1863 establishments in Japan

The was a small secret police organization, an elite group of swordsmen organized by commoners and low-ranking samurai, commissioned by the (military government) during Japan's Bakumatsu period (late Tokugawa shogunate) in 1863. It was active until 1869. It was founded to protect shogunate representatives in Kyoto at a time when a controversial imperial edict to exclude foreign trade from Japan had been made and the Chōshū clan had been forced from the imperial court. They gained considerable fame from events such as the Ikedaya incident and the August 18 coup, among others. The members were d

Japanese private university