Etō Shimpei

nihongo|Etō Shimpei|江藤新平|Etō Shinpei; 18 March 1834 - 13 April 1874), was a Japanese statesman during the early Meiji period, remembered chiefly for his role in the unsuccessful Saga Rebellion.

Early Life & Meiji Bureaucrat

Etō was born into a "samurai" family in Saga, in Hizen province (present-day Saga prefecture). During the Boshin War to overthrow the Tokugawa bakufu, he served as a general in the imperial army.

After the Meiji Restoration, Etō was appointed to a number of posts, including that of Minister of Justice in 1872, and was responsible for drafting Japan's first modern penal code the "(Kaitei Ritsurei)." In 1873, he became a "sangi" (Councilor) in the Daijō-kan, but resigned the same year, after the "Seikanron" proposal made by Saigo Takamori to invade Korea was rejected.

Anti-government agitator & rebel

After resigning from the government, Etō returned home to his native Saga, and gathered together a group of dissaffected former "samurai" who were unhappy with the current regime. He formed the Aikoku Koto political party which criticized the government and called for the formation of a national assembly. Receiving little support, he then resorted to armed insurrection (the Saga Rebellion), gathering some 3000 followers, attacking a local bank for funds, and capturing government offices. The revolt was quickly suppressed by government forces under Okubo Toshimichi, and Etō, along with 13 other ringleaders, was executed.

Reference and further reading

*Duus, Peter. "The Abacus and the Sword: The Japanese Penetration of Korea, 1895-1910 (Twentieth-Century Japan - the Emergence of a World Power, 4)." University of California Press (1998). ISBN 0-520-21361-0.
*Hane, Mikiso. "Modern Japan: A Historical Survey". Westview Press (2001). ISBN 0-8133-3756-9
*Harries, Meirion. "Soldiers of the Sun: The Rise and Fall of the Imperial Japanese Army". Random House; Reprint edition (1994). ISBN 0-679-75303-6
*Najita, Tetsuo. "Japan: The Intellectual Foundations of Modern Japanese Politics". University Of Chicago Press (1980). ISBN 0-226-56803-2