Like other restaurants in those days, Akebonotei served as both restaurant and hotel and was also frequently used by royalists who aimed to overthrow the bakufu in their closed sessions, which was the context of the incident.
この事件の舞台となった明保野亭は当時、他にも多く見られた様に料亭と旅宿を兼ねており、倒幕の志士による密議にも多く利用されていたことが事件の背景にあったと考えられる。