#asahigata kametaro

[shinsengumi-archives]

A spy? A Shinsengumi member from the Choshu Sumo Wrestler Corps?

I was doing some research the other day and was re-reading the Records of the Historical Meeting (史談会速記録)...

There’s a warrior named "Asahigata Kametaro" (旭形亀太郎)? Who’s that?

He was a former sumo wrestler and is often mentioned in books related to the Shinsengumi as "a self-proclaimed Shinsengumi member?" The following is an example of a case in point.

Although his name does not appear in the existing roster of Shinsengumi members, I knew that there is a story about him in the Records of the Historical Meeting.

To be honest, he was not a particularly active member of the Shinsengumi.

I had not read his story because he was not a regular member of the corps....

And since I was recently introduced to the name “Kametaro”, I was curious, so I read more about him.

Well, the entry in the Records of the Historical Meeting was written in 1898, and it was his own account, so I am not sure how much credibility there is...

Read it and be amazed!

This man is said to have been a member of the Choshu Sumo Wrestler Corps, to have been in and out of the Imperial Palace, and to have received a sword, crystal ball, and imperial gift from Emperor Komei, as well as an imperial banner and cup...

(The name "Asahigata" was changed from “朝日形” to “旭形”)

Iwakura made him turn it over to him.

They gave him a black crested formal silk kimono instead...

By the way, he bought back the crystal for 3500 yen and the sword for 1500 yen at that time (at the time of the Historical Meeting).

The crystal stand is a gold and silver dragon by Goto Munetoshi.

The sword has a dragon carving inside, and he testified that it was put into His Majesty's exhibition in Kyoto the previous year.

Really...

It is said that his grandfather was originally a "samurai on the north side of the Sento Imperial Palace" and that he left for Osaka after passing the reigns to his younger brother.

He joined the Sumo Wrestler Corps in Osaka.

After that, he was told to serve as an "official" in Kyoto, so he went to Kyoto to do some kind of intelligence work.

He was also a member of the "Choshu" domain.

He also said, "I guided people to the teahouses and other places where they would go to play.”

He was also allowed to carry "daisho” (a pair of swords, katana and wakizashi)

The report says that "As soon as possible, he will contact the lords of Aizu and other clans to let them know how things are going."

A spy?

In this way, he was allowed to go in and out of the Imperial Palace.

The sword was a beautiful sword by Morimitsu of Bizen, with a beautiful sheath wrapped in gold, and a beautiful sword with inlaid inlays on the tsuba.

As to why he was treated so well, Lord Yodo of the Tosa Clan took a liking to him.

He was accompanied by artists to Kyoto's Enzan and other places, and was given a dagger at a sake brewery.

This is the reason why "It has the Tosa crest and the body of Masamune.”

I'm surprised!

He was in the service of Choshu.

He was also present at the Imperial Palace during the "Kinmon Incident" (the Hamaguri Gate Incident), although he ended up watching as the Choshu forces fought the battle.

After that, there was no contact with Choshu.

And it is said that he was favored by Saigo and Okubo of the Satsuma Clan during their conquest of Choshu.

It’s said, “During the war in Fushimi, he sided with Satsuma's artillery troops.”

He also said that he once brought letters from Ijichi, Saigo, and Itagaki to the Imperial Palace.

Ha~, he was such a person, huh?

And what's his connection with the Shinsengumi?

Finally, later, the Shinsengumi makes an appearance in the story.

Actually, Kametaro was captured by the Shinsengumi.

He had been in and out of Kyoto, working for the nobles, and was working hard for the Imperialists, when he was captured during a raid while he was playing in Gion...

At this time he was accompanied by "Hayashida, a retainer of Ando and Kobori, a retainer of Kobori, a deputy of the court.”

He was taken to the Miburoshi headquarters, where the Commanders were Kondo Isami and Serizawa Kamo, I think. This means that Serizawa-san was still alive in the 3rd year of Bunkyuu (1863).

But there were many soldiers, and many of them were at Mampukuji Temple in Osaka...

Hmmm...

I guess this is a little later.

In fact, it looks like he was interrogated for having been sent by Saigo and Okubo on an errand...

And there he was tortured.

"They hoisted him up a pine tree, tied him down, and pulled him so high up that he broke his shoulder, and then they doused water over his head."

He also seemed to have pulled out his sword and tried to slash at them, and they offered him a way out, telling him: 

“Of course, the Emperor is important, but the Shogunate exists because of the Emperor, and if you serve the Shogunate from now on, we will help you.”

“I will do whatever it takes.”

That's what happened, he said.

