尊王攘夷

• Reading: そんのうじょうい
• Romaji: sonnō jōi
• Kanji breakdown: 尊 (son/tatto) — to revere, honour; 王 (ō) — king, emperor; 攘 (jō/hara) — to repel, expel; 夷 (i) — foreigner, barbarian
• Pronunciation: /soɴ.noː.dʑoː.i/

Meaning

Revere the emperor, expel the barbarians. The political slogan of late Edo-period activists advocating imperial restoration and the exclusion of foreign powers.

This four-kanji compound was the rallying cry of anti-shogunate activists in the 1850s–1860s. 尊王 (sonnō) means to honour and revere the emperor, while 攘夷 (jōi) means to repel and expel foreigners. The movement contributed to the Meiji Restoration of 1868, though ironically the new Meiji government subsequently opened Japan to Western influence. Primarily a historical and academic term.

Examples

1. 幕末の志士たちは尊王攘夷を掲げて倒幕運動を推進した。 The patriots of the late Edo period advanced the movement to overthrow the shogunate under the banner of sonnō jōi.
2. 尊王攘夷の思想は明治維新の原動力となった。 The ideology of sonnō jōi became a driving force behind the Meiji Restoration.
3. 歴史の授業で尊王攘夷運動について詳しく学んだ。 We studied the sonnō jōi movement in detail during history class.

Usage Guide

Context: history, politics, Japanese history, academia

Tone: neutral

Origin & History

A four-character compound combining 尊王 (revere the king/emperor; from Chinese political philosophy) and 攘夷 (expel the barbarians; 攘 = to repel, 夷 = foreigner, barbarian). Adopted as a political slogan in the turbulent late Edo period.

Cultural Context

Era: Edo–Meiji

Generation: All ages (historical context)

Social background: Universal