Hijikata Toshizō

Introduction

Hijikata Toshizō was the second-in-command of the Shinsengumi, a group of swordsmen in the late Edo period.

The Shinsengumi was a group of fighters who, under the patronage of the Shogunate at the end of the Edo period, suppressed the Emperor’s exclusionist movement in Kyoto. The Shinsengumi was led by Hijikata along with Kondo Isami, the leader of the Shinsengumi.

Although born a farmer, Hijikata Toshizō was proud to be a samurai. He imposed a strict code on his troopers, who were therefore afraid of him as “the deputy chief of demons”.

Ultimately, he fought through the war as a member of the old Shogunate army and fell in battle.

Let us look at the 35-year life of Hijikata Toshizō as a samurai and his beloved sword.

His childhood when he was called a rowdy 

Hijikata Toshizō was born in 1835 in Ishida Village, Tama County, Musashi Province (present-day Ishida, Hino City, Tokyo).

His family was a wealthy farmer with a sideline business manufacturing and selling a medicine called “Ishida Sanyaku,” a family heirloom medicine for bruises and sprains. The family was so wealthy that they called it the trade name “Odaijin”, which means the lord.

His father, Yoshitsugu, died three months before Hijikata was born, and his mother passed away when he was six years old. The youngest of ten children, Toshizo was raised by his second brother Kiroku, who took over the family business, and his wife, Naka.

Although his parents died early in his childhood, Hijikata was an energetic and unruly child, known as a “bara-gaki” (a violent child who can injure himself if touched). He was quite a naughty child, throwing bird eggs at passersby from the top of a tree at the temple. He boasts of his strength, practicing sumo stretches for an hour with his family’s mainstay.

However, he was not just a rowdy kid; he was a kid with a strong heart who never said the words “I will lose”, “I will run away”, or “I am no match for him.”

Hijikata seemed to want to become a samurai in the future. However, it was not so easy for a farmer’s son to become a samurai. Generally, those who are not the sons of heirs are either left to fend for themselves or adopted by other families. Various theories think that Hijikata served a merchant family for about ten years between the ages of 14 and 24.

According to one theory, when he was 11 years old, he went to work for Ito Drapery Store (later Matsuzakaya Ueno Store) in Ueno. But he quarreled with the watchman and ran out of the store, walking 40 kilometers back to his parent’s house and never returning

When he was 17 years old and serving at a store in Daidenmacho, he got a more senior woman pregnant, and thereby they kicked him out. However, there is no record of him returning to Ishida Village when he was 17. This story may have been created later to emphasize Hijikata’s handsome appearance.

Although Hijikata was serving a merchant family, he could not give up his dream of becoming a samurai. He began to study swordsmanship under Sato Hikogoro, the master of Hinojuku and his sister Nobu’s husband. Sato was a student of Shusuke Kondo of the Tenseikan swordsmanship dojo. He opened a dojo in the corner of his house, where he studied the style of Tennen Rishinryu School with great enthusiasm.

While studying swordsmanship at the Sato dojo, Hijikata also peddled his family’s Ishida Sanyaku (a herbal medicine). He repeatedly competed in other sword fighting styles at dojos around Japan, improving his swordsmanship skills.

In 1859, at 25, he formally entered the Shizen Rishin Ryu School.

Hijikata was very likely to meet Kondo Isami, a future ally of the Shinsengumi, at the Sato Dojo. Kondo had been visiting the Sato Dojo to practice swordsmanship, and they likely became acquainted through their swordsmanship.

Although Hijikata was a late entrant at 25, they probably recognized him as a talented swordsman early on. His name was listed in a directory of sworders in and around Edo the year after his initiation

• He was born in 1835 as the youngest of 10 brothers.
• Served as an apprentice to a draper from the age of 14 to 24 for ten years (various theories exist)
• While peddling “Ishida Sanyaku” from childhood, he trained at various kenjutsu dojos around the country, competing in many fights.
• Later, he formally entered the Shizen Rishin-Ryu School and met Kondo Isami

Meeting Kondo Isami and the establishment of the Shinsengumi 

The chance to become a samurai came to the 25-year-old Toshizo Hijikata, who had been studying and honing his skills in the Shizen Rishin Ryu School.

