Abe Juuro: The remnant of the Kodaiji faction who sniped Kondou Isami
Written by Kizu
Sunday, 30 July 2006
The large order of the monarchy restoration was issued on Keio 3 December 9 by the cessation of Tokugawa Yoshinobu. In other words, Yoshinobu became a common man who had no territory nor official rank at that moment. Shogunate troops that was in Nijo Castle, mostly Aizu and Kuwana were furious when they heard this. This indignation of the Shogunate troops was suppressed though since it was Yoshinobu himself who accepted the Royal command. Yoshinobu fearing the collision of the Shogunate troops clashing with the Choshu and Satsuma troops decided to leave for Osaka Castle on the 12th. At this time the Shinsengumi moved to the Fushimi magistrate’s place as their headquarters. According to Nagakura Shinpachi’s “Doushi Renmei Ki”, there were 66 people in the Shinsengumi. The move to the Fushimi magistrate office is the fourth time. Ikeda Saburo who just enlisted at Fudodou village post followed to Fushimi only 40 days after. According to him outside the magistrate place was the signboard “Shinsengumi Base” and that Aizu soldiers were completely getting prepared for war. There was a flag which was a crimson color, measuring six shaku in length and a the middle which had the letters “sincerity” standing in white fabric about five shaku in the middle. It was the emblem of the Shinsengumi and the curtain symbol of Yamagata was put right below.
When the Shinsengumi moved to Fushimi there were a few remnants of the Kodaiji faction from the Aburanokouji event who had managed to survive. They were Suzuki Mikisaburou, Shinohara Tainoshin, Kano Washio, Tomiyama Yahee who had hidden themselves in a Satsuma residence in Fushimi. Abe Juuro and Utsumi Jirou who had both gone through the same difficulty had found their way to the others and joined them upon hearing the opportunity that they might be able to achieve revenge for what happened in Aburanokouji from Kanou Washio who had spied on Okita Souji, who was hiding out in the resting place (house) of Kondou Isami. This might’ve been because of Souji’s chronic disease, which might have worsened and thus he was resting. Abe Juuro took Utsumi Jirou and Sawara Taro and stormed the house on the morning of the 18th. Abe Juuro’s talk about this time on “Shidan Kai Sokkiroku” was “However there was no one there but one woman, who after interrogation admitted that there was an Okita Souji the other night who at 10PM returned to Fushimi. It was really regrettable”
If Okita was slow that morning, it might’ve been dangerous since Okita was sick and there were three people too. However when Abe, Taro Sawara and Utsumi Jirou were shopping in Kyoto Termachi that afternoon, Kondou happened to pass the store riding on a horse. He was returning from Nijo Castle to fushimi. Immediately they went for the perfect opportunity and went to the residence of the Satsuma Domain in Fushimi and invited those who happened to be there, Shinohara, Kano, Toyama and others. Although they had prepared two guns, they did not rely on it so much and thus gave a spear to Shinohara and Kano saying that if Kondou tried to escape that they should “poke” him with the spear.
Abe describes the pattern of attack like this… “There was a vacant house where Yahee, Toyama and I entered. Toyama said ‘It comes. It comes’, while Toyama said that I solved and shot one shot. Kondou was hit between the shoulder and chest, therefore he survived because it was not a vital point. When you shoot a gun you think of smoke and 20 people thus he (Kondou) run away disjointedly as soon as the “crack” from the gun is heard. I threw away the gun and took a sword with me. Taro Sawara suddenly took to cutting Kondo who was shot in the chest and was hanging on to the saddle. Because three people to the sides of the horse, beat it’s rump with their sword the horse galloped. Taro Sawara now in place tries to cut Kondo’s foot but it was now possible for the horse to run away. Kano and Shinohara shoots the spear and stopped it but to our regret since we shot the spear before beginning an attack, it run away and we finally let it go.”
While Kondou escaped two footmen from his party was killed by the Kodaiji party (names omitted as I can’t seem to make sense of them). The feudal lord of the Satsuma residence in Fushimi hid the bodies by running to the feudal lord in Kyoto Imadegawa because it was near and it was dangerous. According to Miburoshi Shimatsuki, Nakamura Hanjirou of the Satsuma domain who receives this report has this to say… “Why did you not shoot the horse if you had a gun? Having tried to shoot the person is a mistake.”
After this wound, Kondou returned to Edo and Matsumoto Ryojuun who treated him said it had pierced through the top of the right hand side of the collarbone and it was a serious injury.
