The literal meaning of this Japanese term is ‘reformation’ or ‘restoration’ of the world. The general understanding of the term refers to the numerous riots in Japan from the mid Edo (Tokugawa Shogunate) (1603-1867) to the beginning of the Meiji period (18681912). Farmers at this time, who were subjected to abject poverty, started rioting by attacking the wealthy, with the expectation of equalizing the gap between rich and poor. Yonaoshi movements became more conspicuous around the end of the Edo period, along with other movements that sought to overthrow the Tokugawa Government. Anxiety and a deep ‘sense of crisis’ were common at the time, and were to be exacerbated when Japan opened itself up in the 1850s to trade with foreign countries, which was one of the major causes of the yonaoshi movements. In this respect there are similarities between the yonaoshi and the millenarian movements of mediaeval Europe which were caused by political oppression, severe poverty and the lack of representation (Cohn, 1970).
Under strong, charismatic leadership, many religious movements of this period displayed millennialistic features (see Millenarianism), in the sense that their objectives were to completely transform the world and live in a state of permanent harmony and happiness by means of the religious faith which supported their activities. Examples of such religions are Kurozumi-kyo (1814), Tenri-kyo (1838), Konko-kyo (1859) and Omoto (1899). As researchers point out, the rise of these NRMs coincided with a time of rapid and bewildering social change in Japan (McFarland, 1967), and the vast majority have been motivated by the desire to radically transform the world or yonaoshi.
