一揆(いっき)

いっき
noun
uprising, revolt
academichistorysociety
See also: 一気(いっき) (at once)
1. uprising, revolt, insurrection
A collective revolt or armed uprising, historically referring to peasant rebellions in feudal Japan. The participants banded together to resist oppressive taxes, famine conditions, or unjust rule.
農民(のうみん)が一揆(いっき)を起(お)こした。
The farmers staged an uprising.
重(おも)い年貢(ねんぐ)に耐(た)えかねて、一揆(いっき)が各地(かくち)で起(お)きた。
Unable to bear the heavy taxes, uprisings broke out in various regions.
江戸(えど)時代(じだい)には百姓(ひゃくしょう)一揆(いっき)が数多(かずおお)く記録(きろく)されている。
Numerous peasant uprisings are recorded from the Edo period.

Usage: 一揆(いっき) primarily appears in historical contexts. It refers specifically to collective uprisings in pre-modern Japan, particularly during the 室町(むろまち)時代(じだい) and 江戸(えど)時代(じだい).

Common collocations

  • 一揆(いっき)を起(お)こす (to stage an uprising)
  • 百姓(ひゃくしょう)一揆(いっき) (peasant uprising)
  • 一向(いっこう)一揆(いっき) (Ikkō-ikki, religious uprisings by Pure Land Buddhists)
  • 土一揆(つちいっき) (Muromachi-period peasant uprisings demanding debt cancellation)

Etymology: 一(いっ) (one, united) + 揆(き) (action, measure). The word originally meant "acting as one" or "of one mind," emphasizing the collective nature of the movement.

Watch out

  • Do not confuse with 一気(いっき) (in one breath, all at once), which is a different word.

Related Words

Compare: 打(う)ち壊(こわ)し (smashing)
general
Added 2026.2.16 11:00 · Revised 2026.10.19 10:12
11000/11382_ikki