Suzuki Tooru mentions that Abe Juuro’s discourse shows contempt for Shinohara however in Shinohara’s diary it is claimed that they were concealed in the house, from behind the shadow of the shoji he fired and shot Kondou’s shoulder by mistake. So it is unclear who really did shoot Kondou Isami. Abe claims it is him, while Shinohara’s diary records him (Shinohara) as the one who fired.
Conventionally it is thought that the place of the ambush is at Fujimori Shinto Shrine in the vicinity of Fushimi, however Mr. Koichi clarified in the account of “Boshin Eki Jitsuroku” (non-fiction) and others which Takarabe Yuuemon of the Satsuma Domain who wrote “People of the Kodaiji Party”, that the actual place was at the vicinity of Tanba-bashi, 1.5 kilometers south from the Fujimori Shrine.
Kizu’s blab: So who do we believe? Abe Juuro or Shinohara Tainoshin? Abe Juuro has been very vocal about his thoughts on what has happened during his time in the Shinsengumi and in the Kodaiji party. Does that lend more credibility to him? I’ve noticed that one of his accounts is commonly discounted in the fandom, it was his mention that Saitou was not a spy and stole from Ito because Saitou was dirty with women and was seeing some courtesan. This might be because of fan's preference for a "cleaner" Saitou image. What of Shinohara Tainoshin? Frankly I do not know a lot about him except that he followed the Shinsengumi until the split. I believe it is probable that both men thought they were the one who got the “hit”, there were two guns after all and if both shot at the same time... Hmm... Why is Abe Juuro insisting that he was the one who shot Kondo? I wonder if some sort of argument later on happened between Abe and Shinohara, on who would take credit for injuring Kondou Isami. But then again Abe was one of the gun instructors in the Shinsengumi.
Notes: I am not 100% sure of the name Taro Sawara here is the kanji for his name 佐原太郎. Usual disclaimers apply.
Shinohara Tainoshin - Itou Kashitarou's right hand man who secedes from the Shinsengumi
Written by Kizu
Tuesday, 01 August 2006
In the Shinsengumi who had gave themselves to serving the Shogunate everyday, there was Itou Kashitarou who had tried to look for an opportunity to secretly separate from the Shinsengumi. Itou has known after going to Hiroshima two times that the situation of the country had already turned it's back from the Shogunate. A meeting with Okubo Toshimichi was done via Tomiyama Yahee who was also a Satsuma native and thus connections were born. Kondou and Hijikata had sensed this but since Itou held an important position in the Shinsengumi they could not "touch" Itou carelessly.
It was in Keio 2 in fall that things came out into the open. The Shinsengumi were finally given merit for their service in the Shogunate and an unofficial announcement of their efforts materialized, however to Itou who was of the Sonno-joi sect, this was nothing more than "talk" and misplaced kindness. When the Shinsengumi became vassals to the Shogun he had decided to put an end to his connections to the group. So on September 26 Itou went with his right hand Shinohara Tainoshin to Kondo Isami's resting place (mistress house) and offered to withdraw from the Shinsengumi. However this was denied saying an officer cannot be permitted to leave (escape) and that this was grounds for seppuku. He countered with, "I want to secede because we want to be guards of Emperor Komei's Imperial tomb. I want to start a friendly relationship with the Satsuma and Choshu and probe their tendencies. I am doing this also for the sake of the Shinsengumi." However Kondou and Hijikata knew that Ito was hiding behind "secession" but really Itou's intent was "separation", leaving the Shinsengumi. Therefore Kondou and the others did not agree and the discussions ended in heated argument.
There was a second discussion the next day of the 27th. Shinohara writes it in his diary as, "This evening, they punish those with different clothes and body. If two minds argue and damage the spirit, separation is obstructed even more and we will not obey. However these two men (I think Shinohara is talking about Hijikata and Kondou) cannot understand our opinion, not knowing of Imperialism and that Tokugawa's punishment is that Bushido is used uniquely only to control people. Therefore we fall into the art of trickery because at last I will obey the opinion of seceding."
Drastic measures were imminent and the heated discussions grow even more excited until Kondou and Hijikata were refuted at last and the two accepted the "secession". However Kondou and Hijikata accepted with something up their sleeves. Itou's faction will learn of it with the tragedy of Aburanokouji. The following year March 10 Keio 3 the Itou faction receives the official appointment to be the Imperial tomb guard through the kind office of Sennyuuji temple elder. They moved Chouenji Utsuri of Gojou Oohashi and again to Higashiyama Kodaiji Temple as their base on June 8, the door plate read "Kinri Goryou Eiji Tonsho". This is the group that came to be called "Kodai ji Temple Group". There were at this time 15 who seceded from the Shinsengumi into Kodai-ji temple.
