尊そん王のう攘じょう夷い

そ

ん

の

う

じょ

う

い

Meanings

1

noun

Revere the Emperor, expel the barbarians

historical termyojijukugo (four-character idiom)

A political slogan of the late Edo period (Bakumatsu) advocating restoration of imperial rule and expulsion of Western powers. Used as a historical term.

尊そん王のう攘じょう夷

い

は

幕ばく

末まつ

の

志し

士し

たち

の

合あい

言こと

葉ば

だっ

た

。

"Revere the Emperor, expel the barbarians" was the watchword of the patriots in the late Edo period.

彼かれの思し想そうは尊そん王のう攘じょう夷いに強つよく影えい響きょうされていた。

His thinking was strongly influenced by the "Revere the Emperor, expel the barbarians" ideology.

Kanji

尊revered, valuable, precious
皇emperor
攘chase away, steal
夷barbarian, savage, Ainu
王king, rule, magnate

Related words

倒とう幕ばく
倒幕 means 'overthrow the shogunate', a related but distinct Bakumatsu goal. 尊王攘夷 focused on imperial reverence and anti-foreign sentiment, while 倒幕 directly targeted the Tokugawa regime.
開かい国こく
開国 means 'opening the country', the opposite policy of ending isolation and engaging with Western powers, opposed by 尊王攘夷 advocates.

Written forms

尊そん王のう攘じょう夷い
Common variant using 王 (king) instead of 皇 (emperor). Both are historically used.
尊皇攘夷そんのうじょうい
Variant using 皇 (emperor). Less common but still encountered.

Etymology

A yojijukugo (four-character compound) combining 尊王 (revere the king/emperor) and 攘夷 (expel the barbarians). The phrase emerged in the late Edo period as a rallying cry for imperial loyalists.