Mito Rebellion Part 3: The Fate of the Tengu

Mito Rebellion Part 3: The Fate of the Tengu

The war between the Tengu party and the Bakufu really broke out in October 1864 when the dissidents (supported by the daimyō of Shishido han) faced shogunal troops and won despite being outnumbered 3 to 1. Severely impacted, a fraction of the remaining Tengu then decided to move west to Kyōto in the hope of obtaining an audience with Emperor Kōmei. The Emperor personally agreed with jōi sentiments, and, breaking imperial tradition, had interfered in politics in June 1863 when he issued the edict jōi chokumei (imperial command to expel the foreigners. After suffering several blows through multiple blocades and pursuers on the way, the Tengu reached Gifu, but then found themselves unable to find a path through the heavily guarded shores of Lake Biwa and took a detour north.

In late December of 1864, Tokugawa Yoshinobu - born Matsudaira Shichirōmaro to Tokugawa Nariaki of Mito - led a force of 4,000 men from Kyoto to eliminate the remaining insurgents. 

The Tengu party had hoped that Yoshinobu, being from Mito, would hear them, but their petition was rejected and they found themselves encircled. 

Around 800 Tengu party members were captured at this time: Takeda Kōunsai (武田耕雲斎) and 24 other leaders were beheaded in the precincts of Raigo-ji Temple, 328 other were executed in the following days and the others were sent to distant islands in exile.

Here the Tengu Party meets its fate, but their impact on Bakumatsu history remains to be explained further.