 As the Meiji government had called upon the Imperial Japanese Army garrison at Kumamoto to suppress the nearby Saga Rebellion, the city itself was only lightly defended.On 24 October 1876, after sending messages to like-minded groups in other domains, Otaguro led his 200 men in revolt against the Meiji government, dividing his force into squads.One squad launched a surprise night attack on the barracks of the Imperial Japanese Army's Kumamoto garrison, giving no quarter and showing no mercy even to the wounded or unarmed, spurred on by their hatred of the conscript army, many of whose soldiers were from peasant backgrounds.