Samurai Assassins Dark Murder and the Meiji Restoration, 1853-1868

Assassination—in Japanese, ansatsu or “dark murder”—was instrumental in the samurai-led revolution known as the Meiji Restoration, by which the shogun's military government was overthrown and the Imperial monarchy restored in 1868. The ideology and moral philosophy of the men behind the revolution—including bushido or “the way of the warrior”—informed their actions and would become the foundation of the emperor-worship of World War II.
This first-ever account in English of the assassins who drove the revolution details one of the most volatile periods in Japanese history—also known as “the dawn of modern Japan.”
TOC - Cover -- Table of Contents -- Note on Dates, Names, Romanization and Pronunciation -- Map of Japan -- Map of Kyoto -- Preface -- Introduction -- Part I: The Assassination of Ii Naosuké and the Beginning of the End of the Tokugawa Bakufu -- 1. The Background of the Assassination of Ii Naosuké -- 2. The Conspiracy to Assassinate Ii Naosuké -- 3. The Assassination of Ii Naosuké -- Part II: The Rise and Fall of Takéchi Hanpeita and the Tosa Loyalist Party -- 4. The Gap -- 5. Takéchi Hanpeita and His Tosa Loyalist Party -- 6. The Assassination of Yoshida Tōyō -- 7. "Divine Punishment"--8. Lord Yōdō's Comeback -- 9. The Assassination of Anégakōji Kintomo -- 10. Lord Yōdō's Crackdown -- 11. In Prison (1) -- 12. The Failed Rebellions of Chōshū and Mito -- 13. In Prison (2) -- 14. The Stoicism of a Samurai: Takéchi Hanpeita's Death -- Part III: The Assassination of Sakamoto Ryōma -- 15. Ryoma's Greatest Achievements -- 16. The Motives -- 17. Unsolved Mystery-To a Certain Extent -- 18. The Assassins -- 19. The Attack -- 20. The Aftermath -- 21. Civil War -- 22. "The Man Who Killed Sakamoto Ryōma"--Epilogue: The Second Existential Crisis of the Samurai Class -- Glossary -- Era Names and Dates -- Chapter Notes -- Bibliography -- Index