#Boshin War

[redsamuraiii]

Lord Toranaga in Shogun (2024)

Historically, following the establishment of the Shogunate, Japan was unified with 300 years of peace during *Edo Period. The same period they were isolated from the world, until the arrival of another "gaijin", Matthew Perry, and his fleet of black warships to force the opening of Japan to trading as America is expanding in the Pacific.

*The movie 47 Ronin takes place during Edo Period.

Matthew Perry in Samurai Marathon (2019)

At the time, the weakened Spanish and Portuguese are withdrawing from Asia as the new powers, Britain and America took control of Asia and the Pacific, triggering Opium Wars. This divides Japan into pro-Shogunate and pro-Imperial factions, causing Boshin War, as each side have different ideas of how to strengthen the country.

*The movie The Last Samurai takes place during this time.

You can see here for the historical timeline of Japan. A Japanese Drama hilariously sums up the Meijin Restoration here.

[federer7]

Samurai of the Satsuma Clan, during the Boshin War period (1868-1869) 1860s

Photo: Felice Beato

[arthurdrakoni]

Flag of the Republic of Ezo

This is the flag of the Republic of Ezo.  It comes from a world where the Boshin War went slightly more favorably for the Shogunate forces.  As a result, the Meiji government was forced to, at least temporarily, recognize the Republic of Ezo.  It wasn't long before the Japanese declared war on Ezo once again.  However, the Satsuma Rebellion still happened and was a lot more widespread, emboldened by Ezo's success.  The Meiji government was forced to focus on quelling the Satsuma Rebellion.  Ezo was able to find support from France and Russia to help protect them from the Japanese.  Eventually, Japan had no choice but to formally recognize the Ezo government. 

In response to Ezo's alliance with France and Russia, Japan strengthened its ties to Britain and Germany.  Following their failure to capture Hokkaido, the Japanese turned their attention to Korea.  Ezo, under the command of the recently defected Saigo Takamori, also sent an expedition to conquer Korea.  Korea was able to play Japan and Ezo off of each other, and was able to maintain its independence.  In time, Korea was able to modernize and industrialize like Japan had.  Japan was humbled by its failure in Korea, and the Japanese were forced to focus more on domestic policy than foreign conquest.

Ezo also pursued a policy of isolationism following the failed expedition to Korea.  Some industrialization was a necessary evil, but on the whole Ezo strived to maintain as much of its traditional culture and way of life as possible.  As time went on, however, Ezo began to increasingly fall under French influence.  In many way, it could be said that Ezo had become a French protectorate.  

World War I started off around the same time, and with very similar circumstances, as our world.  However, in this world Japan fought for the Central Powers.  The Japanese were bitter at the British for selling weapons to Ezo, resentful growing opposition to the creeping British influence on Japanese society, and their alliance with Germany was as strong as ever.  Ezo initially tried to remain neutral, but a surprise Japanese attack prompted Ezo to join the Entente Powers.  The war ended in an Entente victory.  Japan was placed under crushing reparations to Ezo, and was forced to cease land in northern Japan to Ezo.

Japan began to grow resentful against Ezo, and began to rearm for another war.  Ezo and Korea were subjected to a series of harsh bombing campaigns. It wasn't long before Ezo and Korea were forced to surrender and formerly occupied by Japan.  The Japanese continued to expand their influence across East Asia and the Pacific.  It wasn't long, however, before they found themselves in conflict with the United States.  Like in our world, the war ended in an American victory.  

Ezo regained its independence following the war.  Though there is still bad blood between Ezo and Japan, the two nations are slowly putting their past behind them.  There is a movement to reunify Ezo and Japan into a single nation, but it doesn't have much support at the moment.  Still, you never know what the future might hold.

The flag is black and white in reference to the flag of the Tokugawa Shogunate, and the seven-pointed star stands for the spirit of the Ezo people.

Link to the original flag on my blog: https://drakoniandgriffalco.blogspot.com/2017/10/flag-of-republic-of-ezo.html?m=1

[shinsengumi-archives]

The Shinsengumi and the Battle of Shirakawaguchi

The Battle of Shirakawaguchi (a.k.a. Battle of Shirakawa Castle, not to be mistaken with the Battle of Shirakawa) took place from leap April 20 to July 14, 1868 (Lunar calendar) or June 10 to August 31, 1868 (Western calendar). It was fought between the Northern Alliance and the New Government Army

At this point, Kondo Isami had already been executed (he died on May 17, 1868, Western calendar) and Hijikata Toshizo was absent due to the injury he got from the Battle of Utsunomiya on May 14 (western), so Saito Hajime (using the name Yamaguchi Jiro) was the Commander the Shinsengumi during the Battle of Shirakawaguchi.

