Kinmon incident

The rebellion reflected the widespread discontent felt among both pro-imperial and anti-foreigner groups, who rebelled under the sonnō jōi slogan. Sonnō jōi had been promulgated by the Emperor Kōmei as an "Order to expel barbarians". Thus, in March 1863, the shishi rebels sought to take control of the Emperor to restore the Imperial household to its position of political supremacy.

During what was a bloody crushing of the rebellion, the leading Chōshū clan was held responsible for its instigation. To counter the rebels' kidnapping attempt, the Aizu and Satsuma domains (the latter led by Saigo Takamori[1]) led the defense of the Imperial palace. However, during the attempt, the rebels put Kyoto on fire, starting with the residence of the Takatsukasa family, and that of a Chōshū official. It is unknown if the rebels set fire to Kyoto as soon as they began to lose, or if their doing so was part of their original strategy, and done as a diversionary tactic. Among the shishi who died in the incident include Kusaka Genzui.

Various courtiers, including Nakayama Tadayasu, the Emperor's Special Consultant for National Affairs, were banished from Court as a result of their involvement in this incident.[2] The shogunate followed the incident with a retaliatory armed expedition, the First Chōshū expedition, in September 1864.