In 1863, the 14th Shogun, Tokugawa Iemochi, was to travel to Kyoto. The Shogunate recruited a group of rōshigumi (an organization of masterless samurai) to protect him. The Shogunate was looking for rōshigumi to guard the Shogun. Moreover, the revolutionary recruitment was open to anyone regardless of status if they were confident in their swordsmanship. Toshizo was delighted at the possibility of becoming a samurai.

Hijikata joined the “roshigumi” along with seven other members of the Shuseikan, including Kondo Isami and Okita Sōji, and set out for Kyoto.

However, when they arrived in Kyoto, Kiyokawa Hachiro, the founder of the roshigumi, surprised Hijikata and the others. He declared, “We will not protect the Shogun, but will be the pioneers of Sonno Joi (the principle of advocating reverence for the Emperor and the expulsion of foreigners). Kiyokawa was deceiving the Shogunate from the beginning and, in fact, had the roshigumi created to use them for radical exclusion of the Emperor and the expulsion of the foreigners.

Hijikata, Kondo, and the others rebelled, claiming that they had come to Kyoto to protect the Shogun, and parted ways with Kiyokawa and the others. They remained in Kyoto with Serizawa Kamo and his faction from the Mito domain, who shared the same ideals. And he turned to Matsudaira Katamori, lord of the Aizu domain. The latter was in charge of the “Kyoto Guardianship,” which was responsible for maintaining the security of Kyoto.

Matsudaira was also under pressure to expand his armed forces in the face of terrorist acts in Kyoto by radical expulsionists and ex-convicts. So, he accepted Hijikata and his group of 20 remnants as the custody of the Aizu Clan. They called themselves the “Mibu Roshigumi” (the Mibu masterless warriors ), Serizawa and Kondo as bureau chiefs (captains), and Hijikata as deputy commanders.

A coup d’état broke out in August to eliminate the Choshu clan, the spearhead of the “Honno Joi” (the Emperor’sEmperor’s exclusionist movement), from Kyoto. The Mibu Roshigumi had their chance to play an active role. Hijikata and his men were dispatched to the August 18 Incident, along with the Aizu clan, to guard the Ohanabatake Gate. They were also active in the subsequent hunt for the remnants of the Choshu clan.

In recognition of these activities, they were given the name Shinsengumi.

Although the Shinsengumi got off to a spectacular start, the internal conflict between Serizawa, Kondo, and Hijikata deepened. The reason for this was the poor conduct of Serizawa, who repeatedly committed violent acts throughout the city of Kyoto. Finally, Serizawa, angry at being refused a loan, stormed into a merchant’s house and burned down his storehouse. They viewed Serizawa’s behavior with concern for the Aizu clan. And Hijikata, feeling that the continued existence of the roshigumi would be in jeopardy, finally decided to kill Serizawa after consulting with Kondo.

However, Serizawa Kamo was also a master swordsman and could not be easily defeated. So Hijikata devised a scheme: he held a banquet on the day of the murder to get Serizawa drunk, and then he, along with Okita Soji and Yamanami Keisuke, attacked Serizawa in his drunken stupor and killed him.

The Shinsengumi thus wiped out The Serizawa faction, and Kondo Isami became the sole head of the Shinsengumi and took control of the organization. A new structure was established, with Toshizo supporting Kondo as deputy chief.

• As the roshigumi guarding Tokugawa Iemochi, he went to Kyoto with Kondo Isami, Okita Soji, Saito Hajime, and others to maintain security in Kyoto.
• However, he rebelled against the fact that the real purpose of the roshigumi was to exclude the barbarians, so he established the Shinsengumi.
• Hijikata was appointed as deputy chief

Through the Ikedaya Incident, the Shinsengumi entered its golden age

The Ikedaya Incident in 1864, the year after the Shinsengumi formed, brought the Shinsengumi to prominence.