The Shinsengumi and the Aizu forces captured Shirakawa Castle from the New Government Army on Apr 20 (lunar). On May 1 (lunar), the New Government Forces then recaptured Shirakawa Castle with only 700 men against the 2500 men from the Northern Alliance (along with the Shinsengumi) who were guarding the castle. The Northern Alliance (along with the Shinsengumi) increased their troops to 4500 and tried 7 times (from May 26 to July 14) to retake the castle, but failed.

Maps of the New Government Army’s progress

(image source)

(image source)

Details

(source: Wikipedia)

See: Map of places mentioned in this post

On leap April 20, Keio 4 (lunar), the Shinsengumi and the Aizu soldiers led by Sanai, the son of Tanaka Harukiyo (Matsudaira Katamori’s chief retainer), invaded and occupied Shirakawa Castle, which was being defended by the soldiers of the Nihonmatsu Domain. After taking the castle, Toyama Iemon, the commander of the Aizu guerrilla corps, and the Shinsengumi (commanded by Saito Hajime) stationed themselves at the Shirasaka barrier to the south of the castle.

After winning the Battle of Utsunomiya Castle on April 23 (lunar), the New Government Army had secured Utsunomiya as a their base. They consisted mainly of soldiers from the Satsuma Domain, as well as soldiers from the Ogaki Domain, the Choshu Domain, and the Oshi Domain. They had marched from Utsunomiya to Otawara, but after learning about the occupation of Shirakawa Castle by Aizu, they advanced to Shirakawa on orders from Edo .

At dawn on leap April 25th (lunar), several hundred advance troops of the New Government Forces made a surprise attack on Shirasaka barrier. The Aizu guerilla forces and the Shinsengumi engaged them in a fierce battle. Hinata Shigetaro (leader of the Suzaku corps), who learned of this battle, attacked the New Government Army from the flank with Higuchi artillery and fought them to a standstill. Other forces then attacked the New Government Army from many directions. The New Government forces had no choice but to flee in the face of these fierce attacks from all sides. While retreating, they was stuck in the muddy fields caused by heavy rain. Due to a combination of fatigue, the lack of ammunition from the deadly fighting at the Battle of Utsunomiya Castle, the exhaustion of the march from Utsunomiya and the lack of familiarity with the area, they withdrew to Ashino (a town about 12km south-west from Shirasaka barrier, a 2.5hr walk).

(image source)

On the following day, the 26th, Saigo Tanomo, a retainer of the Aizu Domain, entered Shirakawa Castle as governor of Shirakawa-guchi. Reinforcements from the Sendai, Tanagura, and Nihonmatsu clans also arrived. Saito Hajime and Miyagawa Rokuro of the Jungitai offered to defend Shirasaka barrier, but Saigo Tanomo rejected the idea, saying “We are superior in terms of military strength, so it is unnecessary”. Yamaguchi and the Junyitai were deployed at Shirakawaguchi to protect the main camp. Furthermore, Saigo focused his troops on Mt. Inari, located south of Shirakawa Castle, and deployed his main force and artillery.

[Continue reading]

Timeline of Saito Hajime’s participation in the Battle of Shirakawaguchi 

(Dates are based on the Lunar calendar)

Since Saito was the Commander of the Shinsengumi, we can assume that he was involved in everything that the Shinsengumi was involved in.

19-Apr Hijikata captures Utsunomiya Castle

23-Apr The New Government Army recaptures Utsunomiya Castle, Hijikata gets shot in the foot

25-Apr Kondo Isami was executed at Itabashi, Musashi (near Edo)

28-Apr The Shinsengumi encamped in Akatsu inn going by way of Shirakawa from Nagareyama

29-Apr The Shinsengumi and Hijikata arrives and joins Aizu At this time there is no proof that Saitou was participating in both repeat month

5-Apr (leap) Matsudaira Katamori has an audience with the Shinsengumi, Saitou as one of the Captain’s of the Shinsengumi is ordered to go to the front, to Shirakawa district

6-Apr (leap) Saitou leads the Shinsengumi and departs from Aizu Wakamatsu to the front and encamps at Akatsu inn

21-Apr (leap) The Shinsengumi goes to the front aiming for Shirakawa Castle from Sendai

