Shinsengumi-The Real Last Samurai

[Leroy]

Hi all, I'm working inHachioji Japan at the moment. I had a few hours off about a week ago and went to Hino. This is where the real last samurai lived. The guide didn't speek English. My X-later helped a bit though . Anyway, I just wanted to share a couple pics I took of the a house that doubled as a Municaple buliding as well as the Community Heads home. I will put the rest of the images in my gallery later. Here are just a couple. Let me know what you think! Cheers!!!

 

-Leroy

[sencho]

Nice Pics and looks like a good place to visit.

 

The statue is of Hijikata Toshizō Yoshitoyo who was one of the leaders of the Shinsenguni.....

 

I may be wrong but I was under the impression that "The Last Samurai" was (extremely loosely I might add) based on Saigo Takamori who was prime motivator of the Satsuma Uprising.

 

The Shinsenguni were a group of Shogun loyalist Samurai, but they died out with the death of Hijikata in 1869.

 

On the other hand, Saigo san's Satsuma rebellion was in 1877 and he (it is said) died by way of seppuku bringing to a close the uprising. I think he is widely considered as "The Last Samurai".

 

Thanks for posting the pictures!!!

 

Cheers

[Leroy]

I have not done any research in this area yet. I'm just going by what myX-lator told me. But Hijikata Toshizō Yoshitoyo wasa very fierce worrier, from what the guide said. People would get out of his way when he was walking doen the street. Apperantly, he also a great fighter.

[Guest Simon Rowson]

Hi Leroy and Nigel,

 

Hijikata Toshizo was known as "The Demon of the Shinsengumi" because of his harsh rules within the group, his great skill with his Kanesada blade and his cold ferocity in battle. Certainly not a guy to mess with!

 

Saigo, on the other hand, was famed, not only for leading the Satsuma Rebellion, but for his extraordinarily large tetsicles (caused, it is believed, by his catching elephantitis whilst in exile on a remote island).

Therfore, it is highly likley that people would also get out of Saigo's way when he was walking down the street........but for entirely different reasons to Hijikata.

 

Great photos, by the way!

 

Simon

[sencho]

Simon,

 

I thing you should change "extrodinarily large" to "unfeasibly large"

 

:lol:

 

note... this is a juvenile english joke which will not be understood by all.

 

cheers

[Guest Simon Rowson]

tetsicles?.......I'm sure you know what I meant!

 

(Just read read your post Nigel......."Buster Hijikata", eh?)

 

Simon

[Ichi]

Hi Leroy,

 

Good to hear from ya. I visited their inn in Nibu (Kyoto) where they stayed during their assigment to guard the capital from the rebellions. It was a nice place to visit with lots of detailed information of their life, plus books and other souvernir. Kondo was using Kotetsu, but later found out to be a gimei.

 

All the best,

[Guest Simon Rowson]

Hi Leroy and Ichi,

 

Although Kondo's Kotetsu is thought to be gimei, it is actually now believed to have been made by Minamoto Kiyomaro, the top shin-shinto smith (and potentially worth more then a Masamune nowadays) so he still wasn't doing too badly!

One of my Japanese friends, who is very knowledgable about the Shinsengumi, told me that Kondo was once offered a real Kotetsu but declined as this would have been tantamount to admitting the one he already owned was a fake.

 

Incidentally, the gimei Kotetsu signature was apparently made by the master signature-faker Hosoda Heijiro.

 

All the best

Simon

[Ed]

I had heard Saigo was chosen as the leader of the rebellion because he had a lot of balls. :lol:

 

Sorry, I could not help myself. The testicle thing was just too funny.

The photos and info were very good. I was actually just watching, "The Last Samurai", with Toshiro Mifune.

 

Where in Kyoto is the Inn located ? Do you have any information on it? I will be in Kyoto in April and would like to see it.

[nagamaki - Franco]

"The Last Samurai", with Toshiro Mifune.

 

 

Huh? Hmm, have i been missing something?

 

Franco

[Stever]

I was wondering that myself...considering Toshiro Mifune died 6 years before the making of The Last Samurai. I'd be curious if you perhaps mean some other version, Ed?

 

Cheers

[Ed]

Sorry guys, my bad.

 

I wrote that while thinking of the last samurai reference in the post.

"Shinsengumi" with Mifune was what I meant to say.

