Ishin Shishi

The Ishin Shishi were patriots loyal only to the Emperor and anti-shogunate , who helped start the Meiji period in Japanese history and who were at odds with the pro-bakufu forces (also loyal to the Emperor) such as the special police force, the Shinsengumi. Their battle cry was sonno-joi, which stands for "honor the emperor and expel the barbarians". They were imperialists with little regard for public safety (as seen in their plan to burn down the city of Kyoto which was stopped by the Shinsengumi), who supported a change in government by opposing the current Tokugawa shogunate and instead wanted to put an emperor back on the throne.

They were responsible for the death of Ii Naosuke, a powerful bakufu official who dealt (relatively) favorably with European and American traders and had placed an underaged shogun on the "throne".

The Ishin Shishi eventually contained the Choshu forces as well as the Satsuma in their conquest to abolish the Tokugawa Shogunate with the aid of the daimyos of Tosa and Hizen.

They were famed for their legendary 4 Hitokiri otherwise known as "The Four Butchers" or "Heaven's Revenge against the enemies of Imperial restoration". Most came from the Choshu and Satsuma provinces. Three of the four included Kawakami Gensai, Tanaka Shimbe and Izo Okada.