The Omeisha (嚶鳴社, Ōmeisha, literally the “Singing Birds Society”) was a political association of the early Meiji Period that was founded in 1878 by Morikazu Numa, who was grand secretary at the Genroin.
It established its head office in Tokyo and set up branches all over the country, including in Kantō and Tōhoku, reaching at its height a membership of more than 1000 people.
Morikazu Numa, who had accompanied Japanese commissioners on their foreign trips in 1872, had observed the vigorous free speech enjoyed in the Western world and in 1873, with Togama Kono and his associates, he established the Horitsu Koshukai, or Institute of Jurisprudence, which was the predecessor organization of the Omeisha, at the home of the director of Shitaya Marishiten Temple in Tokyo.
In 1878, after the Satsuma Rebellion, Horitsu Koshukai changed its name to Omeisha, moved its meeting place to the Manpachi Restaurant in Yanagibashi, Tokyo, and met there every Sunday.
Saburo Shimada, Sukeyuki Kawazu, Ryu Koizuka, Tokiyoshi Kusama, Ukichi Taguchi, Kentaro Kaneko, and Teccho Suehiro participated in these activities.