22-Apr (leap) Shinsengumi encamps at Shirakawa Komine Jouka inn

23-Apr (leap) The Shinsengumi defends the Shirasaka Kanmon (Shirasaka barrier)

25-Apr (leap) The New government army attacks the Shirasaka barrier

26-Apr (leap) The Shinsengumi defends the Shirasaka barrier from the Shirakawa attack of the New Government Army

29-Apr (leap) Shinsengumi defended the Shirasaka barrier and took the place of Sendai soldier. They took a rest at a two storied building at Shirakawa Jouka Nikaidate, encampment was done at Wakimoto Yanagi-ya (Yanagi inn)

1-May The Shirakawa Komine castle was captured by the attack of the New Government Army. The Shinsengumi group that was commanded by Saitou was defeated at the Kurokawa battle and they stayed at Seishidou lodging

2-May They leave the Seishidou inn, encampment in Sendai

26-May The Shinsengumi could not recover Shirakawa Komine castle and they withdraw to Kamigoya (Kamikoya) village for encampment and the New Government Army captures Shirakawa

27-May While they head to Ooyachi village from Shirakawa Komine they met the New Government Army and engage in war but since there were no support soldiers, they retreat to Makinouchi Recently in Sendai, Saitou’s name appears as a commander of the Shinsengumi Taishi in “Aizu Sendai Hisashi Jinja Meibo” (comment: Unsure of exact name but translates to “Aizu Sendai member list of names”)

30-May Okita Souji dies from tuberculosis in Sentagaya, Edo

3-Jun When the Aizu feudal lord Matsudaira makes an official business trip to Yoshinori, Saitou and company returns from Sendai to have an audience with him Saitou and company receives 25 ryo as war funds

6-Jun Saitou who leads the Shinsengumi goes to the front departing to Oohira-kuchi

12-Jun Saitou’s group is once again defeated as it tries to recapture Shirakawa Komine from Hata village

16-Jun He returned from Hata village to Fukura, staying at Senjuin lodging

25-Jun The battle to re-capture Shirakawa Komine castle is done but it is unsuccesful

1-Jul Although the Shinsengumi goes to war from Hata village and invades the Tenjin mountain to capture Shirakawa Komine castle, they are beaten by the New Government Army and withdraws from Hatori to Fukura to re-organize the preparations

7-Jul It went to war from Fukura to Moriya-machi (Moriya town)

8-Jul It went from Moriya-machi to Naganuma encamping there to rest

25-Jul The fight to recapture Shirakawa Komine castle is done and it loses for the 7th time, they leave. The sending of troops to Shirakawa ended substantially

(source: shinsengumi.net)

[sweetbaloonsriseboldly]

Nakano Takeko (中野 竹子, April 1847 – 16 October 1868) was a Japanese female warrior of the Aizu Domait, who fought and died during the Boshin War. During the battle of Aizu she fought with a nagitana (a Japanese polearm) and was the leader of an ad hoc corps of female combatants who fought in the battle independently. After taking a bullet in the chest she had her sister behead her, so that the enemy would not take her as a war trophy!

[riversidewings]

Meanwhile at Edo Castle in the spring of 1868...

[alpinefury]

This was a map that I put together for a friend, both to test how long it would actually take me to make a map of this complexity, and because he was playing a tabletop miniatures game set during the eponymous Boshin War. Unlike a great deal of my other maps, this is a straight historical map, insofar as it was possible to get accurate details of the various domains of the Tokugawa shogunate at this time and the routes of the various main roads used in the country at that time.

[riversidewings]

I did a whole-ass PhD about the Boshin War and the thought of the Shogun's envoys, including a ninja, visiting the Buchanan White House still blows my mind. (I even did a podcast episode a couple weeks ago about it!)

Whenever I see someone refer to "Victorian era-" for places outside the UK I'm tempted to start saying shit like "Han Dynasty era Rome", "Soviet era Australia" etc

[twosecondstreet]

Why is Aizuwakamatsu Known as The Samurai City?

Aizuwakamatsu: Samurai City, home of legends! 🏯🗡 #twosecondstreet #samuraicity

[redsamuraiii]

After watching numerous Historical Taiga Drama (Period Drama), and put the pieces together, now it makes sense.

After the 14th Ashikaga Shogun was killed, there wasn't any Shogun, throwing the country into civil war (Sengoku Jidai).

Oda Nobunaga decides to install the 15th Ashikaga Shogun, only in name, to use him as a puppet to conquer Japan by his name.

