Etō was born into a samurai family in Saga, in Hizen province (present-day Saga prefecture). During the Boshin War to overthrow the Tokugawa shogunate, he served as a general in the imperial army.
After the Meiji Restoration, Etō was appointed to a number of posts, including that of Minister of Justice in 1872, and was responsible for drafting Japan's first modern penal code the (Kaitei Ritsurei). In 1873, he became a sangi (Councilor) in the Daijō-kan, but resigned the same year, after the Seikanron proposal made by Saigō Takamori to invade Korea was rejected.
After resigning from the government, Etō returned home to his native Saga, and gathered together a group of dissaffected former samurai who were unhappy with the current regime. He formed the Aikoku Kōtō political party which criticized the government and called for the formation of a national assembly. Receiving little support, he then resorted to armed insurrection (the Saga Rebellion), gathering some 3000 followers, attacking a local bank for funds, and capturing government offices. The revolt was quickly suppressed by government forces under Ōkubo Toshimichi, and Etō, along with 13 other ringleaders, was executed.
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Etō Shimpei (江藤 新平?, 1834 -1874)
Etō was born into a samurai family in Saga, in Hizen province (present-day Saga prefecture). During the Boshin War to overthrow the Tokugawa shogunate, he served as a general in the imperial army.
After the Meiji Restoration, Etō was appointed to a number of posts, including that of Minister of Justice in 1872, and was responsible for drafting Japan's first modern penal code the (Kaitei Ritsurei). In 1873, he became a sangi (Councilor) in the Daijō-kan, but resigned the same year, after the Seikanron proposal made by Saigō Takamori to invade Korea was rejected.
After resigning from the government, Etō returned home to his native Saga, and gathered together a group of dissaffected former samurai who were unhappy with the current regime. He formed the Aikoku Kōtō political party which criticized the government and called for the formation of a national assembly. Receiving little support, he then resorted to armed insurrection (the Saga Rebellion), gathering some 3000 followers, attacking a local bank for funds, and capturing government offices. The revolt was quickly suppressed by government forces under Ōkubo Toshimichi, and Etō, along with 13 other ringleaders, was executed.
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