#genzui kusaka

[aura-likes-all-the-things]

Who was gonna tell me that Rise of Ronin has a romantic option for certain characters?!?!?!

Was I supposed to figure that out in my own?! I did! But I’m pissed it took so long! What the hell universe?!

[sanaez214]

Rise of Ronin fan art. Kusaka Genzui: ENOUGH!!!

[prinzrupprecht]

The Competition (Part 1)

This will be two or three part one shot. Takes place during his time alive. Y'all can still send me requests of characters you want done as well as long as the plot is good and nothing too crazy.

Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

Pairing: Okita Souji x fem!reader

Synopsis: You were from another dojo that hated the Tennin Rishin-ryu dojo and there is always fights between your dojo and theirs. You didn’t want to get involved in any of the fights and thought it was all pointless. Your dojo was failing, people were dying daily and your dojo wasn’t getting recognized by the Aizu clan either. It put you down a bit that you weren’t getting any recognition. Yet, that all changed when you were nearly saved by one of them by ruthless ronin trying to kill you. The best swordsman of their dojo… Okita Souji.

TW: violence, swearing, and death mentioned

WC: 1935

March 1860

“Agh! He fought with them again! What an idiot!” Your dojo master yelled while stepping outside to see you sharpening your blade.

“Oh, you’re here?” Kino Yoshida was in his mid-forties and was growing angry by the day. You said nothing and turned your back to continue what you were doing.

“Shino-san is going to get killed like the others, he’s lucky he’s alive.” You spoke up but your master scoffed.

“We’re just ronin in this day of age. After all, we should’ve been the ones promoted to samurai—"

“We will never get promoted at this rate…” You interrupted and couldn’t deny the truth of the Tennin rishin-ryu dojo that was infamous in Edo for cutting down ronin with no effort. They were already gathering a reputation of being a nefarious group, even the three big three dojos in all of Edo failed to beat them numerous of times. Your dojo wasn’t one of the big three of anywhere close.

You were from the Tamiya-ryu dojo that specialized in Iaijutsu. Your dojo was just a few blocks over from the Tennin rishin-ryu dojo. Something about them made you grow more curious and wonder why they were so infamous in Edo. The rumours circulating around them made you wonder if they were actually assholes like everyone else and killing is second nature to them. You wanted to find out for yourself.

It was the truth and you hated saying it. Your dojo was crumbling and people were leaving as they were afraid to die next on the streets. “I’m done for today, take a break as well,” your master was growing irritated lately and it was making you wonder if you should eventually leave as well. Were you happy there? All they do is fight other dojos and you were starting to wonder if it was your dojo was starting the fights and not the other way around.

You decided to leave for a bit to clear your mind. You saw another member of your dojo who was battered but alive thankfully. He smiled with broken teeth as he laid on the tatami mat getting treated by a doctor for his wounds.

Yet, you were contemplating on stopping by the Tennin rishin-ryu dojo to see if they are ruthless. It was a bit of a walk but your heart was growing concern. Your master was talking to some of the Choshou members a few times but never told you what they were talking about. Kusaka Genzui was one creepy guy and you didn’t trust him at all.

You found their dojo and noticed the sign that said Tennin rishin-ryu. You looked at your cloak to see if you stood out. This was it? You could see how run down the place looked. You heard a man counting numbers not far from where you were standing. You quickly went to hide behind a large cherry blossom tree. You saw an older man in his mid thirties swinging a large wooden bokken. He can lift that?!

You quickly turn to leave but he notices you and asks what you were doing behind a tree spying on him. “Huh?! Me? So— Sorry! I was just looking around and got lost.” You couldn’t hide your curious nature anymore. You couldn’t help but notice the scar on the left side of his bottom and upper lip. All he offered you was a genuine smile. He looked tired and worn out from the day after practicing his swing probably for hours. Was he training?

“You’re from that Tamiya-ryu dojo, right? You wouldn’t be here if there’s not something you want.” The man had placed his massive bokken aside.

“No— no I’m not, uh, sorry I’ll take my leave!” You wanted to leave so badly and regret spying on them even if it was harmless. You turned to leave but a small boy was walking towards you two with a black cat in his arms. He didn’t even pay any attention to you but he did notice you right away ignoring your presence.

“Oh, you’re back Souji.” That’s his name? Then it hit you. The user of the Godspeed three-stage thrust? You remember some of the girls fawning over him at how amazing his swordsman skills were. This was outside of your dojo. He was apparently incredibly strong and a sword prodigy who took down multiple of your dojo’s members.

