Sonnō jōi Origin . Etymology . During the Warring States period of China , Chancellor Guan Zhong of Qi initiated a policy known as " Zunwang Rangyi " ( 尊王攘夷 ; lit . " Revere the King , Expel the Barbarians " ) , in reference to the Zhou kings . Adopting and adhering to it , Duke Huan of Qi assembled the Chinese feudal lords to strike down the threat of barbarians from China . For it , Confucius himself praised Guan Zhong for the preservation of Chinese civilization through the example of the contrast in the hairstyles and clothing styles between them and barbaric peoples . Through the " Analects " of Confucius , the Chinese expression came to be transmitted to Japan as " sonnō jōi " . Philosophy . In Japan , the origin of the philosophy can be traced to works by 17th century Confucian scholars Yamazaki Ansai and Yamaga Sokō , who wrote on the sanctity of the Japanese Imperial house and its superiority to the ruling houses of other nations . These ideas were expanded by " Kokugaku " scholar Motoori Norinaga , and seen in Takenouchi Shikibu ' s theory of absolute loyalty to the Emperor ( " sonnōron " ) , that implied that less loyalty should be given to the ruling Tokugawa Shogunate . Mito domain scholar Aizawa Seishisai introduced term " sonnō jōi " into modern Japanese in his work " Shinron " in 1825 , where " sonnō " was regarded as the reverence expressed by the Tokugawa " bakufu " to the emperor and " jōi " was the proscription of Christianity . Influence . With the increasing number of incursions of foreign ships into Japanese waters in the late 18th and early 19th century , the national seclusion policy came increasingly into question . The " jōi " ( expel the barbarians ) portion of " sonnō jōi " , changed into a reaction against the Treaty of Kanagawa , which opened Japan to foreign trade in 1853 . Under military threat from Commodore Matthew Perry ' s so - called " black ships " , the treaty was signed under duress and was vehemently opposed in " samurai " quarters . The fact that the Tokugawa bakufu was powerless against the foreigners despite the will expressed by the Imperial court was taken as evidence by Yoshida Shōin and other anti - Tokugawa leaders that the " sonnō " ( revere the Emperor ) portion of the philosophy was not working , and that the bakufu must be replaced by a government more able to show its loyalty to the Emperor by enforcing the Emperor ’ s will . The philosophy was thus adopted as a battle cry of the rebellious provinces of Chōshū and Satsuma . The Imperial court in Kyoto unsurprisingly sympathized with the movement . The Emperor Kōmei personally agreed with such sentiments , and – breaking with centuries of imperial tradition – began to take an active role in matters of state : as opportunities arose , he fulminated against the treaties and attempted to interfere in the shogunal succession . His efforts culminated in March 1863 with his " Order to expel barbarians " ( ) . Although the Shogunate had no intention of enforcing the order , it nevertheless inspired attacks against the Shogunate itself and against foreigners in Japan : the most famous incident was that of the English trader Charles Lennox Richardson , for whose death ( which was the result of allegedly disrespecting a daimyo ) the Tokugawa government had to pay an indemnity of one hundred thousand pounds sterling . Other attacks included the shelling of foreign shipping in Shimonoseki . Masterless samurai ( " ronin " ) rallied to the cause , assassinating Shogunate officials and Westerners . But this turned out to be the zenith of the " sonnō jōi " movement , since the Western powers responded by demanding heavy reparation s and then bombarding the Satsuma capital of Kagoshima when these were not forthcoming . While this incident showed that Japan was no match for Western military powers , it also served to further weaken the shogunate , permitting the rebel provinces to ally and overthrow it in the Meiji Restoration . The slogan itself was never actually government or even rebel policy ; for all its rhetoric , Satsuma in particular had close ties with the West , purchasing guns , artillery , ships and other technology . Legacy . After the symbolic restoration of the Meiji Emperor , the " sonnō jōi " slogan was replaced with " fukoku kyōhei " ( ) , or " rich country , strong military " ( enrich the nation , strengthen the armies ) , the rallying call of the Meiji Era and the seed of its actions during World War II .