The Ansei Purge was a purge

Purge

In history, religion, and political science, a purge is the removal of people who are considered undesirable by those in power from a government, from another organization, or from society as a whole. Purges can be peaceful or violent; many will end with the imprisonment or exile of those purged,...

, in 1858 and 1859, of over 100 people from the bakufu, various han, and the Japanese Imperial court

Imperial Court in Kyoto

thumb|left|350px|Front view of Kyoto imperial palaceImperial Court in Kyoto was the nominal ruling government of Japan from 794 AD until the Meiji Era, in which the court was moved to Tokyo and integrated into the Meiji government....

. Eight of those "purged" were also executed.

• Ansei
  Ansei
  was a after Kaei and before Man'en. This period spanned the years from November 1854 through March 1860. The reigning emperor was .- Change of era :...
  
   5 (1858): Beginning of arrests of troublemakers by order of Ii Naosuke
  Ii Naosuke
  was daimyo of Hikone and also Tairō of Tokugawa Shogunate, Japan, a position he held from April 23, 1858 until his death on March 24, 1860. He is most famous for signing the Harris Treaty with the United States, granting access to ports for trade to American merchants and seamen and...
  
  .
• Ansei 6 (1859): Arrests and investigations continuing.

• Ansei 7 (March 3, 1860): Ii Naosuke
  Ii Naosuke
  was daimyo of Hikone and also Tairō of Tokugawa Shogunate, Japan, a position he held from April 23, 1858 until his death on March 24, 1860. He is most famous for signing the Harris Treaty with the United States, granting access to ports for trade to American merchants and seamen and...
  
   assassinated, also known as "Sakurada-mon Incident
  Sakuradamon incident (1860)
  The on 24 March 1860 was the assassination of Japanese Chief Minister Ii Naosuke , by rōnin samurai of the Mito Domain, outside the Sakuradamon gate of Edo Castle.-Context:...
  
  ."

The purge was carried out by Ii Naosuke

Ii Naosuke

was daimyo of Hikone and also Tairō of Tokugawa Shogunate, Japan, a position he held from April 23, 1858 until his death on March 24, 1860. He is most famous for signing the Harris Treaty with the United States, granting access to ports for trade to American merchants and seamen and...

 in an effort to quiet opposition to his handling of the question of shogunal succession and the signing of the U.S.-Japan Treaty of Amity and Commerce.

Those prosecuted at the purge include:

• Matsudaira Yoshinaga
  Matsudaira Yoshinaga
  , also known as Matsudaira Keiei, was the 14th head of Fukui Domain during the Late Tokugawa shogunate and politician of the Meiji era. "Yoshinaga" is his imina and "Shungaku" is his gō...
  
   - head of Fukui Domain
  Fukui Domain
  The was a feudal domain in Echizen Province of Japan during the Edo period. It is also sometimes called '. The family name of the heads of the domain is "Matsudaira".- List of heads :# Hideyasu# Tadanao...
  
  
• Date Munenari
  Date Munenari
  Marquis was the eighth head of the Uwajima Domain during the Late Tokugawa shogunate and a politician of the early Meiji era.-Early life:Munenari was born in Edo, the 4th son of the hatamoto Yamaguchi Naokatsu...
  
   - head of Uwajima Domain
  Uwajima Domain
  The was a feudal domain in Iyo Province of Japan during the Edo period. It was ruled from 1608 to 1613 by the Tomita clan. After a brief period as Tokugawa-controlled tenryō territory, the domain passed into the hands of the Date clan. The founder was Date Hidemune , first-born son of Date Masamune...
  
  
• Yamanouchi Toyoshige
  Yamanouchi Toyoshige
  thumb|right|Yamauchi Toyoshige was a prominent daimyo in Japan during the late Edo period. He is also known by his gō . As the 15th head of the Tosa Domain of the Shikoku region, he conducted reforms along with Yoshida Toyo. At the Ansei Purge he was put on probation and later retirement. In 1862...
  
   - head of Tosa Domain
  Tosa Domain
  The was a feudal domain in Tosa Province of Japan during the Edo period. Its official name is . Some from the domain played important roles in events in the late Tokugawa shogunate...
  
  
• Sanai Hashimoto
  Sanai Hashimoto
  was a Japanese samurai and loyal supporter of the Emperor during the final days of the Tokugawa regime.-Biography:Hashimoto was born April 19, 1834 in Echizen Province, Japan. The son of a doctor in the Fukui Clan, he studied medicine in Osaka and Tokyo, where he befriended Saigō Takamori and others...
  
  

External links

• National Diet Library, photograph of Sakurada-mon (1900)