This guy was someone you never wanted to get into a fight with. You’ll lose and probably be easily killed, but he seems so… not like what the rumours say. Unless there’s another side to him but he looked bubbly and reserved around the other man. He didn’t even acknowledge you. And the older man must be the peerless ronin Kondo Isami.

“There was a bit of commotion in town between some of the ronin causing mischief with the commons again, I went with Yamanami-san to resolve it.” You were about to walk away but Kondo said your name. Your name?! How did he know?!

“That’s— that’s not my name! I’m leaving, I’m sorry I was here,” your face was bright red from embarrassment.

“You’re very good at iaijutsu, right? May I see?” Kondo asked and you noticed Okita was sitting on the porch petting the same cat while his eyes were on you.

“I— I guess. I’m probably nowhere near as good as you guys.” You were known as the best with iaijutsu at your dojo, but you lacked actual combat experience. You took a step back to demonstrate your sword drawing techniques. You motioned your upper body to draw your sword and sheath quickly that created small vacuum slashes that were barely noticeable. You were incredibly fast and could beat your opponent up close. You had impressed Kondo with your drawing speed, but that was it.

“How about I spar with you?” Okita clapped his hands gleefully, but you quickly declined. You didn’t want to get defeated in a few seconds if the rumours of his speed were true.

“Why don’t you join here? You got the talent.” Kondo crossed his arms but you shrugged. You were supposed to be an enemy but so far they were kind and not ruthless as the rumours made them out to be. You ignored his question and turned away.

“I— I should head back. Maybe we’ll meet again!” You looked down and as much as you wanted to join the better dojo. You didn’t want to be targeted and called a traitor.

.

.

.

Later that evening, you returned and noticed a sign out in the front. A for sale sign? You were panicking and ran inside where the dojo was quiet and empty. Your master was gone and you were alone… once again.

You sat outside on the porch as the sun was setting and businesses were closing up. Were you going to be out on the streets?

You stood up and went to look around in case some of the other members were nearby so you could ask them why was Kino-sensei closing his dojo. The streets were dark and quiet. You heard some swords clashing from the distance and shouting. You were worried and clutching your shirt tightly to your chest. You didn’t want to get into a fight right now.

You went to run the other way but accidentally caught winds of another rogue ronin in the streets most likely from the Tosa domain or Choshou.

“Huh? Shouldn’t you be indoors sleeping at this hour?” His sinister eyes were full of hate and wanted to kill someone. He tilted his head and was close to dashing forward to strike you.

“Hakai-san, I’ll take care of the rat.” Another man with a bulky build exclaimed while unsheathing his sword. You couldn’t remember a day when you had to fight for your life. Normally you never had to experience a life or death situation.

“Who are you calling a rat?!” You felt insulted. Did they think you were spying? Agh, why couldn’t you have ignored the fighting and gone to sleep?

“Shut up little girl, you're lucky I feel generous in killing you instead… but I do have other ideas I would do to you,” the man smugly said while unsheathing his blade.

Just as you were clutching the hilt of your blade ready to strike up close using your infamous iaijutsu technique to cut down an enemy at a certain distance. Your sword drawing was fast so you had to calculate where he would strike. He went to strike first but he noticed your drawing technique off the bat and your blade was already clashing with his.

“You know? I hate killing pretty things,” he was already causing you to stumble back from the way his eyes were lusting over your form. Gross, gross, gross!

“How about we stop and we can—" he was trying to suggest to take you somewhere, which caused you to push your leg up to kick him back with enough force. He was weaker than you had expected with how you can push him back. You used your drawing technique again to slash his side causing a massive gash from your sword. He started to gag and heave in pain.

“Fucking bitch, you’re asking for it! I'll kill you for this!” He lunged forward at you and kicked your shins with much force causing your katana to fly out of your hands. You tried to reach for your katana but his foot was holding your arm down. You were for sure finished.

“Too bad, you would’ve been fun to play with some more…” he raised his blade over his head as he was going to strike you down. At least dying in the moment is better than your body being violated. You were thankful for even trying to fight and there was nothing left for you anyway. No friends, no family and your dojo was gone.

You expected the blow to kill you but it never came. He was gagging to breathe but you failed to see that his neck was slashed open. Huh?! Instead of still kneeling you grabbed your sword and looked around to see who killed him. Did someone save you? You would’ve been dead just now. Your head jerked backed and you saw a familiar figure standing before you.

Okita Souji.