They asked him if he was familiar with Osaka, and he told them that he knew the rich.

“In that case, I have something to ask from them, so please take care of it. “

He was given money, a kimono, and a belt to wear.

He then accompanied Isami to Mampukuji Temple in Osaka.

The following people were also invited to the temple: Tani Mantaro, Tani Sanjuro, Matsubara, and Oseki (OZEKI?).

So, you're going to make money in Osaka, right?

After letting Kametaro guide them, they sent him to Manpukuji again alone.

The collection was made on the basis of "the Lord of Aizu's certificate” (會津侯の御納戸掛りの證文).

You remember this, don't you?

I think it was around the end of the first year of the Genji Era...

I went back to my past articles.

Here it is.

Kametaro was asked about the main debtors at the Historical Meeting. The names of the following men were mentioned:

"Sumitomo, Konoike, Sumiyasu, Sumihiko, Yonehira, Yoneta..."

The article does not mention Sumitomo, but it does mention Konoike and Yoneya Heiemon (Yonehei).

Also, although omitted in the article, Sumiya Hikogoro (Sumihiko) also submitted 349 kan 400 moku of silver.

It seems likely that it was at this time.

(This is not the Kashimaya's group in December of the 3rd year of Keio, just to be clear.)

According to the story, Isami said, "I need money not for myself but for the Shogunate to use for the country," and demanded donations from anyone and everyone who might have money.

He also threatened and abused them....

There was even a man who said, "I am told that there is still a certificate, and when I go to Tokyo, I will ask the Aizu family for it."

The fact that this is now in the "Daito Municipal Museum of History and Ethnography Documents" means he didn't return it.

In other words, this Asahigata Kametaro, I guess it just means that he was threatened by the Shinsengumi and reluctantly introduced the Osaka merchants.

Source:

Part 1: https://ameblo.jp/tosi0531/entry-12451620087.html

Part 2: https://ameblo.jp/tosi0531/entry-12451656288.html

[shinsengumi-archives]

Asahigata Kametaro who was captured by the Shinsengumi

tl;dr: This sumo wrestler fought for Choshu, was rewarded by the Emperor, got captured by the Shinsengumi, then helped the Shinsengumi, then fought for Satsuma against the Shinsengumi, carried the imperial banner, helped set up the Red Cross Society, founded a shrine, and may have been the namesake of a beer brand... What a life 😅

----

I first learned of the existence of Tamahoko Shrine when I read the book "史談 土俵のうちそと" (author: 武者 成一).

It’s dedicated to Emperor Komei, and the location is Rokuganzan, Taketoyo-cho, Chita-gun, Aichi Prefecture.

It’s close to our lodgings in Nagoya (Higashiura-cho, Chita-gun).

The shrine was founded by Asahigata Kametaro, a Kyoto sumo wrestler.

Tamahoko-jinja Shrine. The style is similar to that of Ise Jingu Shrine.

Asahigata was born in 1842 in Osaka.

It is said that he was originally a follower of Minato or Asahiyama of Osaka sumo, and that he briefly served in the Choshu Sumo Corps (headed by Ito Hirobumi), and later became a follower of Shikorogata of Kyoto sumo, but this is not entirely clear.

In Kyoto, where the political situation was unstable at the time, Kyoto wrestlers, who were favored by the Imperial Court, formed a corps of wrestlers to protect the inner court in case of emergency, and Asahikata (as he was then) was nominated as its representative.

Incidentally, the Kyoto ranking list for the final days of the Tokugawa shogunate is missing, so Asahigata's position and other details are unknown.

And then—

In July of the first year of the Genji Era (1864), the Choshu clan, which had once been in power, turned to counterattack and the Kinmon Incident (the Hamaguri Gate Incident) took place.

Asahigata, who led the force, was awarded a great prize by Emperor Komei.

“Asahigata, who took the shining shadow in his hand, brilliant for a thousand generations” (照る影をひら手に受けし旭形   千代にかがやくいさをなりけり)

He was given the Emperor's poem, a flag, a cup, and other articles, and changed his name from "Asahigata" (朝日形) to "Asahigata" (旭形) (meaning "rising sun" in Japanese).

It was not long after this, in November, that he was captured by the Shinsengumi.

It seems that he was captured by the Shinsengumi a little later, in November, for his role as a liaison between the lords and the samurai trying to overthrow the Shogunate.

After that, however, he helped raise funds for the Shinsengumi in Osaka.

Kondo Isami and Hijikata Toshizo, both members of the Shinsengumi, were deeply devoted to the ideals of the Sonno Joui and did not conflict with Asahikata’s ideology.