Shinohara Tainoshin was born in the province of Chikugo in Takami village on October 10, 1828, 11th year of the Bunsei era. In 1858, 5th year of Ansei era at 31 years old he went to Edo to the Kanagawa magistrate and worked as a guard in a Yokohama settlement. It was at this time that he became friends with Itou Kashitarou and followed Itou to Kyoto. Itou who had separated from the Shinsengumi formed the Kodaiji party with Shinohara but the incident at Aburanokouji annihilated the Kodaiji party. Shinohara narrowly escapes death and received protection from the Satsuma domain. This assassination of Kondou failed and after the Boshin war he changed his name to Hata Shigechika. He died in 1911 at 84 years old. It is said that he became a pious Christian.
The heated argument of the disassociation at the time of the Kodaiji party is a well quoted testimony from Shinohara's diary called "Hata Hayashi Shinnichi Ki". As for Ito's request to separate to become a loyal defense retainer of the Emperor, Itou probably meant to become a guard of the "Imperial Palace", since Emperor Komei passes away on December 25, three months after this heated argument. Since Emperor Komei dies before the separation from the Shinsengumi was achieved, their charge was most likely changed to "Guards of the Imperial Tomb".
Kizu's blab: The assumptions in the preceding paragraph is Tooru's own words. It's a little confusing to me with Itou talking about being an Imperial Tomb Guard already... But it is possible as the author suggested that Itou might'be meant to be a guard of the Imperial Palace (grounds). I did this to learn more about Shinohara Tainoshin, there are probably better sources in my other books but I've not really looked into them -yet-.
Arai was the second son of his family and for some reason it seems he used his mother’s family name rather than his father’s. He first appeared in Edo around 1852 and joined the Shinsengumi in the summer of 1865. He was made a spy and an instructor of kenjutsu. He was also known to have been an “unparralleled” regular drinker.
Arai seems to have been on a mission at the time Ito was killed. During the war he joined the Sekihoutai with the others and was arrested for the “False Imperial Army” case. After his release he was a sergeant in the new government force fighting in the Echigo region.
After the war, he served in some post in Kyoto for until 1870, but was then dismissed. In 1874 he re-entered government service in the Department of Justice. He retired as a local government official in 1886 in Tokyo. He died in 1891 at age 57 [56].
Strangely enough, Arai seems to have been a friend of Saito’s at least in their later years. This is a bit surprising since Saito is believed to have betrayed Ito to the Shinsengumi, either as a spy or to get himself out of trouble. Both men lived in the Hongo area of Tokyo, so perhaps this was a factor in their decision not to continue any hostilities. Also their respective jobs may have forced them to declare a truce. At any rate it seems that they were close enough friends that Saito attended Arai’s funeral.
Tomiyama was apparently from Satsuma. When he first attempted to join the Shinsengumi (either in Kyoto or Osaka) in 1864, he was almost refused on the suspicion that he was a spy for that clan. Ito intervened and he was accepted, becoming part of Matsubara’s unit at first. Later he served as a corporal in the group.
It is known that Ito established some sort of contact with the Satsuma clan before leaving the Shinsengumi. Since Tomiyama was from there originally, he probably played a part in that. He left the group with Ito’s faction and was wounded fighting at Toba-Fushimi for the Imperialists. This seems to have kept him from joining the Sekihoutai with the other member of the Kodaiji Party.
In April of 1868, he was ordered to make some sort of search for the new government, during which he was captured by an enemy faction (apparently from Mito). He attempted to escape and was killed. He was 26 [25] at the time of his death.
He was originally from Ako in the Harima province. Hattori was noted to have a good build and was a great swordsman. He also knew jujutsu and how to use a spear.
He worked as a guard of the foreigner’s settlement in Yokohama and appears to have been connected with Ito’s dojo. He joined the Shinsengumi at the same time Ito did in 1864 and was first a part of Ogata Shuntaro’s 5th unit. Later on his skill with a sword earned him a position as an instructor of kenjutsu when the group reorganized. He may have also worked as a spy after this time. Hattori was eventually killed with Ito and Todo on Nov 18, 1867. He would have been about 27 [26].
Abe was the second son of a farmer from the Yuri area of the Dewa province. He suffered some sort of childhood illness which left him twisted at the waist.
He first joined the Shinsengumi in 1863 and seems to have held more with Serizawa’s faction than with Kondo and Hijikata. Abe participated in the political change of August 18, 1863, but then left the group sometime after Serizawa’s death. He went to Osaka, where he went by the name “Takano Juro”. It cannot be said that he was hiding from the group however, because he stayed at the Tani dojo during this time and so was never completely out of contact with the Shinsengumi.
