英語訳
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Toyohashi City Historical Discourse (The Zenith and Setbacks of the Expulsion Party) 536
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This became like the public opinion among court nobles with aspirations, and on December 9th, three new positions were established in the court: Director of National Affairs (kokji-gakari), Counselor (sansei), and Advisor (yorindo). The Gakushūin was made the venue for national affairs conferences, and domain retainers and masterless samurai were also allowed to participate in governmental duties under the title of "Gakushūin attendants." Here the power of the so-called loyalist activists became even stronger, and this period could probably be called the zenith of the loyalist expulsion party. As mentioned before, not only were there attacks on foreigners in the Edo area, but in places like Kyoto, violent uprisings by masterless samurai increased daily in severity, with killings and injuries carried out brazenly in broad daylight with no one to restrain them. Calling their actions "divine punishment," they brutally murdered and displayed the severed heads of those they deemed opponents, and such incidents occurred daily. At this point, the shogunate established a new position of Kyoto Military Governor and appointed Aizu lord Matsudaira Katamori to this role. Initially, Katamori was quite hesitant about this grave responsibility. However, his domain was not only a powerful one with the special characteristic of maintaining martial traditions since its founding lord, but had always harbored the determination to exert itself for the shogunate in times of crisis. Finally, the domain's retainers resolved to die, departing their homeland with the great determination to make Kyoto their place of death and taking up this appointment. His assumption of the post was delayed slightly due to the second dispatch of imperial envoys, and he finally entered Kyoto on December 4th of that year. However, at that time, as mentioned before, the violence by masterless samurai in Kyoto had reached its peak, creating an almost anarchic situation. Before long, both Yoshinobu and Yoshinaga entered Kyoto, and Yōdō also came to the capital, so on February 15th of the following year (Bunkyū 3), Yoshinobu, Yoshinaga, and Yōdō met with Katamori at Nijō Castle to discuss measures against these masterless samurai. At this time, not only Yoshinobu but even moderate figures like Yoshinaga, who made obedience to imperial will their sole purpose, were greatly angered by their behavior, and the majority opinion favored arresting them. Only Katamori firmly advised patience upon patience, trying to establish channels for open discourse to facilitate communication between high and low, while on one hand
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Publisher and Printing Office: Sanyō Printing Partnership, 48 Kōnya-chō, Toyohashi City; Editor: Nakanishi Kenzō; Publisher and Printer: Kuno [?]kichi
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Sanyō Newspaper No. 4537 Supplement (Published December 9, Taishō 2 [1913])
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trying to dispel the masterless samurai's resentments while simultaneously attempting to reform the shogunate's longstanding bad practices. However, such measures could never stop the violence of masterless samurai; rather, their violence increased daily until on February 23rd of that year, some went so far as to liken the Tokugawa shogun to the Ashikaga clan and dragged out wooden statues of Takauji and others from the famous Tōji-in temple to behead them. At this point, even the patient Katamori finally became enraged at their behavior. Katamori's opinion at this time was that the reason for treating the various masterless samurai leniently thus far was that their stated purpose was to honor the imperial house and clarify proper relationships. However, looking at what they actually did, while outwardly claiming to serve the great cause of imperial loyalty, they actually harbored private motives and acted violently, showing no consideration for the nation's future. Moreover, from their position of irresponsibility, they recklessly sought to implement the expulsion of foreigners hastily, inciting and deceiving indecisive court nobles and ignorant citizens, showing contempt for imperial authority, violating national law, and perpetrating extreme violence and cruelty in the shadow of the imperial capital—this was absolutely unforgivable. Although Chōshū opposed this at the time, Yoshinobu and Yoshinaga naturally agreed, so Katamori finally decided to carry out their arrest. Since the previous winter, the shogunate had also gathered masterless samurai to counter these groups, placing them at the Kōbusho in Edo and calling them the Shinchō-gumi, but now they brought these forces to Kyoto as well, stationing them at Jizō-ji temple in Mibu to serve as their eyes and ears. However, the momentum of the loyalist expulsion party could hardly be suppressed by such measures and only grew stronger. Initially, court nobles like Sanjō and Anekōji had expressed support for Katamori's compromise proposal to limit foreign trade to the three ports of Yokohama, Nagasaki, and Hakodate, but now they said the times would not permit this and instead advocated complete expulsion of foreigners, pressing Yoshinobu and others hard on the deadline. Under such circumstances, the fervor of loyalist expulsion party activists became increasingly vigorous. Consequently, their behavior became increasingly lawless, and violent incidents in Osaka following those in Kyoto were also quite numerous, causing considerable difficulties for Yoshida domain, which served as castle governor in Osaka at the time.
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Toyohashi City Historical Discourse (The Zenith and Setbacks of the Expulsion Party) 537