He looked annoyed, but he wasn’t staring at you. He was looking ahead at the ronin that was running down the street towards you two. “Get out of here, I’ll take care of the rest. If you stick around and get in my way, I’ll cut you down with them.” His words struck you like poison. You’re joking? He’s calling you a liability?!

“I’m not a hindrance you—" you were going to insult him but his eyes snapped back at you which told you to stop or else.

“Fine, whatever!” You took your leave running down the street, but you still witnessed from a distance how he handled the rest of them very easily compared to your swordsman skills. His attack speed was insanely impressive. You wanted to see him again. Learn a bit from him as well.

Maybe you could still join Kondo’s dojo and follow their beliefs and footsteps. Okita was incredibly different now when he is fighting than when he’s not. It’s like a totally different person. He is fast, incredibly fast.

You had hoped to see him again and thank him for sparing your life. It should be the least you can do.

After all, you’re technically still a part of another dojo considered competition to them.

Note: something new for once. Wanted to make reader a swordswoman here.

[crisicsgames]

RISE OF THE RONIN 2 RICONQUISTA IL TEMPIO HONGAKUJI BOSS GENZUI KUSAKA 🎮...

[sinful-liesel]

B-Project Ambitious Legend

Release Date: September 27, 2023

B-Project Ambitious Legend Shinsengumi ver.

CAST

🧭 Tomohisa Kitakado as Isami Kondo (CV: Daisuke Ono) 🧭 Ryuji Korekuni as Soji Okita (CV: Daisuke Kishio) 🧭 Kazuna Masunaga as Toshizo Hijikata (CV: Yuto Uemura) 🧭 Momotaro Onzai as Hajime Saito (CV: Tetsuya Kakihara) 🧭 Hikaru Osari as Shinpachi Nagakura (CV: Showtaro Morikubo) 🧭 Tatsuhiro Nome as Sanosuke Harada (CV: Genki Ogawa) 🧭 Mikado Sekimura as Heisuke Todo (CV: Toshiki Masuda)

B-Project Ambitious Legend Tobakuha ver.

CAST

🧭 Goshi Kaneshiro as Takasugi Shinsaku (CV: Toshiyuki Toyonaga) 🧭 Yuta Ashu as Ryoma Sakamoto (CV: Natsuki Hanae) 🧭 Kento Aizome as Katsura Kogoro (CV: Kazuki Kato) 🧭 Yuduki Teramitsu as Uduki (CV: Koutaro Nishiyama) 🧭 Haruhi Teramitsu as Satsuki (CV: Taku Yashiro) 🧭 Akane Fudo as Kuichi Irie (CV: Shoya Chiba) 🧭 Miroku Shingari as Genzui Kusaka (CV: Takuya Eguchi)

[shinsengumi-archives]

Were there any Ishin Shishi that escaped the Ikedaya Incident from the Shinsengumi?

About 40 Ishin Shishi were in Ikedaya, 8 died in battle, 23 were arrested and the rest escaped (source)

Two of them survived by hiding in a bathtub

Important Ishin Shishi attacked in the Ikedaya Incident

Miyabe Teizo (宮部鼎蔵) (Higo Domain. Seppuku at Ikedaya)

Kitazoe Kichima (北添佶摩) (Tosa Domain. Seppuku at Ikedaya. Famous for falling down the stairs in Shimozawa Kan’s fiction)

Fuchigami Ikutaro (淵上郁太郎) (Kurume Domain. Escaped)

Otaka Matajiro (大高又次郎) (Hayashida Domain. Died in battle at Ikedaya)

Ishikawa Junjiro (石川潤次郎) (Tosa Domain. Died in battle at Ikedaya)

Matsuda Jusuke (松田重助) (Higo Domain. Died in battle at Ikedaya)

Ito Hironaga (伊藤弘長) (Tosa Domain. Died in battle at Ikedaya)

Fukuoka Yujiro (福岡祐次郎) (Iyo Matsuyama Domain. Died in battle at Ikedaya)

Masayuki Ochi (越智正之) (Tosa Domain. Died in battle at Ikedaya)

Hirooka Namihide (広岡浪秀) (Choshu Domain priest. Died in battle at Ikedaya)

Yoshida Toshimaro (吉田稔麿) (Choshu Domain. After escaping, he committed seppuku.)

