Monument of Martyrs of Former Zeze Domain

This stone monument was built in the precinct of Honda Shrine in October 21, 1932 to praise the martyrdom of 14 samurai during the period of upheaval at the end of the Edo Period [the mid-19th century]. The martyrs included 3 imperial loyalists who had left Zeze without permission and died for their cause, as well as 11 feudal retainers of Zeze domain who supported the doctrine of restoring the emperor and expelling the barbarians. The latter were arrested under a false charge claiming that they had planned an assassination of the shogun, and given the death sentence. The monument is 1.9 meters in height, and the letters on the monument were engraved by Tagawa Ninzaburo, a son of Tagawa Takenobu, one of the 11 martyrs.