The Ikedaya Incident took place in 1864, the year after the Shinsengumi was formed, and involved an attack on anti-Shogunate (Shogunate) anti-Sonnoji (expulsion of the Emperor) forces gathered at Ikedaya.

In 1863, the Choshu clan, the vanguard of the anti-exclusionist movement, was defeated in the August 18 Incident and exiled from Kyoto. However, the anti-exclusionist faction plans to regain power and raise an army.

The Shinsengumi, who had heard rumors of this and were searching for him, captured a man named Furutaka Shuntaro. Furutaka was a man who had been in and out of Choshu. And he was connected with the Honno Exclusionist faction of ronin and others. Hijikata Toshizō tortured Furutaka and forced him to confess that he was planning to burn down the Imperial Palace on a windy day and take the EmperorEmperor away to Choshu.

Seeing no respite, the Shinsengumi contacted the Aizu clan and set out to round them up. However, the Shinsengumi did not know where the radical ronin were hiding. So, they divided into three units: one led by Kondo, including Okita Soji, Nagakura Shinpachi, and Toudou Heisuke, and two led by Hijikata and searched every inn, teahouse, and other establishments in the city.

Then, at around 10 p.m., Kondo’s squad found a group of ronin who had gathered to discuss the recapture of Furutaka. The location was Ikedaya. Kondo and his men stepped in and ran to the second floor, where a brawl immediately broke out. Kondo’s corps got into a disadvantageous position. Still, Hijikata and his men rushed in to join them and regain their strength. At the end of the melee, they killed Miyabe Teizo and others and captured about 20 men.

At this time, Hijikata did not allow the Aizu domain warriors who arrived later to approach the scene, fearing they would take the credit. Due to Hijikata’s cool-headed decision, the Shinsengumi was given an exceptional bounty. Its reputation as a group of swordsmen rose to new heights. The number of members increased to more than 100, and the Shinsengumi entered its golden age.

The Shinsengumi, however, was a group of people from different backgrounds. To make the Shinsengumi a well-organized group of warriors with solid unity, Hijikata established and strictly enforced a code of discipline.

These rules consisted of four articles:

Acting against bushido is forbidden.

No desertion

No borrowing money or taking other people’s money without permission

Lawsuits without permission are prohibited.

Moreover, the rule was so terrible that anyone who broke it was immediately subjected to seppuku (ritual suicide).

Hijikata was even harsher than Kondo and showed no mercy to recruits or the top brass. When Yamanami Keisuke, a comrade in the Trial Guard, deserted because of differences of opinion, Hijikata caught him and had him commit seppuku (ritual suicide). When Ito Kashitaro, a member of the Shinsengumi, deserted the group, Hijikata lured him and his faction into a trap and conspired to kill them. Nearly 40 people were punished and forced to commit seppuku or beheading.

• To make the Shinsengumi the most influential group in Japan, Hijikata demanded that the troopers behave in a manner befitting a samurai. They also called him “Oni no XO” (Deputy Chief of the Oni) because he punished them severely with a devilish spirit.
• What is the Ikedaya Incident?
• He was called “Oni no Toshizo” by the troopers. He always made them observe discipline and ordered them to commit seppuku (ritual suicide) if they broke the sentence

The Boshin War and Defeat 

The Shinsengumi worked to crack down on the ronin and other samurai and to maintain security in Kyoto. Still, history was about to take a significant turn.

In 1867, Kondo and Hijikata Toshizō were made shogunate vassals. They became samurai as they had longed for. Still, in October, the Edo shogunate ended when Shogun Tokugawa Yoshinobu regained power through the Great Restoration.

