The Kioizaka Incident

In 1878 (Meiji 11), Councillor and Minister of Home Affairs Okubo Toshimichi was assassinated on Kioizaka in Kojimachi, Tokyo. During the Satsuma Rebellion (1877), one of the "Three Great Men of the Restoration," Kido Takayoshi, died of an illness, and then Saigo Takamori was defeated in the Satsuma Rebellion and committed suicide. Okubo, who remained, allied with Iwakura Tomomi and established a dictatorial system centered on the Ministry of Home Affairs. In response, disgruntled samurai and samurai civil rights advocates became increasingly dissatisfied. As a result, on May 14, 1878, Okubo was killed by six men, including Ishikawa samurai Shimada Ichiro, who had been lying in wait for him on Kioizaka while he was on his way from his house to the Akasaka Temporary Imperial Palace in a horse-drawn carriage. The letter of execution pointed out five points of government mismanagement, including the suppression of civil rights and the waste of national funds. The letter sent shock waves through the emperor and those in power.

[Hiromi Ishizuka]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

1878年（明治11）参議兼内務卿(きょう)大久保利通(としみち)が東京・麹町(こうじまち)の紀尾井坂で暗殺された事件。西南戦争（1877）の最中に「維新三傑」のなかで、まず木戸孝允(たかよし)が病死し、さらに西郷隆盛(たかもり)が西南戦争で敗北、自決すると、残った大久保は岩倉具視(ともみ)と結び、内務省を中心に独裁体制を敷いた。これに対し、不平士族や士族民権家たちは不満を募らせた。その結果、78年5月14日、大久保は馬車で自邸から赤坂仮皇居へ向かう途中、紀尾井坂で、待ち伏せていた石川県士族島田一郎ら6名に斬殺(ざんさつ)された。その「斬姦(ざんかん)状」には民権の抑圧、国財の乱費など、政府の失政5か条が指摘されていた。急報は天皇や政府支配者に衝撃を与えた。

［石塚裕道］

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