An Assassination Attempt on Okita Souji
Abe Juro was a subordinate of Okita Souji in the First Squad.
After he and Itou Kashitaro separated from the Shinsengumi to form the Goryo-eji, he was no longer associated with Okita.
However, on December 18, Keio 3, he and his comrades, Utsumi Jiro (内海次郎) and Sawara Taro (佐原太郎), suddenly plotted to assassinate Okita.
What happened between Abe and Okita?
Before the incident
November 18, exactly one month before the incident. Itou Kashitaro, the leader of Abe's group, was attacked and killed by the Shinsengumi.
Abe escaped thanks to the fact that he and Utsumi had gone to Yamato at that time, but he fled to the Satsuma residence to escape the Shinsengumi's pursuit.
However, the Satsuma domain forbade them from going out for a month, along with other comrades who had also fled.
When Abe and his comrades finally received permission to go out in early December, the first thing they did was search for the Shinsengumi.
It's believed that during the time they were in hiding, they were determined to avenge Itou's death.
Then, on the evening of December 17. Kano Washio came across information that Okita was "hiding" at Kondo Isami's mistress's house in Rokujo.
The day of the incident
Abe Juro woke up at 4 a.m. the next morning and cut into the mistress's house with Utsumi and Sawara.
This is a so-called "night raid, morning attack" (夜討ち朝駈け) strategy.
Normally, this strategy seems to be used when a small number of men face a large number of enemies, but Okita was alone. Moreover, he was on his sickbed at that time.
Abe was skilled with a spear, and Utsumi Jiro was the head instructor at Itou Kashitaro's dojo. Sawara Taro was also described by Nishimura Kanefumi as "a master of swordsmanship", so it seems that he was quite skilled.
No matter how good Okita was, it might have been tough for him to fight against these three men with his illness.
In other words, Abe was wary of Okita that much.
However, Okita was not at the place where they planned to cut him down. Around 10 p.m. the night before, he had moved to Fushimi.
Mistaken assumptions
The reason why Okita was at the mistress's house in the first place is thought to have been a temporary refuge from the chaos of the Shinsengumi's move to Fushimi, as the Shinsengumi was moving out of their old headquarters and going to Fushimi.
Perhaps Abe and his colleagues could not grasp the fact that Okita would leave when the situation calmed down.
Nevertheless, they should have confirmed that Okita was home when they got the information and should have at least left a lookout.
It's said that Okita was lucky, but I think he was also helped by the lack of precision from Abe and his team.
And most of all, what they really needed to confirm was whether Okita was actually involved in the murder of Itou Kashitaro.
Abe's opinion of Okita
As it turned out, Okita was not involved in Itou Kashitaro's murder.
However, Abe seemed to have assumed that Okita must have been involved.
Abe's comments about Okita at the historical discussion meeting can be summarized as follows.
Okita was a cruel man
He acted like he didn't know there was an Imperial Court in this country
He was simply a good swordsman and used his swordsmanship well.
He only knew how to act for Kondo's sake
He killed people unnecessarily
This is a terribly negative evaluation. What in the world happened in the First Squad?
As for the 2nd point, Nagakura Shinpachi wrote that Okita was one of the members who discussed and worried about national affairs during his time in the Shieikan Dojo, so it doesn't mean that he didn't discuss national affairs.
However, Okita might have shrugged away from debates about national affairs in front of Abe and his colleagues and didn't take it seriously.
Okita's response seems very mature, as he knew the weight of his statements as an executive. But Abe must have taken his actions at face value.
Who was Abe Juro as a person?
Abe Juro was a man who was "smart, liked cleanness, a little short-sighted (=not thinking clearly, short-tempered), but very good with his hands and mouth (=speaks and acts well)", and had "a strong temper since childhood" (=nervous and irritable), and it seems he had a strong conviction.
From the contents of the historical talks, we get the impression that he was a hot-blooded man who was convinced of his own righteousness.
However, his belief in his own ideas may have led to the attempted assassination of Okita.
Okita was nearly killed by a false accusation.
I think it's important to confirm everything, not to act on assumptions. This is something I would like to always remind myself.
References
史談会速記録 第90輯 国会図書館蔵
大内町が生んだ幕末の風雲児 阿部十郎小伝 アベツトム (北方風土 : 北国の歴史民俗考古研究誌 (13) 北方風土社編)
新選組・高台寺党 市居浩一
浪士文久報告記事 永倉新八