The following year, in 1868, the Boshin War began between the old shogunate forces and the new government forces led by Satsuma and Choshu. After that, Hijikata led the Shinsengumi into a battle against the new government forces. In the Battle of Toba-Fushimi, Hijikata led the Shinsengumi because Kondo Isami was wounded. Still, they suffered a heavy defeat in the face of Western-style military equipment such as cannons and guns.

Moreover, Tokugawa Yoshinobu general-in-chief fled Osaka and returned to Edo (now Tokyo). The old shogunate forces were disbanded and defeated.

Hijikata and his men had to retreat. Upon returning to Edo, they organized the Koyo-Chinbutai infantry to suppress Kofu Castle, which was under the direct control of the Shogunate. And they headed for Koshu-Katsunuma, but were severely defeated. While trying to regroup in Nagareyama (present-day Nagareyama City, Chiba Prefecture), the new government forces surrounded him. As a result, Kondo Isami was captured on April 3. Hijikata asked Katsu Kaishu to spare Kondo’s life, but he could not do so, and Kondo was later beheaded.

Hijikata, who lost his ally, Kondo, seemed to have strengthened his resolve to continue fighting against the new government forces until the end. Hijikata escaped from Edo by joining a breakaway force led by Otori Keisuke and others from the old shogunate army. Hijikata was ordered to be the chief of staff of the spearhead army. The army fell on Utsunomiya Castle at Utsunomiya, partly thanks to Hijikata’s skillful leadership that utilized Western military techniques.

However, a counterattack by the new government forces soon defeated them, and Hijikata and his men moved north. Kondo Isami was executed on April 25, when they entered Aizu. Hijikata asked Matsudaira Katamori to erect his tomb at Tennoji Temple.

After losing the battle at Motonari Pass in Aizu, Hijikata retreated to Sendai. And he joined Enomoto Takeaki, vice president of the navy of the former shogunate forces, who had landed at Matsushima Bay with the Kaiyo Maru. In October, Enomoto and his men traveled to Hakodate to re-establish themselves in the Ezo region and entered Goryokaku, which had the Hakodate Prefecture. At this time, the Shinsengumi grew to about 100 members, as Kuwana and Karatsu clan members who had accompanied them joined the Shinsengumi adoration of Hijikata.

Enomoto and his men defeated Matsumae Castle, pacified the Ezo, and established the Ezo Republic. Enomoto, appointed president of the government, held Hijikata in high esteem and gave him the number two position in the army, second only to the military magistrate Otori Keisuke, and entrusted him with all judicial and police affairs.

However, this was not a haven either. The following year, in April 1869 (Meiji 2), the new government forces began a full-scale landing in Ezo. Hijikata skillfully led his troops to block the advance of a large party equipped with repeating rifles and defended Futamiguchi. Still, the new government forces were so powerful that they launched an all-out assault on Hakodate in May.

On May 11, Hijikata was on horseback to defend the Ippongi barrier, commanding his men to “slay those who retreat” to raise morale. He was hit in the abdomen by an enemy bullet, fell from his horse, and expired. He died at the age of 35.

His death was typical of Hijikata, who lived as a samurai.

• The Edo shogunate virtually collapsed when Tokugawa Yoshinobu ordered the restoration of the Great Rule of Japan. A year-long war broke out between the old Shogunate and the new government forces.
• Overwhelmed by the guns and cannons of the new government, Hijikata finally joined forces with Enomoto Takeaki in a battle at Goryokaku.
• Hijikata was shot in the abdomen and died in the war.

Hijikata Toshizō and his beloved sword

Hijikata Toshizō was a swordsman of the Shinsengumi who fought many actual battles and owned many swords. Among them, the following six blades are well known.

• Izumi no Kami Kenesada (2 swords)
• Yamato no Kami Minamoto no Hidekuni
• Kunihiro Horikawa
• Aoi Mon Echizen Yasutsugu
• Sukesada, a resident of Nagafune, Bizen

It seems that the Aizu clan owned several “Izumi no Kami Kenesada.”

