Kobe Incident
| Date | February 4, 1868 |
|---|---|
| Location | Between Tamondori and the Ikuta Shrine in Kobe |
| Also known as | Bizen Incident |
| Cause | Tension between marching Japanese Imperial-allied forces of Bizen province and foreign soldiers along the route. |
| Participants |
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| Outcome | Temporary occupation of central Kobe by foreign forces, lifted after execution by seppuku of Japanese squad leader; official transition of international relations from Shogunal to Imperial hands. |
| Convicted | Taki Zenzaburo |
The Kobe Incident (神戸事件 kōbe jiken) of February 4, 1868, also known in Japanese as the Bizen Incident (備前事件 bizen jiken), and in English as "Bizen Affray", later "the Bizen Affair", was spun into a scandal in Franco-Japanese relations which represented the first major international affairs challenge for the fledgling Meiji government of Japan, and the "extrajurisdictional international zone", or "Foreign Settlement" at Hiogo, at the time occupied by a community of foreign merchant-houses, with some naval presence of arms from the countries of their incorporation, including the US Marines, of whom more than fifty landed in the panic, a mere 21 days after the highest-ranking American, Rear Admiral Henry H. Bell, was killed.
On January 27, 1868, with the outbreak of the Boshin war, the new Meiji government ordered that Nishinomiya in Settsu be guarded in order to check the pro-Shogunate forces of Amagasaki Domain. By the 29th, 2,000 troops had been raised in Bizen Domain to the west, and among these were 500 (alternately 800) troops under the command of the domain's karō Heki Tatewaki (日置帯刀), accompanied by cannons, who marched over land for their destination. Because the port of Hyōgo had been opened on January 1, the troops advanced on the Saikoku Kaidō (西国街道) road rather than that built by the Tokugawa shogunate, in an effort to avoid encounters with enemy forces or foreigners.
Sometime after 1 o'clock on February 4, as the line of Bizen troops marched along in the vicinity of Sannomiya Shrine, two French sailors emerged from a nearby building and attempted to cross the line. The Japanese troops saw this as constituting tomowari (供割), an act of extreme disrespect under the Laws for the Military Houses, and Taki Zenzaburo, in charge of the third cannon group, took a spear and attempted to stop them. However, neither side could understand the other, and when the sailors attempted to force their way through, Taki stabbed at them with his spear, inflicting light wounds.
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