No lords dare oppose him, thinking that Oda has the blessing of the Shogun, so anyone who oppose the Shogun is a traitor.

Many clans were defeated or subjugated, including Tokugawa, which end up becoming a vassal of Oda.

Takeda Shingen sees through Oda's lies and declares war, causing other surviving clans to uprise against Oda.

Oda was cornered until Shingen dies abruptly, turning the tide of the war, which eventually lead to Takeda clan decline.

Shortly after, Uesugi Kenshin, the last one standing that Oda considers to be a formidable foe, also dies mysteriously.

With Shingen and Kenshin dead, Oda finally dared to kick the Shogun out of the capital to seize control of the country himself.

Akechi Mitsuhide, who has been serving the Shogun now pledge himself to Oda, abandoning the Shogun, or so it seems.

Akechi is aware of the surviving clans of Tokugawa, Sanada, Uesugi began to communicate in secrecy.

But Akechi kept to himself as he does not trust Toyotomi Hideyoshi, a loyal servant to Oda Nobunaga.

Oda send Hideyoshi to finish off the Shogun's supporters in the west, where the Shogun had ran to seek refuge.

Oda send Akechi to support Hideyoshi but Akechi decides to betray him and kill Oda, paving way for Tokugawa in the future.

Hideyoshi returns from the west to the capital to eradicate Akechi, his clan and supporters, while Tokugawa laid low.

Years later, after Hideyoshi dies, Tokugawa finally made his power move to unify the country, and Sekigahara takes place.

Tokugawa decides to eradicate the entire Toyotomi clan and siege Osaka, wanting to end the endless civil war once and for all.

The new Shogunate is established with him being the 1st Tokugawa Shogun, after the previous Ashikaga Shogun.

Japan has over 200 years of peace, before the America and the Europeans showed up with their mighty naval fleet and canons.

Japan is divided into two, the Shogunate that kowtow to the westerners, and the Emperor who rejects the westerners.

Boshin War broke out between the Shogunate and the Imperial (Emperor), to decide the fate of the country.

It's a long, long, long history. This is just the gist of it. Who says "tv shows" aren't educational eh?

It may not be 100% accurate as dramas are meant to dramatized real life events for our viewing pleasure.

But it does spark one interest to actually read the history to know in detailed of what really happened.

[teitomonogatari]

bakufu posting inspired by @bisexualleorio

[sabraeal]

Whenever I view the moon on the battlefield, Chapter 6

[Read on AO3]

He has spent decades honing his movements so that no nightingale will sing when he crosses a floor, nor scrap of cloth rustle when he turns for his blade. And yet, after all those years of being as quiet as a wind’s whisper and as gentle as a falling feather, Kai still has not found the way to escape his futon without rousing the bundle next to him.

Even now, it sniffs and groans, blankets falling away to reveal a face pale and fair. Fitting, the Vice Commander told him once, after he’d been cajoled into some unwise sips of sake, a watchmen like you would fall for the moon. She’s been your constant companion all these years.

When one’s wife is praised in such skilled verse, there is hardly room for complaint. But still, Kai had smiled, hoisting Hijikata higher over his shoulder as he said, she is lovelier still, for she does not forsake me the way the moon does the sky, not even when we must part.

Not that his wife would appreciate such poetry now, no matter how well composed; no, those dark eyes blink blearily, and her mouth-- made for temptation-- sets into a forbidding crescent. “You are going out?”

He clears his throat, marshaling his explanations even though he knows every one will end in a rout. “The commander wishes to speak with me.”

That mouth flirts with frustration, but before she can make her complaints, there’s a whimper beside her, followed small hand that only knows to grasp. And insistently at that. It reaches out, gripping onto her yukata with a tug that nearly bares her to him. Hardly a hardship for Kai, especially when she giggles the way she does now, scooping blankets and child both into her arms.

“Don’t fuss,” she murmurs, pulling the covers away until the small face blooms beneath it, his eyes already wide and searching. “Kaa-san will do enough for both of us.”

She does bare her breast now, but not for his benefit; no, it is his son who nuzzles against it, finding the tip before he settles contentedly into her arms. He’s nearly too big for it; thirteen months and already spilling out of her lap, twice again the height of most other babes his age. His father’s son, all their neighbors would say, and when he sees Okaki try to wrangle his legs over her thigh, Kai can’t help but agree.

“You still have not explained yourself to me,” she reminds him, brushing a tiny cowlick back behind Kentaro’s ear. “You were out late last night, and now that man wants to take our morning as well.”