The most famous is a sword made by the 11th Izumi no Kami Kenesada, a swordsmith in the service of the Aizu clan, and measures approximately 70 cm in length. It is said that Matsudaira Katamori, the lord of the Aizu domain, gave it to him, inscribed in the 3rd year of Keio.

This Izumi no Kami Kenesada is also called the last sword that Hijikata was wearing, and it seems that he used it in battles from Tohoku to Hakodate. Shortly before his death, he had his son-in-law Tetsunosuke Ichimura deliver this sword to his brother-in-law Hikogoro Sato, along with a portrait of himself. And it has been handed down to the present day. It is now in the “Hijikata Toshizō Museum” at the site of his birthplace. When it was first delivered, it had a spilled blade, indicating the intensity of the battle.

The other Izumi no Kami Kenesada is known from a letter written by Kondo Isami to his hometown after the Ikedaya Incident in 1864. He wrote, “Hijikata fought hard with the sword of Izumi no Kami Kenesada, which is two shaku eight sun (about 85 cm).” A swordsmith named  Izumi no Kami Kenesada followed Matsudaira Katamori to Kyoto, where he made swords for the Aizu clan and Shinsengumi fighters. Hijikata probably preferred to use Izumi no Kami Kenesada because of its practicality, although it was not flashy.

Yamatomori Minamoto no Hidekuni was a swordsmith in the Aizu clan’s service. He went to Kyoto to make swords when Matsudaira Katamori came to Tokyo. This sword was made in 1866. The blade is short (approximately 68 cm), and the tip is relatively light so that it can be used with one hand. The rim is decorated with a picture of plum blossoms, a favorite of Hijikata. He wielded this sword during the Boshin War (1868-1911). It is assumed that this sword was given to Tanehide Akizuki, a samurai of the Aizu domain who was Hijikata’s superior in the Boshin War, based on the name on the front. It is now in the Reizan Museum.

“Horikawa Kunihiro” is a Wakizashi (Medium Length Swords) with a length of about 79 cm. In a letter written by Kondo Isami to his hometown after the Ikedaya Incident, he noted that Izumi no Kami Kenesada and Horikawa Kunihiro were among the swords of Hijikata. Horikawa Kunihiro was a famous swordsmith of the Azuchi-Momoyama period, and the swords he made were quite expensive. It is, therefore, difficult to believe that Hijikata could have possessed one, and it is said that the blade may be a fake.

The “Echizen Yasutsugu with hollyhock crest” was given to Hijikata by Matsudaira Katamori and measures approximately 71 cm. It has a hollyhock crest.

Yasutsugu was a potter in the service of Tokugawa Ieyasu’s second son, Yuki Hideyasu, and was allowed to put the crest of hollyhock, the Tokugawa family crest, on the sword because of his excellent technique. It is known that this sword was also used for test cutting by decapitating officials.

Hijikata sent this sword to the son of Sato Hikogoro (nephew of Hijikata), who was captured at the Battle of Katsunuma in Koshu. Thus it was handed down to the Sato family and is in the Sato Hikogoro Shinsengumi Museum.

Bizen Osafuneju Sukesada is believed to be the sword that Hijikata kept with him until the end of his life. Bizen Osafuneju Sukesada was a swordsmith from Okayama, mainly in the Muromachi period (1336-1573), and several people took his name. In addition, a Bizen-no-Kuni Osafune Jyu Yokoyama Fujiwara Sukenaga, inscribed by Toshizo Hijikata, has recently been discovered. And it is believed to be a sword that belonged to Hijikata.

Summary

Hijikata Toshizō led the Shinsengumi and became the samurai he longed to be, sometimes struggling with a devilish heart to defend his actual duty. He was strict with others, defied authority, and fought for the old shogunate forces to the very end, living a more samurai-like life than a samurai’s own. His way of life still resonates in the hearts of many people today.