Issei Maehara - Issei Maehara

A Choshu Domain sonno joi (sonjoi) patriot and politician during the Meiji Restoration. The eldest son of Choshu Domain samurai Sase Hikoshichi. His name was Yashiro, later Hikotaro, his pen name was Shimei, and his pen name was Baiso. In 1857 (Ansei 4), he entered Yoshida Shoin's Shokasonjuku school, and later traveled to Nagasaki to study Western studies. In 1862 (Bunkyu 2), he escaped from the domain with Kusaka Genzui and others, and joined the sonno joi (sonno joi) movement. The following year, in 1863, he returned to Japan and became a member of the Shichikyogata (Seven Lords' Party) official committee. At the end of 1864 (Genji 1), he responded to the uprising of Takasugi Shinsaku and others by joining the overthrow of the conservative faction of the domain (derogatorily called the Zokuron Party), and in the following year of 1865 (Keio 1), he defeated them. In the same year, he took the surname Maehara and became the head of the Kanjotai, one of the various units. During the Boshin War, he served as a staff officer of the Hokuetsu Army, and later became a conscripted soldier and a judge in Echigo Prefecture. In 1869 (Meiji 2), he was promoted to councilor and military taifu, but resigned the following year in 1870 due to illness and returned to Hagi. During the Saga Rebellion in 1874, he initially persuaded the disgruntled samurai at the request of the prefectural governor, but in response to the Kumamoto Jinpuren Rebellion in 1876, he raised an army in Hagi and became the leader of the disgruntled samurai. The rebellion was put down within ten days, he was captured in Shimane Prefecture, and beheaded in Hagi on December 3rd.

[Shigeru Kobayashi]

"The Life of Maehara Issei, by Tsumaki Chuta (1934, Sekibunkan)" ▽ "A Study of the History of the Meiji Restoration of the Choshu Domain, by Kobayashi Shigeru (1968, Miraisha)" ▽ "The Chronology of Maehara Issei, by Ando Kiichi and annotated by Tamura Sadao (2003, Matsuno Shoten)" ▽ "The Life of Maehara Issei, by Naramoto Tatsuya - Ah, Is There No Road to the East?" (Tokuma Bunko)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

幕末維新期の長州藩尊攘派(そんじょうは)志士、政治家。長州藩士佐世彦七(させひこしち)の長男。名は八十郎、のち彦太郎、字(あざな)は子明(しめい)、号は梅窓(ばいそう)。1857年（安政4）吉田松陰(よしだしょういん)の松下村塾(しょうかそんじゅく)の門に入り、のち長崎に遊学して洋学を学んだ。1862年（文久2）久坂玄瑞(くさかげんずい)らと脱藩、尊攘運動に走り、翌1863年帰国して七卿方(しちきょうがた)御用掛につく。1864年（元治1）末、高杉晋作(たかすぎしんさく)らの挙兵に応じて藩の保守派（俗論党と蔑称(べっしょう)）の打倒に加わり、翌1865年（慶応1）これを制圧した。同年、前原姓を名のり諸隊の一つ干城隊(かんじょうたい)頭取役(とうどりやく)となる。戊辰戦争(ぼしんせんそう)では北越軍参謀について出兵、のち徴士、越後府(えちごふ)判事となった。1869年（明治2）参議、兵部大輔(ひょうぶたいふ)と昇進したが、翌1870年病のため辞して萩(はぎ)に帰った。1874年の佐賀の乱のとき初めは県令の請に応じて動揺する不平士族の説得にあたったが、1876年の熊本神風連(じんぷうれん)の乱に呼応して萩に挙兵、不平士族の指導者となった。乱は旬日を出ずして鎮圧され、島根県で捕らえられ、12月3日萩で斬首(ざんしゅ)された。

［小林　茂］

『妻木忠太著『前原一誠伝』（1934・積文館）』▽『小林茂著『長州藩明治維新史研究』（1968・未来社）』▽『安藤紀一著、田村貞雄校注『前原一誠年譜』（2003・マツノ書店）』▽『奈良本辰也著『評伝前原一誠――あゝ東方に道なきか』（徳間文庫）』

出典　小学館　日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)について　情報 | 凡例