How it would wound the chief to hear his wife to speak of him so. “It is because I was out so late last night that the Commander is so eager to see me this morning.”

“I am eager to see you this morning too,” she huffs, though there’s no heat behind it, simply helplessness. “Last night you said there was nothing to see, but now it is worth your sleep to go speak of it?”

It’s a struggle to hold back his grimace. He had murmured such a thing into the silk of her hair as he’d slipped beneath the covers, answering her concerned grunt. It had seemed best then to assure her, to tell her the world was still as if should be, but still--

Nothing was what a man might behold with eyes alone. But just as a merchant might see a loss upon the horizon simply by looking to the skies, Kai could feel the storm brewing in the silence between words; a typhoon spun into being by sentences half-started, or ideas swallowed before they could be spoken aloud. The streets are too quiet by a half these days, the city’s panic thrumming like a pulse beneath his feet.

“Even nothing may be important,” he tells her, so gentle. “Sometimes it is even more important.”

Okaki sighs, shoulders slumping.

“I know.” One does not maintain their position as a court lady without some gift for following the current’s flow. But, as she has so often reminded him, that does not mean one has to like it. “It’s only that these past few months it seems like you’re always there and never here.”

“Funny, only the other day, the Vice Commander told me I was spending too much time enjoying my wife for a man so recently a father.” He leans over, stroking Kentaro’s hair, growing thicker every day. “That’s how I know I’m splitting my time fairly: no one is happy.”

Okaki scowls. “You might be a little more selfish, then. This wife could do with much more enjoying.”

Kai sinks to his knees, smiling too wide to properly leave a kiss upon her brow, but he makes an effort of it. “I will keep it in mind.”

The corners of her frown drag past playfulness, settling into something far more serious. “One day they are going to make you choose.” She shifts, adjusting Kentaro’s sleepy limbs across her lap. “Sooner than either of us would like.”

Her head fits so easily in his palm, the way he had been so certain nothing but the hilt of his katana would. “If the Commander calls for me, I will go. Not because I am choosing them,” he tells her, pinching at her cheek, “but because there is no future for you both without a country that is at peace. If I defend this land, it is because you two live within it.”

She sucks in a breath, only to let it out in a hiss. “Such pretty words, for a bushi. Perhaps you missed your calling as a poet.”

Her hand threads through his fingers like silk, binding him closer to her, tempting him to stay more than words ever could. “When there is peace, perhaps I can be both.”

“Go then, poet. And tell that little friend of ours to look out for you.” A breath huffs from her, fanning out over the skin at his neck. “You tall people all think you are indestructible.”

Kai allows himself a smile, even as she scowls. “That is because so few can reach to cause us harm.”

“You see?” she huffs, gathering Kentaro on her lap. “This is why you need someone reasonable to look after you. With your head so far in the clouds, you’ll never see your death coming.”

Reasonable his dear wife might call him, and were this only a scant few years ago, Kai would agree. Young though he was, Yamazaki had a steady head upon his shoulders; a dedication to duty that not even injury could break. But that Yamazaki would never have been ambushed outside the stockroom, dragged down to the engawa by a girl who weighs as much as a house cat.

At least that is what Kai assumes must have happened; he merely turns to take bridge between compounds and finds them there: Yukimura’s thigh pressed tight to Yamazaki’s, a book sprawled between their laps.

“That’s what it is, right?” Yukimura ducks closer to read the words, a single finger trailing behind to keep her place. Nothing that would be of any note, save that the page in question is situated over Yamazaki’s most tender anatomy.

His cheeks flush as brightly as Shimabara’s lanterns, but his interest in nighttime duties is noticeably lacking. Instead of leaning into the touch, he squirms away, inching his hips to an angle that firmly closes the door on any opportunity one of the other captains might be quick to seize on. “Y-yeah, it is...indeed that one...”

“So it is!” Despite his subtlety, he must move a shade too far; the page trembles, and with a grunt of protest, Yukimura firmly grips his thigh, keeping him in place. “That’s great.”

Were it any other woman, Kai would suspect seduction. But Yukimura has an innocence than cannot be feigned; despite all her years among the virile young tigers of the Shinsengumi, constantly prowling the streets of the hanamachi to slake their thirsts, it has never quite occurred to her that she might stir some of that same desire as well.

And so it is with a guileless smile that she meets Yamazaki’s eyes, their noses nearly touching. It does not dim a bit, not until he chokes, “Our faces. I think...they might be a little too close.”

