Satsuma-Chōshū Alliance

A secret 1866 pact joining the Satsuma and Chōshū domains against the Tokugawa shogunate. It helped create the coalition that brought down the shogunate and restored imperial rule.

Satsuma Domain: A powerful Japanese domain ruled by the Shimazu family from Kagoshima during the Edo period. Its leaders reversed their earlier opposition to Chōshū and supplied the alliance with military strength.
Saigō Takamori: A Satsuma samurai and political leader who became a central figure in the Meiji Restoration. He represented Satsuma in the negotiations and helped make military cooperation credible.
Meiji Restoration: The political transformation beginning in 1868 that ended Tokugawa rule and established imperial government in Japan. The alliance helped assemble the coalition that made this transformation possible.
Ansei Purge: A 1858–1859 crackdown by the Tokugawa shogunate on political opponents and supporters of imperial activism. Its repression shaped the political generation that later pursued alliances against shogunal authority.
Chōshū Domain: A Japanese domain ruled by the Mōri family from western Honshū during the Edo period. Its leaders sought allies after the shogunate's punitive expeditions and political isolation.
Kido Takayoshi: A Chōshū statesman who helped lead the domain's political transformation and the Meiji Restoration. He represented Chōshū in negotiating terms with Satsuma.
Boshin War: The 1868–1869 Japanese civil war between imperial forces and supporters of the Tokugawa shogunate. Satsuma and Chōshū forces became leading components of the imperial side.
Sonnō jōi: A Japanese political slogan meaning “revere the emperor, expel the barbarians,” prominent in the 1860s. Chōshū's earlier militancy differed from the pragmatic cooperation the alliance required.
Anglo-Satsuma War: A 1863 conflict between Satsuma and Britain following the killing of Charles Lennox Richardson. The conflict encouraged Satsuma to acquire modern weapons and reconsider its anti-foreign stance.
Satsuma-Chōshū military cooperation: The practical coordination of Satsuma and Chōshū forces and resources against the Tokugawa shogunate. The alliance translated political agreement into arms, supplies, and mutual support.

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