The First Chōshū Expedition Ends in Punishment and Withdrawal
After Chōshū troops fought at Kyoto’s palace gates, the court authorized punishment and the shogunate mobilized an expedition. Tokugawa Yoshikatsu, former lord of Owari, accepted overall command after seeking authority to determine its conduct. Forces from participating domains assembled, including at Hiroshima.
Yoshikatsu pursued agreement among the lords through military councils in Osaka and Hiroshima. Saigō Takamori helped negotiate Chōshū’s submission. The domain ordered Kunishi Shinano, Masuda Uemon-no-suke and Fukuhara Echigo to commit seppuku as responsibility was assigned for the Kyoto fighting. Fortifications at Yamaguchi were dismantled as part of the settlement.
The expedition ended without a general invasion. Its punishment was severe for the named retainers, while the Mōri domain survived. Yoshikatsu’s negotiated approach encountered criticism from advocates of stronger measures. Inside Chōshū, submission remained contested: Takasugi Shinsaku’s rising and subsequent internal fighting changed the domain government’s course. The withdrawal therefore closed the first expedition, leaving both the punishment’s sufficiency and Chōshū’s future policy in dispute.