There is only a moment’s hesitation-- time for a blink, perhaps, or a gasp-- and Yukimura springs to her feet, hands clapped to her cheeks. “I’m so sorry! I--” from this angle Kai cannot see her face, but her shoulders quiver as Yamazaki gets to his feet, albeit more gingerly, as if she cannot quite decide if she should bow or not-- “I didn’t notice!”

Guilt writes itself in vivid ink across his cheeks, and Kai can see the way the boy’s mouth works, struggling to manage, “No, there’s no need for you to apologize.”

I don’t mind, is what he means, or perhaps even, your touch is welcome, but instead he simply suffers through a bow of his own, blurting out. “I’m sorry as well.”

Kai stifles a sigh, an old weariness settling into his bones. As much as Yamazaki wears his own heart on his sleeve-- at least, to Kai’s eyes-- so does Yukimura. She might fluster, putting space between them, but she does not clutch at her hand as if it is burned, or clamp palms to her face to hide an indelicate blush. Nothing to mark it as anything but shock at her own impropriety, the same as she does with any of the captains. Instead her small hands fly up, waving in the empty space between them.

“Really, it’s not your fault. I should have--” her words catch as she looks at him, only cleared away by a delicate cough-- “I should start dinner.”

A young lady is supposed to take her leave with elegance and poise-- or at least, so his wife has impressed upon him-- but Yukimura has lived too long among men to fuss with measured steps, or concern herself with proper posture. Instead, she turns with all the reckless speed of a child, scampering across the engawa as if she has candy tucked into her pockets and a parent on her heels. He nearly doesn’t have time to shuffle out of her way, tucking himself behind a pillar before she can think to question what surface she buffeted herself on at the end of the walkway.

It does, however, give him plenty of time to get a proper look at her. He expects to see concern-- her constant state these days, it seems-- twined tightly with the fierceness of her determination, perhaps even with the barest flush of her embarrassment. But when she brushes past he sees none of that, but instead--

Instead she is pink up to her hairline, eyes wide and wild with a sort of anxiety he’s seen often enough, but never on her. And her hand-- it’s raised. No, just just that, but pressed with terrible delicacy right over her lips.

Ah, this past year he had bitten back on the impulse to tease, thinking it cruel to point out to the boy what he could not have, not even when she spent so much of her waking hours with him, side by side in that small stockroom. But now--

“Shimada.” A hand clasps about his shoulder, drawing his attention down to where the Vice Commander stands, the faintest smile on his face. “You’re here. I would have thought that wife of yours would put up a bigger fight.”

“Hijikata-fukucho,” he manages, strangely off-balance. “Good morning. I was lucky. She was ready to give it her all, but Kentaro woke hungry.”

“Haah,” the Vice Commander sighs, giving his shoulder a good shake before he releases it. “We’re all lucky then. Give her a few years and she’ll be marching down here every time the wind turns, just like Souji’s sister.”

He’d protest-- Okaki was raised well; she’d send letters first, with words as sharp as knives-- but the Vice Commander seems so pleased by the prospect, he can’t bring himself to disappoint him. Instead he huffs, sparing one last glance for Yukimura as she hurries around the corner, before he asks, “Fukucho, can I ask...?”

Hijikata slows, glancing over his shoulder. “Ask what? If it’s news from last night, then you can hold it. I don’t want to keep Kondo-san waiting.”

“No, it’s not that.” He glances toward the other building, where the engawa now stands empty. “Do you know low long that has been going on?”

Hijikata blinks. “I’ve barely looked up from this damned paperwork the bakufu has dropped on us except to tell Shinpachi to stop pestering Sakai for advanced pay, and Harada to stop plucking flowers long enough to keep his pants on. You’re going to have to be more specific.”

“I mean with Yamazaki and Yukimura.”

That brings the Vice Commander around, his focus drawn to a point, all on Kai. “What about them?”

“Ah, it’s probably nothing. I only saw them in the hall, and...” Kai hesitates. “They seemed...closer than I remembered.”

“Closer?” Hijikata takes a step nearer. “How close would you say?”

“Ah, well, it was an accident, I’m sure, but...” He clears his throat. “They were both reading some book, and, er, Yukimura must not have been able to see very well, since she had to lean in...”

It hardly seems safe to tell him about her grabbing the boy’s thigh, not when Hijikata’s grin turns too knowing. “I thought that might be what’s happening.”

Perhaps he really has been away from the compounds too long; the last time he’d seen them in that tiny storeroom, he could have sworn her smiles were the same as they always were. “Ah, so, it isn’t...new?” 

