Saga Rebellion
Otaguro was also a Shinto priest ("kannushi"), and after several attempts at divination, was given what he considered to be divine authorization to lead an uprising. As the Meiji government had called upon the Imperial Japanese Army garrison at Kumamoto to suppress the nearby Saga Rebellion, the city itself was only lightly defended. On 24 October 1876, after sending messages to like-minded groups in other domains, Otaguro led his 200 men in revolt against the Meiji government, dividing his force into squads. One squad launched a surprise night attack on the barracks of the Imperial Japanese Army's Kumamoto garrison, giving no quarter and showing no mercy even to the wounded or unarmed, spurred on by their hatred of the conscript army, many of whose soldiers were from peasant backgrounds. Some 300 men of the garrison were either slaughtered or wounded during the attack. A second squad smashed the local telegraph office, although this in effect cut the rebels off from their would-be allies. A third squad attacked the offices and residences of officials of Kumamoto Prefecture, the new Meiji administrative division that had replaced Higo Province.