Choteki (朝敵)

"Choteki" refers to those who inflict vengeance on the emperor (imperial line) in Japan.

Similar to 'traitor,' it is a word chanted by those supported by, or who won over the emperor or Imperial Court in the era, to conspire political elimination of the political (or at times, military) adversary. In many cases, they were targeted for murder by the side chanting the word. When the side claiming to be the government army was dominant, no matter for what reason, those who were called this name was considered 'evil' in Japanese politics, at the time.

The party of TAIRA no Masakado, who called himself 'Shinno' (new emperor) in the Kanto region in the Heian period, Takauji ASHIKAGA, who broke away from the Kenmu Restoration, which was initiated by Emperor Gotoba after the fall of the Kamakura bakufu (Japanese feudal government headed by a shogun), at the end of the Edo period, Choshu clan, which was brought down by the Coup of August 18 in 1864 (became choteki by firing at the Kyoto Imperial Palace in the Kin-mon Gate Incident, and was attacked by the bakufu in the conquest of Choshu, which led to two Bakucho Wars (wars between bakufu and Choshu)), Yoshinobu TOKUGAWA, the 15th Shogun, in the oseifukko (restoration of imperial power) (Japan) (Yoshinobu confined himself at the Ueno Kanei-ji Temple when he was deemed choteki), and the Edo bakufu side in the Boshin War (Aizu Clan, which was seen as the central force received concentrated attacks by the new government troops, and Yonezawa Clan, which strongly supported the Aizu Clan, faced serious charges despite their relatively early surrender) were considered choteki.

Imperial Princes sometimes called one another choteki when they were in conflict, and it was considered a claim for legitimacy or declaration of war.

[Original Japanese]