[Bungo]

" I thing you should change "extrodinarily large" to "unfeasibly large"

 

 

 

note... this is a juvenile english joke which will not be understood by all. "

 

Kapitan,

you ain't seen nothing yet till you see Resputin's.

p.s. I have the pic

milt the ronin

[Ichi]

Hi Ed,

 

Here's the map where the major Shinsengumi events occuried and landmarks in Kyoto. Check out the Yagi house (this is where they stayed and it's now a mini museum) and Mibu Temple. April will be the best season to visit.

 

http://www.2kyoto.net/eng/sinsengumi.html

 

 

Here are other websites for visitor's tips.

http://www.2kyoto.net/eng/sinsengumi.html

http://www.linkclub.or.jp/%7Eswing/frame1.html

[Ed]

Ichi,

Thanks a lot for that site. After looking at the map, I realized I have been in that area, but never seen that place. Kyoto has so many things to see, you could spend weeks there trying to see it all. I love wandering around there nibbling on Nama Yatsuhashi.

Thanks again.

Ed

[kusunokimasahige]

I think that Saigo Takamori is seen as the last samurai because he was the last of the samurai who was able to raise a considerable army to fight the treacherous Meiji troops who destroyed the way of life for the samurai and the shogunate.

 

The shinsengumi were widely seen (by the Meiji traitors) as a band of brigands and an unimportant nuisance..... they were hunted down and destroyed.

 

Probably the standoff of Saigo Takamori and his armies was more widely seen as a last stance and his seppuku was reveered as an act of courage by the Emperor's faction.

 

The last samurai as a movie could be very nice if you ditch Tom Cruise...

since the only westerner ever to have been granted samurai status in Japan was the "Anjin sama" hatamoto WILLIAM ADAMS.

 

KM

[Leroy]

Hi all. Sorry for replying late. There was good info in this thread. Well, I finally had a chance to upload the rest of the pics I took in Hino. Some are better than others, but hay! I'm still learning.

 

http://public.fotki.com/hiritomi/shinsengumi-1/

 

-Leroy

[sencho]

 

The last samurai as a movie could be very nice if you ditch Tom Cruise...

since the only westerner ever to have been granted samurai status in Japan was the "Anjin sama" hatamoto WILLIAM ADAMS.

 

KM

 

Actually it is said that Ken Wattanabe had considerably more screen time than Cruise in the original script, making it more of a "Japanese" focused movie. Apparently Cruise got a "flea in his ear" when he found this out and refused to do the movie unless things were re written so that he was the focus, with more screen time..... Tosser!

 

Cheers

[mike yeon]

In addition to william adams, there were a few more westerners that recieved samurai status:

 

Jan Joosten van Loodensteijn (Dutch colleague of adams)

 

Eugène Collache (French naval officer, fought for the shogunate during the boshin war. not sure if he was granted samurai status but he fought in samurai attire, wearing a daisho)

 

Edward Schnell (German arms dealer during the mid 1800s. served the daimyo of the aizu han.)

 

mike

[kusunokimasahige]

COOL!! helps me a lot in portraying my samurai re-enactment as a westerner!!!

 

KM

[Bungo]

COOL!! helps me a lor in portraying my samurai re-enactment as a westerner!!!

 

KM

 

play the German........

 

 

milt the ronin

[Guest Simon Rowson]

Hi all,

 

Years ago I used to do some work as a freelance cartoonist.

 

The current side-tracking of this thread onto the topic of "non-Japanese samurai", persuaded me to dig out one of my old cartoons and post it.

 

I think it still rings pretty true today.

 

All the best,

 

Simon

 

[kusunokimasahige]

Nope.. it doesnt........

 

 

 

Sorry mods for reviving this anciend thread......

 

 

KM

[Bugyotsuji]

The Last Samurai, hmmmm.................

 

The Last REAL Samurai?

[kusunokimasahige]

Naaah Piers........ just like you guys shooting your Teppo at festivals.... and all of the guys and girls re-enacting Kawanakajima etc...

 

 

however in Europe there are a lot less of us than in Japan...BTW do you happen to know a Japanese guy who is quite well known in Europe for his re-enactment portrayals of a Japanese WWII soldier? He travels the world and his nickname is Taicho, but he is from Edo i think..

 

KM

[Bugyotsuji]

What a great video! hahahahaha..... :lol:

 

Lots'n lots of Last Samurai around, it seems!