The Ruins of Kondo Isami's Dojo
The Shieikan Dojo is the site of Kondo Isami's Tennen Rishin-ryu dojo in Shinjuku Ward.
Currently, only the pillar and the nearby Inari Shrine remain. In this article, we will take a look at the ruins of the Shieikan.
Directions
Address: 25 Ichigaya’yanagi-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo
How to get there: 3 minute walk from Ushigome Yanagimachi Station on the Oedo Line
Map of the ruins of the dojo
The site of the Shieikan Dojo today
Pillar left in Ushigome Yanagicho, Shinjuku-ku
Shieikan pillar
In Ushigome Yanagicho, Shinjuku Ward, the "Shieikan Ruins" pillar still remains.
The surrounding area is a residential area, and there is nothing left from those days except the Inari Shrine near the dojo.
Inari Shrine (Shoichii Inari Shrine)
Inari Shrine (Shoichii Inari Shrine)
This is a shrine known as "Shieikan Inari", officially "Shoichii Inari Shrine". It's said all the time in the local area that "There was a dojo near Inari". Due to deterioration, it's currently only visible from outside an enclosure.
It is said that this Shieikan Inari has been around for 350 years. Older people in the area sometimes pray at this shrine. It seems that Shinsengumi members also visited.
Theories about the location of the Shieikan
It is said that the site of the Shieikan was in "Yanagimachi", and there was a theory that it was in Yanagimachi, Koishikawa, and a theory that it was in Ushigomeyanagicho, Ichigaya.
The diary written by Shinpachi Nagakura in the early Meiji era was published in Heisei, and made it certain without doubt that it was in Yanagimachi, Ichigaya, where the pillar is currently located.
People related to the Shinsengumi who were at the Shieikan
The ruins of the Shieikan are in the back of this alley
Dojo master Kondo Isami and his disciples
First of all, there was Kondo Isami, the master of the dojo.
He was adopted into this dojo by the 3rd generation Shusuke Kondo and became the 4th generation of Tennen Rishin-ryu.
In addition, among the future members of the Shinsengumi, Hijikata Toshizo, Okita Souji, and Inoue Genzaburo were disciples who learned the Tennen Rishin-ryu there from the start.
Sannan Keisuke and Saito Hajime were disciples who came to the Tennen Rishin-ryu after studying in other schools.
Sannan Keisuke is a swordfighter who studied the Ono-ha Itto-ryu and Hokushin Itto-ryu, but I think he was treated as a disciple rather than a freeloader because he was in a position to go to and teach Tennen Rishin-ryu in Tama many times.
Saito Hajime practiced the Mugai-ryu swordsmanship.
It is said that he was in the Shieikan according to Nagakura Shinpachi's diary and the "両雄士伝" written by Kojima Shikanosuke.
Shinsengumi member Abe Juro, who later joined the Goryo-eiji, also left a sentence that can be taken as confirming that Saito Hajime was in the same school as Okita Souji.
However, Saito Hajime did not participate in the formation of the Roshigumi at Denzuin Temple (5th day of the 2nd month, Bunkyu 3), and when the Roshigumi signed a petition on the 10th day of the 3rd month that they wanted to stay in Kyo.
From this, we can see that Saito Hajime joined the Shinsengumi separately for some reason.
Kondo Isami once asked his adoptive father, Kondo Shusuke, to send bugu (training equipment) for his disciples and freeloaders who lived in the Shieikan. It is said that Saito Hajime did not live in the Shieikan and was not a regular disciple because Saito Hajime was not on the list to send this equipment. There is also a theory that he wasn't actually in the Shieikan.
The freeloaders Nagakura Shinpachi, Harada Sanosuke, and Todo Heisuke
Nagakura Shinpachi, Harada Sanosuke, and Todo Heisuke were studying at other schools, but they were at the Shieikan as freeloaders.
Harada Sanosuke's name is missing from the members of the Roshigumi that Nagakura Shinpachi wrote in his diary, but when the Roshigumi was formed at Denzuin, he was listed in the same group as the members of the Roshigumi.
However, Nagakura Shinpachi had his bugu equipment sent to Kyoto from the Shieikan, but Harada Sanosuke and Todo Heisuke do not have that record.