However, both subsequently diverged when it came to overthrowing vs. assisting the Shogunate.

When Satsuma and Choshu seized the leadership in the Imperial Court, the Kyoto sumo wrestlers who were close to the Imperial Court followed them, while the Aizu Clan and the Shinsengumi, who became the anti-mainstream faction, were labeled as "Imperial Enemies”.

In the battle of Toba-Fushimi (Keio 4, 1868), Asahigata was a member of the Satsuma clan's artillery, and fought hard despite being shot at.

When the Emperor Meiji went to Osaka, he carried the imperial banner, and the new government offered him the 6th rank, but he declined it.

He served until August of 1875, and the highest rank he could be confirmed in the ranking chart was the first rank under the makushita (juryo rank).

After his retirement, he contributed to the development of the Red Cross Society and was involved in various public service projects.

In 1900, he built his long desired Tamahoko Shrine dedicated to Emperor Komei, and passed away on March 11, 1934 (at the age of 61).

He is rumored to be the namesake of "Asahi Beer", but the origin of "Asahi" is unknown.

The Asahi Inari, located in the precincts of Tamahoko-jinja Shrine.

[shinsengumi-archives]

Are the tortures inflicted by Hijikata depicted in fiction, true?

The most well-known story would be the torture of Furutaka Shuntaro before the Ikedaya Incident.

The method of interrogation, carried out by Shinsengumi vice-commander Hijikata Toshizō was alleged to be particularly brutal, although it appears to be largely without verification. With the prisoner unresponsive, Hijikata was said to have suspended the man by his ankles, restraining his wrists, and driven five-inch spikes into the heels of the man's feet. Placing lit candles upon the holes, hot wax dripped deep into his calves. The prisoner eventually claimed that they planned to set fire in Kyoto and capture Matsudaira Katamori, the daimyō of the Aizu clan whose duties included policing Kyoto at the time.

(source: Wikipedia)

I was able to verify that this did happen in Nagakura Shinpachi's diary (浪士文久報国記事):

The Shinsengumi took him into custody to their headquarters, where they examined him and found that his true identity was Furutaka Shungoro (Shuntaro). He was questioned again and again, but he would not confess. When they tortured him, he finally confessed to all of them.

The diary entry itself doesn't say that Hijikata tortured him, but the historian Kimura Sachihiko says it was Hijikata in the commentary.

I also learned from this answer that there is a description of the torture in Shinsengumi Tenmatsuki (新選組顛末記) (a memoir written based on interviews with Nagakura):

They chased down Furutaka and took him back to their headquarters in Mibu. Commander Kondo interrogated Furutaka himself, but Furutaka did not say anything, as he had come to Kyoto with the resolve to die. Even when his back was torn open from all the beating he had taken, he kept his eyes closed, gritted his teeth, and did not open his mouth even when he fainted. Hijikata Toshizo, the second-in-command, was at his wits' end and, after much ingenuity, he first tied Furutaka's hands behind his back and then hung him upside down on a beam.

Then he inserted a five-inch nail into the sole of his foot and lit a candle on it. The wax flowed down and a hot, lead-like substance spread from the soles of Furutaka's feet to his shins. Even the determined Furutaka could not stand this persistent and brutal pain, and after struggling for about half a minute, he finally opened his mouth and revealed his comrades’ secret plan.

[Note: I wasn't able to find this paragraph in my copy of Shinsengumi Tenmatsuki, but it was quoted here from this edition, so I might have an incomplete version]

Since these are primary sources from Nagakura, it seems credible that Hijikata did torture Furutaka.

As for other cases of torture, according to this answer:

The only story of horrendous torture is that of Furutaka.

Rather, it's proven that the torture was done because the Shinsengumi had obtained extraordinary information.

There is no story of torture of spies who infiltrated the Shinsengumi.

In addition, Asahigata Kametaro (旭形亀太郎), a Choshu sumo wrestler who was a secret spy, said in a historical discussion meeting that he was captured and tortured by the Miburoshi before he joined the Shinsengumi, and that he was tied up to a pine tree and doused with water.

Incidentally, Kametaro later joined the Miburoshi.

There are no other stories of torture.

If that's true then Hijikata and the Shinsengumi did torture people, but probably not as much as they’re often depicted.

On a side note, here's what I found out about this Shinsengumi member named Asahigata Kametaro, who lived an interesting life...

A spy? A Shinsengumi member from the Choshu Sumo Wrestler Corps?

Asahigata Kametaro who was captured by the Shinsengumi