The famous scholar Yoshida Shoin, who fought to restore the Emperor in place of the Tokugawa bakufu regime in Japan, set up his Shohka Sonjuku school in the castle town of Hagi in Choshu (the old name of Yamaguchi Prefecture). In the two years that the school was in operation, until his imprisonment and execution by the bakufu forces in October 1859, he taught bushido (the way of the samurai) to such people as Takasugi Shinsaku, Itoh Hirobumi, Kusaka Genzui, and Yamagata Aritomo. These students were ordered by their Choshu han lord, Mohri Takachika to set up a cavalry made up of volunteer samurai, tradesmen, and farmers. Later the han students split into two factions: the radicals led by Kusaka Genzui, who advocated the immediate seizure of Kyoto, and the conservatives led by Takasugi Shinsaku and Kido Takayoshi, who urged caution. Kusaka was assassinated by the secret police force of the bakufu called Shinsengumi at the Ikedaya Inn in Kyoto (the Kinmon incident). Then the conservatives combined with other influential leaders within the han, such as Itoh Hirofumi, Yamagata Aritomo, and Inoue Kaoru, and radically changed their policy. They met in Kyoto secretely with the leaders of the Satsuma han, Saigo Takamori and Ohkubo Toshimichi, and formed the Satsuma-Choshu alliance. The two hans formed the core of the anti-bakufu movement, which became the Meiji Restoration. The Chinryutei Inn (lower photo) and the Rozandou Tea House (upper photo), which were used as secret meeting places in Yamaguchi have been moved to Kouzan Park. Once inside these buildings, close your eyes, and you will hear the breathing of these Meiji diehard samurais.
