Shimonoseki Incident

…Shimonoseki Strait resulted in the Shimonoseki Incident (1864)—the demolition of all Chōshū forts along the strait by warships from Britain, France, the Netherlands, and the United States. The loyalist faction in Chōshū then chose Takasugi to help construct a new Western-style army.

…wounded while serving during the Shimonoseki Incident in 1864—the bombardment of Chōshū by an allied fleet of Western powers that destroyed Japanese defenses. The defeat opened Yamagata’s eyes to the superiority of the Western military system and convinced the leaders of the Sonnō Jōi movement that their “antiforeign” policy was…