a result. Coupled with the suppression of civil rights patriots, it is almost inevitable that they hate Okubo Toshitsu and the Meiji government. , like many previous rebellions, is a reaction to the extreme accumulation of contradictions. The only difference is that the conflicts erupt in different ways. The death of Okubo Toshiro was, in essence, just the aftermath of this era.
Conclusion
When the contradiction broke out, the assassination of these former Meiji fathers became an inevitable situation. Okubo Toritsu was not the first to be assassinated. For example, in 1869, Yokoi Kokubo and Omura Masujiro were assassinated by conservative samurai. In 1871, Shinto Hirosawa was assassinated due to the "return of copybooks". Iwakura was also assassinated in 1873 for framed by Takamori Saigo, but he was lucky.Escaped. All of these were caused by many hidden dangers and contradictions during the Meiji Restoration in Japan. Toshitsu Okubo was undoubtedly the recognized head of government at the time and the creator of contradictions. Therefore, his assassination became an inevitable outcome.
References: "Okubo Toshitsu"
"Modern History of Japan"
"Japan Meiji Restoration"
