right|thumb|The commemorative plaque standing at the former site of the Ikedaya Inn
The , also known as the Ikedaya affair or Ikedaya riot, was an armed encounter between the shishi which included masterless samurai (rōnin) formally employed by the Chōshū, Tosa and Higo domains (han), and the Shinsengumi, the Bakufu's special police force in Kyoto on July 8, 1864, at the Ikedaya Inn in Sanjō-Kawaramachi, Kyoto, Japan.
History
At the end of the Edo period, Kyoto attracted unemployed rōnin of varying allegiances. Those from the Chōshū, Tosa and Higo clans were heavily influenced by the sonnō jōi (revere the Emperor, expel the foreign barbarians) philosophy and supported forcibly removing all Western influences from Japan. Emperor Kōmei and the Aizu and Satsuma clans preferred a unification of the bakufu and the imperial court. The bakufu tried to retain their centralized power. In this political chaos, ronin from the various factions began to assassinate each other. The bakufu organized groups of ronin including Shinsengumi and charged them with arresting or killing (should they resist arrest) the sonnō jōi shishi.
The shishi were using the Ikedaya Inn as a staging point for their forces. The Shinsengumi arrested one of the shishi, Furutaka Shuntarō, for being a member of an anti-Shogunate group, triggering the Ikedaya incident. Furutaka had a strong relationship with the Chōshū clans, and wanted to build trust with Mōri, a member of the court, in order to take power. There are some other theories about the cause of Furutaka's arrest. One is that Teshiro Toshisuke resented Furutaka due to a dispute over the inheritance of Masuya, and his report of Furutaka's location to the Shinsengumi led to his capture.
The interrogation carried out by Shinsengumi vice-commander Hijikata Toshizō was alleged to be particularly brutal, although there is no proof of this. With the prisoner unresponsive, Hijikata was said to have suspended him by his ankles, restraining his wrists, and driving five-inch spikes into the heels of his feet. Lit candles were placed in the holes, so that hot wax dripped all over his calves. Furutaka eventually claimed that they planned to set fires in Kyoto and capture Matsudaira Katamori, the daimyō of the Aizu clan whose duties included policing Kyoto at the time.
Another version of the confession claims that Furutaka planned to burn Prince Kuni Asahiko with Kawamura Hanzō and Otaka Matajirō. Also, he revealed that many of the Chōshū retainers were hiding out in the Gion district. Katsura Kogorō (later Kido Takayoshi) who was at the Ikedaya claimed many years later that they had only met to discuss how to rescue Furukata from the Shinsengumi.
Whether or not Hijikata actually employed such a cruel interrogation method is also in some doubt, as conflicting reports from those in attendance (such as Nagakura Shinpachi) exist. Some feel that if Hijikata had really tortured Furutaka so severely, he would have passed out and would not have been able to make a statement. Shinsengumi knew about 20 hiding places of shishi, and they started the search of shishi around 7 p.m.
This incident is commonly portrayed as having unfolded in the dark, but in fact parts of the inn were moderately lit. Kondō tried to induce shishi to come down to the 1st floor because there was a light called Hachiken that illuminated 14.5 meters down the hallway. Aizu clans praised Shinsengumi, and they gave around 500 ryō, and the imperial court gave about 100 ryō to Shinsengumi.
Member list of Shinsengumi
The Kondō group (10 people)
- Kondō Isami
- Okita Sōji
- Nagakura Shinpachi
- Tōdō Heisuke
- Tani Mantarō
- Asano Tōtarō
- Takeda Kanryūsai
- Okuzawa Eisuke
- Andō Hayatarō
- Nitta Kakuzaemon
The Hijikata group (24 people)
- Hijikata Toshizō
- Inoue Genzaburō
- Harada Sanosuke
- Saitō Hajime
- Sasazuka Minezō
- Hayashi Shintarō
- Shimada Kai
- Kawashima Katsuji
- Katsurayama Takehachirō
- Tani Sanjūrō
- Mishina Chūji
- Aridōshi Kango
- Matsubara Chūji
- Iki Hachirō
- Nakamura Kingo
- Ozeki Yashirō
- Shukuin Ryozō
- Sasaki Kuranosuke
- Kawai Kisaburō
- Sakai Hyōgo
- Kiuchi Mineta
- Matsumoto Kijirō
- Takeuchi Gentarō
- Kōndō Shūhei