木戸孝允
On 14 May 1878, less than a year after the death of Kido Takayoshi (who was also part of the Iwakura Mission) and the Satsuma Rebellion, Minister Ōkubo Toshimichi was assassinated by Shimada Ichirō and six other samurai from the Kaga Domain (or Kanazawa Domain). The assassination of a high-level government official such as Ōkubo, the last of the Three Great Nobles of the Restoration (the other two being Saigō and Kido), raised concerns with the internal security being provided both by the police and the military. Nine days after the assassination, Emperor Meiji announced his intentions to tour the country, particularly the Hokurikudō and the Tōkaidō regions. The Hokurikudō tour would also mean visiting Kanazawa. As a precautionary measure, Kawaji detained 18 Kanazawa samurai who were suspected of holding extremist views, and replaced some of the soldiers stationed in Kanazawa. Considering that Kawaji was also included on the alleged hit list of Ōkubo's assassins, measures were also required to ensure his own safety as the head of Emperor Meiji's security detail. The emperor safely arrived in Kanazawa on 2 October, and departed on 5 October.