Mochizuki Kemyata (望月亀弥太) (Tosa Domain. Seppuku after escaping)

Sugiyama Matsusuke (杉山松助) (Choshu Domain. Escaped, but was cut down by an Aizu Domain soldier and later died)

Noroiyama Gokichiro (野老山吾吉郎) (Tosa Domain. Escaped after the battle. He relied on Itakura Keido (板倉槐堂), a Confucian scholar, and later committed seppuku at the Choshu Domain residence.)

Fujisaki Hachiro (藤崎八郎) (Tosa Domain. Seppuku after being wounded at Sanjo Kobashi Bridge, or was sent to the Tosa Domain’s residence in Osaka, where he died.)

Omiya Masa (近江屋まさ) (Omiya proprietress (age 42), killed at Omiya. Also named "Fusa")

Sakai Kinzaburo (酒井金三郎) (Chofu Domain. Killed on the road)

Uchiyama Tarouemon (内山太郎右衛門) (a lower-ranked vassal (mukyutsugumi) from the Choshu Domain. Captured and executed on July 20 (August 21))

Saeki Ryokeio (佐伯稜威雄) (a Shinto priest of the Choshu Domain, captured and executed on June 4, 1865 (July 26, 1865))

Sato Ichiro (佐藤一郎) (Choshu Domain Kyoto Residence official. Captured and executed on July 20 (August 21, 1865))

Yamada Toranosuke (山田虎之助) (a lower-ranked vassal (mukyutsugumi) of the Choshu domain. He escaped at first. Later captured)

Otaka Chubei (大高忠兵衛) (from the Hayashida Domain, younger brother of Otaka Matajiro. Escaped at first. Later captured and died in prison on July 4 (August 5))

Kitamura Zenkichi  (北村善吉) (a follower of Otaka Matajiro. He was wounded by a spear, but escaped to the riverside from behind Ikedaya and hid in a boathouse waiting to be saved.)

Seo Kojuro (瀬尾幸十郎) (captured)

Ando Tetsuma (安藤鉄馬) (captured, but escaped)

Sawai Obinata (沢井帯刀) (captured)

Ohnaka Shozen (大中主膳) (captured)

Mori Kazue (森主計) (Kyoto, captured)

Nishikawa Kozo (西川耕造) (Kyoto. He was captured 10 days later and died in prison on February 11, 1865 (March 8, 1865))

Kimura Jingoro (木村甚五郎) (Kyoto. Mistaken for Kusaka Genzui (久坂玄瑞) and captured)

Imai Saburoemon (今井三郎右衛門) (Toyooka Domain (age 46). Captured and executed)

Murakami Shunpei (村上俊平) (from Ueno Sagoi County. Captured and executed)

Kawada Sakuma (河田佐久馬) (Inshu. Escaped)

Takagi Motoemon (高木元右衛門) (Higo Domain. Escaped and fled to the Choshu domain residence)

Miyabe Haruzo (宮部春蔵) (Higo Domain. Miyabe Teizo's younger brother. Escaped to Choshu domain)

A certain Iwasa (岩佐某) (Tamba. He hid in a bathtub at Ikedaya and survived.)

Ariyoshi Kumajiro (有吉熊次郎) (Choshu domain. Escaped to Choshu domain residence)

Osawa Ippei (大沢逸平) (Choshu domain. Survived by hiding in a bathtub at Ikedaya and escaped to the Choshu domain residence)

Matsuyama Ryozo (松山良造) (Echigo Domain. Cousin of Matsuyama Takakichi (松山高吉), also a former Shinsengumi. Escaped)

Tanaka Chokuro (田中長九郎) (Kyoto. Captured)

Yoshida Goro (吉田五郎) (Echizen Domain. Captured)

Nagumo Heima (南雲平馬) (from Numata Village, Tone County, Ueno. Captured)

Masafumi Kunishige (国重正文) (Choshu Domain. Escaped)

Nishikori Yonosuke (錦織有無之助) (Owari Domain. He escaped from the south side of the second floor and fled to the Mito clan's residence, but was driven out, captured, and executed.)