“What isn’t new?” The shoji slides aside, Kondo curious behind it. “Is something happening?”

The Vice Commander puffs up, far too pleased with himself. “Yamazaki and Chizuru, just like I said.”

Kondo’s jaw drops, brows leaping a equal distance toward his hairline. “Not really?”

“Shimada just said he caught them bending their head together over some book,” Hijikata informs him, leaning against the wall. “Had their thighs touching and everything.”

Kai hadn’t told Hijikata all of that-- certainly nothing about the position of thighs in relation to each other, but the Vice Commander’s grin is confident in the face of Kondo’s shock, even when he murmurs, “I think I would know if anything like that was happening here.”

Hijikata’s grin pulls all the wider. “You’d be surprised what can go on behind these walls without anyone being none the wiser.”

“W-well, I’m sure,” Kondo sputters, entirely left-footed. “But Chizuru is a good girl, she’d never...”

The Chief’s words stall, his mouth working but never quite managing to venture a guess as to what a young couple might get up to unattended. Hijikata lifts a hand to his shoulder, giving it a comforting pat.

“Good girls go on to marry good boys,” he assures him. “They just have to do a few other things first.”

“Toshi!” Kondo practically pants with shock. “Surely he would say something before--”

“Kondo-san.” The air next to Kai’s arm had been empty but a moment ago, but now it is filled, Yamazaki brushing past to encompass all of them in his too-serious expression. “I would like to speak with you.”

Kondo glances pleadingly from the Vice Commander to Kai before letting his attention settle on the youngest member of the Watch. “Me?”

“All of you, if it’s not too much to ask.” His head bows, the least amount of deference the boy can bear to show. “I think it is a topic that would be of interest to everyone here.”

Hijikata shrugs. “Don’t see why not. We were going to meet anyway.”

“Ah, of course. Yes.” Kondo steps aside, smile frozen on his face. “Let us all come in. And talk.”

“We are running low on some supplies,” Yamazaki informs them with all the casual confidence Kai has come to expect from the compound’s acting physician. “Antifebriles, ointments, digestive aids...a number of things we use quite often here.”

“Ah, yes. Of course.” Kondo shifts uncomfortably, resting his elbow on one knee before he restlessly switches to the other. “Just tell Sakai-kun how much you think you’ll need, and I’m sure he will see that the funds are handed over accordingly.”

The boy bows over his knees, the perfect image of duty and devotion. “Thank you, Kondo-san.”

It’s with fondness that the Chief regards him, his mouth curved in the warmest of smiles like a father watching his favorite son. There is something about the moment that demands silence, that asks for privacy with atmosphere alone . And yet--

And yet, some men are too restless to allow those moments their breath.

“You already know you have permission to buy what you need for our stockroom.” Kondo-san may have earned his men’s loyalty through his softness, through treating them with the warmth most saved for their sons or brothers, but Hijikata-- Hijikata has earned it through fear. Each word is sharp with accusation, and Yamazaki’s spine stiffens with each stab. “You’re not usually one for minced words, so what’s this really about?”

“Er, yes. It’s just that I-- er...” His hands tense on his knees, every knuckle blanched to bone. “I thought I might also take Yukimura with me.”

Kai fails to smother a cough. A fine enough thing, since it covers his laugh.

“I don’t ask this lightly!” Yamazaki promises, staring at the tatami just beyond his knees. “In the year since she’s begun to aid me with the compound’s medical supplies, she’s been an indispensable asset to the Shinsengumi. Her skills are at least as good as mine, if not better.”

His gaze lifts, fixing on Kondo and the Vice Commander in turn. “She is the only person I know who is bright enough and qualified enough to learn the treatments I use, and what I have taught her she’s learned quickly and well. And so--” he chokes on the words, nerves squeezing his voice high before he can settle it again-- “and so I wishes to say that...that I do not believe it is necessary for me to observe her in my capacity as a member of the Watch.”

Hijikata laughs like an earthquake, the somber air churning to gravel beneath it. “Oh, is that what this is about? I though we handled that with the assistant thing.”

“But I thought--?” Yamazaki’s brow wrinkles, each word labored with the effort to speak it. “If she was close, than it would be easier to--?”

Kondo’s chuckle is a far kinder thing, a breeze compared to the Vice Commander’s natural disaster. “I speak for all of us, I think, when I say that Yukimura earned our trust long ago.”