From this, it is unknown how often Harada Sanosuke and Todo Heisuke stayed the Shieikan.
Iba Hachiro who was at the Shieikan
Another person who is said to have been at the Shieikan is Iba Hachiro, who later fought beside Hijikata Toshizo in the Battle of Hakodate.
In the book "剣豪秘話" written by a disciple Fukuchi Ouchi, who had an exchange with Kondo Isami, it is written that "Iba Hachiro came for fun every three days or so."
Was Katsura Kogoro ever there?
There is no particular record that Katsura Kogoro went in and out of the Shieikan.
Katsura Kogoro was in a dojo called "Renpeikan", which is about a 30-minute walk from the Shieikan, and At the "Kenheikan", the Shieikan once asked the Kenheikan for assistance in a competition against another school.
It wasn't Katsura Kogoro who came to help, but in novels, creative works, dramas, etc., there are times when the story was adapted to suit the narrative.
It is said that the Renpeikan also held tournaments with other training halls, which seems to supporting the idea that they were acquaintances.
The Renpeikan Dojo
The training hall was built near Yasukuni Shrine and was moved during the Meiji era to build the shrine. A monument remains near the south gate of the shrine. In addition to Katsura Kogoro, Takasugi Shinsaku and Ito Hirobumi were also students of this training hall.
Anecdotes about the Shieikan Dojo
There are some anecdotes about the Shieikan at that time in the "剣豪秘話" written by the disciple Fukuchi Ouchi, who interacted with Kondo Isami.
A simple but well-maintained dojo
According to Fukuchi, the Shieikan looked shabby from the outside, but after going inside, even though it was all-male household, it was neat and well-kept from top to bottom.
In other dojos at that time, the tatami mats were often stained and faded, and the fusuma (sliding screen) torn, but that kind of negligence was not seen at the Shieikan.
The "Nihon Gaishi" (history book) on Kondo Isami's desk
Reading "Nihon Gaishi" was popular among the intellectuals at that time.
Fukuchi says that he saw the book half-opened on Kondo Isami's desk in the Shieikan.
Anecdotes about Kondo Shusuke and Hijikata Toshizo
The third generation master, Kondo Shusuke, seems to have been in a quiet retirement.
However, only the shinbunjitsu ceremony in which a student officially becomes a disciple was strictly based on the old ritual, and required a month of preparation.
There is an anecdote that Hijikata Toshizo laughed at this old-fashioned ritual, saying, "Today is a time when they train with Snider-Enfield rifles in the middle of Edo."
Anecdotes about Kondo Shusuke, Kondo Isami, Hijikata Toshizo, and other members of the Shinsengumi
Kondo Isami's adoptive father, Kondo Shusuke, the third generation master of Tennen Rishin-ryu, gave up his position to Kondo Isami and lived a retired life. He often liked to go listen to kodan storytellers.
After listening to the story, when he returned to the Shieikan, he would gather Kondo Isami, Hijikata Toshizo, Okita Souji, Nagakura Shinpachi, "Iba Hachiro who came for fun every three days or so", and others, and reenact the three parts by himself over bowls of mori soba noodles.
While everyone was eating soba, Kondo Shusuke would talk about the contents of the story of the day.
Everyone would listen quietly as they ate, but Iba Hachiro, who finished eating first, would go somewhere, and then one or two people would leave their seats.
In the end, only Kondo Isami was still listening to Shusuke, and the two of them would laugh to each other’s face. The was an anecdote introduced by Fukuchi.
The history of the Shieikan
The Shieikan Dojo was opened in 1839 by Kondo Shusuke, the foster father of Kondo Isami and the third generation master of the Tennen Rishin-ryu.
There were many students from Tama, and Kondo Isami, Hijikata Toshizo, Okita Souji, Sannan Keisuke, etc. often went to practice.
In Bunkyu 1 (1861), Kondo Isami held a outdoor tournament to announce his succession as the 4th generation master of the Tennen Rishin-ryu.
Two years later, in Bunkyu 3 (1863), Kondo Isami joined the Roshigumi and went to Kyoto.
All of the main instructors went to Kyoto, so Sato Hikogoro and others took care of the dojo until 1867 (Keio 3).