In 1866 he helped Tani Mantaro deal with some Tosa ronin for the Shinsengumi. A few months later he was persuaded to return to the group after being told about Ito Kashitaro. He served as a corporal and a teacher of artillery. (There was no mention of exactly when and where he is supposed to have learned that skill, which may go a long way toward explaining why the Shinsengumi never got any better at it.)
After Ito’s death, he joined the Sekihoutai with the other faction members. Later he fought in the Oshu region. After the war, he worked for the Bureau of Development and went to Ezo, which had then been renamed Hokkaido. There he established the Abe Orchard and cultivated apples.
In his later years, Abe appears to have claimed to have been the one who shot Kondo. This lead to his friendship with Shinohara being broken off. Abe also seems to have been responsible for at the murder of at least one former Shinsengumi member after the war. (The murder of Yasutomi Saisuke.) He died in 1907 at age 64 [63] of an illness.
Kano was born in the Kano Village in the Izu province. He went to Edo and learned swordsmanship at Ito’s dojo and worked as a guard of the foreigner’s settlement in Yokohama. He followed Ito into the Shinsengumi in 1864, where he served as a corporal. During the Boshin War he was able to get “revenge” for Ito’s death when he was called on to identify Kondo for the Satsuma clan, causing the Shinsengumi commander to be executed. When Oishi Kuwajiro foolishly sought him out for help in 1870, Kano turned him over to the government as well. After the war he worked for the Bureau of Development. Kano passed away in 1902 at the age of 64 [63].
Shinohara was the eldest son of a farmer from the Takami Village in the Chikugo Province. His father was named Gensuke and he had been adopted by the 11th generation head of the Shinohara family when he married the man’s daughter, Taki.
There was one source which claimed that the family was very poor and spoke with a Kurume dialect. However this information is not very reliable because the same source went on to claim that they were part of the Kurume clan and that Shinohara was a native of Edo, which is false. He did have some connection with the Kurume clan, because he learned to use the spear from one of their clansmen and entered the service of another in 1852. By 1858 he was in the service of the clan in Edo. (The person he entered the service of in 1852 was probably named “Arima Ukon”. He either continued to serve this person in Edo in 1858 or was referred to someone there by him at that time. However the details were not clear enough to be absolutely certain.)
Shinohara is described as a calm, quiet person with a friendly nature. He seems to have been an educated person and was eager in the martial arts. By 18, he had learned how to use both the sword and the spear, and was good at jujutsu. His sword style is said to have been the same as Ito’s.
The assassination of Ii Naosuke in 1860 greatly shocked Shinohara and he joined the cause of “Sonno-joi” at that time. He traveled around for a bit, visiting Mito, Osaka, Echigo, and other places. At some point during this time period, he also married his first wife, Hagino, and they had a son around 1863.
Also in 1863, he was hired by the Kanagawa magistrate as a guard for the foreigner’s settlement in Yokohama. This brought him into contact with Kano Washio and Hattori Takeo, who were also apparently working at this job. That same year Kano took him to Edo and introduced him to Ito Kashitaro.
Like the others, Shinohara decided to follow Ito into the Shinsengumi when he joined in 1864. However he arrived later than the rest of the group, only showing up on May 10, 1865. After settling in Kyoto, he called for his wife and child to join him there. (The reason for this delay is not listed. He may have stayed behind in Edo to look after Ito’s wife, but this task would have become unnecessary when Ito divorced her for deceiving him. Or he may have hesitated because of something relating to his own family.)
Shinohara was made a spy for the Shinsengumi and was one of the jujutsu instructors. He is said to have been friendly with Matsubara Chuji, who also taught jujutsu.
After Ito’s assassination, he joined the Sekihoutai and became involved in the “False Imperial Army” case, for which he was briefly jailed. In just a matter of a few months he was back in the fighting, this time as a sergeant in the Satsuma clan forces.
As soon as the revolution was over, he changed his name to “Hata Shigechika”. The government gave him a job with the Ministry of Justice, but he did not last too long at this one. (There was some indication that this may have been because of an “anti-government plot”, but the information was not very clear.) He next worked for the Ministry of Finance, but resigned in 1873 after only a year. From there on he “meddled” in various businesses, but never felt any particular need to be “successful”.
The reason for his attitude was the fact that he became a convert to Christianity. At some point he also remarried to a younger woman. (It was not noted whether he divorced his first wife or if she had died.)
In 1911, Shinohara died of an inflammation of the middle ear. He had his sons with him and his passing was calm. He was 84 [82] at the time of his death.
