Meiji period

The 1876 Shinpūren Rebellion was one of a number of ex-samurai uprisings which took place in the early Meiji period against the new Meiji... government of Japan. The rebellion began in Kumamoto on 24 October 1876. Following the 1868 Meiji Restoration, many members of the former samurai class were disgruntled with the direction the nation had taken. The abolition of their former privileged social status under the feudal order had also eliminated their income, and the establishment of universal military conscription had replaced much of their former role in the society. The very rapid modernization of the country was resulting in massive changes to Japanese culture, dress and society, and appeared to many samurai to be a betrayal of the joi portion of the Sonnō jōi justification used to overthrow the former Tokugawa shogunate. The Shinpūren was an extremist and xenophobic political society of ex-samurai from Kumamoto Prefecture led by Otaguro Tomoo .
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The 1876 Hagi Rebellion was one of a number of ex-samurai uprisings which took place in the early Meiji period against the new Meiji government of... Japan Following the 1868 Meiji Restoration, many members of the former samurai class were disgruntled with the direction the nation had taken. The abolition of their former privileged social status under the feudal order had also eliminated their income, and the establishment of universal military conscription had eliminated much of their raison d'etre. The very rapid modernization of the country was resulting in massive changes to Japanese culture, dress and society and appeared to many samurai to be a betrayal of the joi portion of the Sonnō jōi justification used to overthrow the former Tokugawa shogunate. Maebara Issei, one of the heroes of the Meiji restoration and a leader of the Imperial Army at the Battle of Aizu was among the dissatisfied. Maebara had been a pupil of Yoshida Shoin and an early advocate of modernization.
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The Saga Rebellion was an 1874 uprisings in Kyūshū against the new Meiji government of Japan. It was led by Etō Shimpei and Shima... Yoshitake in their native domain of Hizen. Following the 1868 Meiji Restoration, many members of the former samurai class were disgruntled with the direction the nation had taken. The abolition of their former privileged social status under the feudal order had also eliminated their income, and the establishment of universal military conscription had eliminated much of their reason for existence. The very rapid modernization of the country was resulting in massive changes to Japanese culture, language, dress and society, and appeared to many samurai to be a betrayal of the jōi portion of the Sonnō jōi justification used to overthrow the former Tokugawa shogunate. Hizen Province, with a large samurai population, was a center of unrest against the new government. Older samurai formed political groups rejecting both overseas expansionism and westernization, and calling for a return to the old feudal order.
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