31 Facts About Takasugi Shinsaku

Takasugi Shinsaku was a samurai from the Choshu Domain of Japan who contributed significantly to the Meiji Restoration.

Takasugi Shinsaku used several aliases to hide his activities from the Tokugawa shogunate.

Takasugi Shinsaku was born in the castle town Hagi, the capital of the Choshu Domain as the first son of Takasugi Kochuta, a middle-ranked samurai of the domain and his mother Michi.

Takasugi Shinsaku had three younger sisters by the name of Tomo, Sachi and Mei.

Takasugi Shinsaku had smallpox at the age of ten, but recovered from it.

Takasugi Shinsaku devoted himself to the modernization of Choshu's military, and became a favorite student of Yoshida.

When his teacher was arrested during the Ansei Purge in 1859, Takasugi Shinsaku visited him in jail.

In January 1860, Takasugi Shinsaku married Inoue Masa, the second daughter of Yamaguchi retainer and magistrate Inoue Heiemon who was the friend of his father.

However, in April 1861, Takasugi Shinsaku would leave his home and undertake naval training on the clan's warship Heishinmaru, and travelled to Edo.

Takasugi Shinsaku, in spite of his young age, was an influential factor within Choshu as one of the most extreme advocates of a policy of seclusion and expelling the foreigners from Japan.

In spite of Japan's policy of national isolation in the Edo period, in 1862 Takasugi Shinsaku was ordered by the domain to go secretly to Shanghai in Great Qing Empire to investigate the state of affairs and the strength of the Western powers.

Takasugi Shinsaku's visit coincided with the Taiping Rebellion, and he was shocked by the effects of European imperialism even on the Chinese Empire.

Takasugi Shinsaku returned to Japan convinced that Japan must strengthen itself to avoid being colonized by the western powers, or to suffer a similar fate as the Qing Empire.

Takasugi Shinsaku was implicated in the 31 January 1863 attack on the British legation in Edo.

Takasugi Shinsaku originated the revolutionary idea of auxiliary irregular militia.

Takasugi Shinsaku promoted the recruitment of commoners into new, socially-mixed paramilitary units.

Takasugi Shinsaku clearly saw that utilization of the financial wealth of the middle-class merchants and farmers could increase the military strength of the domain, without weakening its finances.

In June 1863, Takasugi Shinsaku himself founded a special Shotai unit under his direct command called the Kiheitai, which consisted of 300 soldiers.

Takasugi Shinsaku was put in charge of the defense of Shimonoseki.

In February 1864, Takasugi Shinsaku tried to dissuade Kijima Matabei from his plan to fight Satsuma and Aizu in Kyoto, but failed and then left the domain to hide in Kyoto himself.

Takasugi Shinsaku was persuaded by Katsura Kogoro to return, but upon arrival he was put in Noyama-Goku Prison for the charge of leaving the domain.

Takasugi Shinsaku was then forgiven and put in charge of peace negotiations.

In view of the humiliation of Choshu forces against the Western powers, Takasugi Shinsaku had come to the realization that direct confrontation with the foreigners was not an option.

Takasugi Shinsaku reorganized his Kiheitai militia into a rifle-unit with the latest modern rifles, and introduced training in Western strategy and tactics.

Takasugi Shinsaku played a major role in this civil war and his former Kiheitai militia proved its superiority over old-fashioned samurai forces.

Takasugi Shinsaku became one of the main arbiters of the Choshu domain's policy and continued to act as the domain's expert on Western military science, devoting his efforts to importing arms and raising troops.

Takasugi Shinsaku's efforts had made a small-scale 'nation in arms' out of Choshu, giving it a military strength out of proportion to its relatively small size.

Takasugi Shinsaku did not live to see this success as his tuberculosis got worse in October 1866, after which he was moved to a residence of the bar manager Hayashi Sankuro.

However in March 1867, Takasugi Shinsaku's illness worsened yet again, Masa and Toichi were summoned back to Hagi, while Baisho and Nomura stayed with him until his death on 17 May 1867.

Under his will, Takasugi Shinsaku was buried near the Kiheitai's camp at the Mt.

However, dying at the young age of 28, Takasugi Shinsaku was not to become one of Japan's famous leaders in the subsequent Meiji era.