Nagai Uta was a Choshu conservative implicated in several incidents of note -- first the secret extradition of Yoshida Shoin from Noyama Prison in Hagi to Edo -- and in defying the han objectives in voicing a position to the Emperor Komei with respect to the various treaties and policies with respect to the foreigners.

While it was Sufu Masunosuke of the Justice faction that gave the order to imprison Shoin in the han prison, it was Nagai Uta who actively promoted the delivery of Shoin to Edo for interrogation. He was a 'direct inspector' (choku metsuke) for the administration but was attempting to position himself as direct mediator or envoy between Choshu and the Bakufu during the time of the Ansei purge.

Nagai was from a family of 300 koku, the upper strata of the Great Group of samurai in Choshu -- the product of private tutelage and among the few who were allowed to become a page to and privately assist the daimyo. He served as envoy and was raised to middle elder (churo) in 1861.

In 1861, Nagai proposed a program to "open the country" (keikoku) which oddly enough was a reiteration of Shoin's ideas stated earlier in "A Policy Route" in 1858. Shoin had advocated crossing the seas and trading, sending talent abroad and adopting a militant stance at home with respect to foreigners prior to signing the Harris treaty.

Nagai's program language incorporated the "crossing the seas" idea, but was not presented as a prior condition, but an equivalent action to measures in the treaty.

The Choshu han council gave this language over to Sufu Masunosuke to tend to, and Sufu restored Yoshida's original, more strongly worded mandate, which was then approved by the han.

Nagai, however, presented instead his original program to court noble Sanjo Sanetomi. This version was approved by Emperor Komei on June 2, 1861 (?). Nagai's position advocated opening the country minus internal reforms.

This incident irritated Kusaka, who was already disinclined to like Nagai for his role in Shoin's death, and he criticized the man openly in a memorial handed to the Choshu daimyo (by Sufu) in September of that year.

Sufu and Kusaka's concerns were so great, they they went to talk to the Choshu heir, but due to his illness, the heir was delayed and the two met with Nagai who was traveling in advance of the Heir. Nagai did not listen - instead ordered the two men both back to Hagi and had Sufu dismissed from his post and placed under house arrest for 20 days.

Kusaka did not forget this matter, and in 1862 - Kusaka back in Kyoto presented a paper advocating that Choshu apologize for Nagai's conduct in both violating the mandate of the han, and in ignoring the feelings of the daimyo.

Concurrent with Kusaka's efforts, Nagai's conduct of disregarding the advice of others (ungracioiusly), had antagonized leaders in the Choshu government. Coupled with an apparent failure of Nagai's program at court (he had been displaced by Shimazu Satsuma of Satsuma) -- the han recalled him, and put both Sufu and Kido into positions in Kyoto.

Kusaka, not satisified with this, was determined to assassinate Nagai. He did not succeed, but announced on 7/4/62 to Choshu official Ura Yukie that he had attempted as such 3 days prior. By doing so, he had hoped to pressure the Justice faction into dealing with Nagai.

The Justice Faction (of which Sufu has been a member of), secured the order from the han requiring the man to commit seppuku.

Nagai complied, and did so in his own family compound on 2/6/63.

*From Huber's "The Revolutionary Origins of Modern Japan."