Satchō Alliance

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The Sat-Cho Alliance (薩長同盟, Satsuma-Chōshū dōmei^?) was a military alliance between Satsuma and Chōshū formed in 1866 to combine their efforts to overthrow the Tokugawa bakufu.

The name Satcho (薩長) is an abbreviation combining the names of the provinces Satsuma (present day Kagoshima prefecture) and Chōshū (present-day Yamaguchi prefecture), two of the strongest tozama anti-shogunate domains in Edo period Japan.

In the 1860s, Satsuma tended to take a moderate position towards maintenance of the status quo, whereas Chōshū had become the center of an uprising aimed at overthrowing the government. Through the mediation of Sakamoto Ryoma of Tosa domain (present day Kochi prefecture, Satsuma military leaders Saigō Takamori and Okubo Toshimichi were brought together with Katsura Kogoro (Kido Takayoshi) of Chōshū. Although the two domains were traditionally fierce enemies, their leaders agreed that the time was right for a change.

The alliance was crucial in enabling Chōshū to withstand a punitive expedition mounted by the Tokugawa bakufu in 1866, and in the success of the imperial forces in the subsequent Boshin War of 1867-1868. With the establishment of the Meiji Restoration, men from these two domains dominated the new Meiji government into the 20th century.