“You no longer need to interact with her solely in your capacity as a member of the Watch. If that’s what you were doing,” Hijikata adds, a corner of his mouth twitching toward a grin; one that only grows when Yamazaki flushes. “We even thought we might entrust her with managing the compound’s medical box. Under your direction, of course, Yamazaki.”

“Ah...th-thank you...” he murmurs, unsure. “That would be...most helpful.”

“As for your other request,” Kondo continues with a kindly smile. “I think it is an excellent idea to show Yukimura around the market. It would be a load off your very full plate if you did not always have to do the shopping.”

Yamazaki practically sags from relief. “Ah, yes, thank you, Kondo-san. It would be--”

“And since you’re already taking her out, why not ask Sakai-kun for a little extra and bring her somewhere nice. As a treat.” 

Yamazaki’s gaze snaps up, his cheeks flushed. “Th-that’s not necessary! I wasn’t-- I’m not trying to h-hit--”

“Of course not,” Hijikata sweeps in smoothly, his shark’s grin too sharp for comfort. “We would never suspect you of trying to make a move on Yukimura, Yamazaki. You’re a professional.”

“Yukimura has has a hard few years,” Kondo agrees. “I’m sure a nice day out is just what she needs.”

“Well...” The boy’s shoulders hunch, uncertain, gaze darting between them as if he might avoid the trap, should he only catch it. “If you think so.”

Hijikata’s quick to assure him, “We do.”

Kondo’s slower to speak, weighing his words before he says, “I do not often get to see my daughter, but I am often reminded when I see Yukimura about that she would be of the same age.”

Yamazaki blinks. “Chief?”

“I think of all the things a young girl would want at this age, what she must have thought she would be doing before Kodo disappeared.” His smile widens the same way the sun peeks over the mountain tops, slow at first, and then blinding. “I think walking the market with friends would be one of those thing.”

“I...suppose.” The wariness slips from his shoulders, his head lifting. “That might be nice for her to feel...normal.”

“Of course.” Kondo grins. “And I’ve heard there’s a nice odango shop nearby.”

[chishigure]

"You know... I am part of the police force...~"

[riversidewings]

I’m pleased to report that my PhD thesis, “The Sparrow’s Dream: The Meiji Revolution and Local Self-Assertion in Northern Japan,” is now free to read on Pitt’s D-Scholarship archive! Follow the link above to check it out.

(enjoy my work? Consider subscribing to support it at komaneko.gay)

[chippypiper]

鶴見 and his mother we know nothing about his childhood, but it doesnt forbid us from speculating. Judging from things which we do know, its a high chance Tsurumi simply grew up alone together with his mother, his siblings and father dead or disappeared after the Boshin War.

[ultra-rockart]

Another Thing Blue Eye Samurai Got Wrong

There were women who fought as fighters and samurai (or more often called as onna-bugeisha or onna-musha) for their clan. They didn't have to hide their femininity. There is a long history of female warriors in Japan that date back to an Empress named Jingū (she ruled from 201 to 269 AD). I bring you two of the greats:

Tomoe Gozen

She was skilled at archery, the sword and the use of the naginata. Tomoe is one of the most feared women because of her cleverness and offensive tactical skills. Her men trusted and respected her. During the Battle of Awazu, she killed the Musashi clan leader. Sadly, there is no more records of her after that. Tomoe is the most known and celebrated of the onna-bugeisha.

Nakano Takeko

Like many samurai of her time, she wore the typical samurai armor but instead chose to wear a red hakama. This red hakama became a symbol of not just her femininity but empowerment. She fought in the Boshin War against Imperialists who wanted the Emperor to rise to power (they eventually won during the Battle of Toba–Fushimi).

Similar to the Kiheitai (or the ad hoc army by the Imperialists), she led the Jōshitai or women's army fighting on the side of the Tokugawa Shogunate.

Nakano was wounded with a rifle shot and rather than allowing her enemies to parade her lifeless body as a trophy, she ordered her sister (also a capable warrior as with her mother. all 3 women fought alongside each other) to cut her head off and burry her head in secret so her enemies would not have a reason to disgrace her. Her head was buried under a pine tree and her beloved naginata was given to a temple.

In Aizu during the Autumn festival, girls parade around the streets wearing a red hakama and a white headband to honor Nakano and the women fighters of the Jōshitai.

Other female fighters include Yamamoto Yae aka "Bakumatsu Joan of Arc" and Hangaku Gozen or Lady Hangaku.

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There is a reason the filmakers of Lady Snowblood (a film Blue Eye Samurai heavily borrows from) didn't chose to disguise Yuki as a man when she enacted her revenge.