In 1863 the Shōgun Iyemochi repaired to Kyōto. This was the first visit paid to the imperial capital by a Tokugawa shōgun since the days of Iyemitsu, two hundred years previously, and the event naturally produced a strong impression upon the nation. At that time the numerous and constantly increasing body of _samurai_ whose motto was "_sonnō jōi_" (revere the sovereign and expel the foreigner) were exerting all their energies, going hither and thither to popularize their views, and not hesitating even to use the sword against those who opposed them. When the shōgun arrived in Kyōto they brought strong pressure to bear on him with the object of inducing him to adopt their policy, and after long discussion he finally agreed to do so. Notice of this important decision was given to the feudal barons on May 15 in the same year (1863). The shōgun then returned without loss of time to Edo, apprehending that his presence in Kyōto might lead to fresh complications and being further advised that affairs in Edo needed his presence. The Edo government now found itself in a dilemma. At once unwilling and unable to give effect to its anti-foreign policy, it had nevertheless received and accepted the imperial order to that effect. The ministers, therefore, adopted the only course opened to them, namely, conveyed to the foreign representatives an intimation that it would be necessary to close the ports and put an end to foreign commerce, and, at the same time, dispatched ambassadors directly to the Occident to explain the state of affairs in Japan. These measures, however, proved of course abortive. The anti-foreign sentiment was still further inflamed a few months later by openly hostile acts committed by the feudal baron of Chōshū, who fired upon foreign vessels attempting to pass the Strait of Shimonoseki. Nevertheless, even in Kyōto there were some influential men who boldly espoused the Tokugawa cause and placed themselves in opposition to the party working for the overthrow of the Edo government. A serious obstacle to the success of that party still existed in the fact that no effective union had yet been brought about between the powerful fiefs of Satsuma and Chōshū. The former advocated reconciliation between the courts of Kyōto and Edo, and urged that both should coöperate for the expulsion of foreigners; whereas the Chōshū folks were in favor of more precipitate measures, involving the downfall of the Tokugawa. In Kyōto the partisans of the extreme view urged the emperor to honor the Chōshū chief by visiting him in his own fief, subsequently worshiping at the sepulcher of Jimmu Tennō, and then, after a visit to the shrine of Ise, to openly declare war against the shōgun. But the programme encountered strong opposition in Kyōto at the hands of a few other barons who regarded with deep regret and apprehension the strong course to which the imperial court seemed in danger of being committed.