A pro-Imperial loyalist from [[Choshu]], he played a major role in shaping the course of the [[Meiji Restoration]] as the chief negotiator for Choshu in the military alliance that was forged with [[Satsuma province|Satsuma]] with the help of [[Sakamoto Ryoma]]. Kido was one of the more prominent radicals that were targeted by the pro-[[Tokugawa Bakufu|Bakufu]] forces. Although supposed to be at the [[Ikedaya Affair|Ikedaya]] the night of the famous raid led by the [[Shinsengumi]], Kido was tipped off by his geisha lover that the Shinsengumi were coming for him and wisely chose not show up for the loyalist meeting on that fateful night. He spent the next few days hiding incognito as a beggar. Kido went on to serve the Meiji government. | A pro-Imperial loyalist from [[Choshu]], he played a major role in shaping the course of the [[Meiji Restoration]] as the chief negotiator for Choshu in the military alliance that was forged with [[Satsuma province|Satsuma]] with the help of [[Sakamoto Ryoma]]. Kido was one of the more prominent radicals that were targeted by the pro-[[Tokugawa Bakufu|Bakufu]] forces. Although supposed to be at the [[Ikedaya Affair|Ikedaya]] the night of the famous raid led by the [[Shinsengumi]], Kido was tipped off by his geisha lover that the Shinsengumi were coming for him and wisely chose not show up for the loyalist meeting on that fateful night. He spent the next few days hiding incognito as a beggar. Kido went on to serve the Meiji government. |