Civilians arrested in the Ikedaya Incident

Irie Sohei (入江惣兵衛) (Ikedaya owner. Died in prison)

Irie Hikosuke (入江彦助) (younger brother of Sobei)

Omiya Ubei (近江屋宇兵衛) (Owner of Omiya)

Omiya Kin (近江屋きん) (worked at Omiya)

Omiya Toki (近江屋とき) (worked at Omiya)

Izumiya Shigesuke (和泉屋重助) (owner of Izumiya. Executed)

Kojiro (幸次郎) (Izumiya's assistant. Executed)

Tambaya Jirobei (丹波屋次郎兵衛) (Owner of Tambaya. Executed)

Tanbaya Mansuke (丹波屋万助) (Son of Jirobei. Executed)

Matsushita Kisaburo (松下喜三郎) (townsfolk)

Kichibei (吉兵衛) (townsfolk)

Yusuke (勇助) (gatekeeper of the Choshu Domain residence)

[shinsengumidreams]

The Top 10 handsome men at the end of The Tokugawa Shogunate

10th Suzuki Mikisaburo

9th Toshizou Hijikata

8th Katsu Kaishu

7th Yoshinobou Tokugawa

6th Kogoro Katsura

5th Togo Heihachiro

4th Kusaka Genzui

3th Yamada Akiyoshi

2nd Matsudaira Katamori

1st Yamakawa Hiroshi

I didn't write a description because I can only use google translator and it's messy in english. I link the source so someone who can read japanese can read it better.

Opinion:

In all honesty, I have seen photos from much more handsome men from that Era. Maybe the concept of beauty was different back them.

To me, while I don't think they're conventionally handsome, Togo, Katsura and Hijikata are the more handsome among these set of 10.

If the people who knew them back then, descibre them as handsome, I guess they're right. We only have photos from the 19th century, with bad quality.

[buruuhan]

Buruu Talks - Ryomaden Episodes 1-24

Seems like only one user interacted to my pinned post so I’ll get it started.

Okay, so, I decided to watch Taiga Drama, first and right now being Ryomaden, for three reasons: tokusatsu actors, my recent interest in Japanese history (and legend), and uhh its main theme music (I’ve been listening to some of them actually lol)

Ryomaden tells about the life of a Tosa samurai, Sakamoto Ryouma, narrated by Iwasaki Yatarou, the founder of Mitsubishi. So far, I’ve watched half of the whole story (24/48) and I love it. Although, you might need to have a gist of the actual history before watching because there are possibly some historical details changed in the drama 😅

What I liked a lot in this drama is how Teruyuki Kagawa and Takeru Satou portray their characters, Yatarou and Okada Izou.

Coming from a poor family, Yatarou struggled to support his family. This Yatarou sometimes appeared to be annoying but I can’t help but sympathize with him every time he faces misfortune. In fact, when he finally got a better life after he got married and had a child, I felt so happy for him.

As for Izou, while I don’t condone him assassinating people in Kyoto, I felt deeply sorry for him. This Izou respected Takechi Hanpeita (a samurai responsible for Sonnou Joui movement in Tosa) very much and wanted to be useful for him (and Joui) as well as acknowledged. Since that, though Hanpeita never stated it explicitly, his words were translated as the orders for Izou and then the assassination happened.

About the story, umm I might’ve explained it poorly here, but I like how this Ryouma initially wanted to contribute for Tosa but eventually wanted to protect the whole Japan thanks to his talk with Kusaka Genzui and Katsu Rintarou (aka Katsu Kaishuu). He occasionally butted heads with Hanpeita because of this, but still saw him in positive way. He also seemed to value human life very much which made him against Hanpeita who wouldn’t hesitate to sacrifice someone’s life for Joui. I personally find it sad to see him losing his childhood friends one by one including Hanpeita and Izou. It happened when the Magistrate started to arrest them after the August 18th Coup happened and Tosa Kinnoto formed by Hanpeita began to crumble. Ryouma was also pursued by the Magistrate (and I think Shinsengumi as well??) because he was a Kinnoto member that time.

The scene above is from episode 23 (or was it 22? I forgot lol), when he heard that the Magistrate managed to arrest Izou. I don’t think I’m ready to see Izou’s execution and Hanpeita’s seppuku orz.

By the way, Narasaki Ryou (nicknamed Oryou) made her first appearance in episode 22. I’ve been looking forward to see her in future episodes since she eventually married Ryouma in real life. She seemed really cold, in a kinda different way from Chiba Sana whom I think was being cold at first because she was serious in her kendo training. It is said that Oryou saved Ryouma at Teradaya Inn, and I’m intrigued to see how it’s told in the drama.

The scene above is from episode 22, when Oryou insisted to save her sister from being sold by a yakuza.

I also read that Ryouma became a key to Satsuma-Choushuu alliance, and I look forward to see how it’s told as well because throughout the story so far, Ryouma felt like he couldn’t contribute something impactful while his family trusted him and his aspirations. Ryomaden consists of four arcs (mentioned as “season”) and this event might be covered in either third or fourth arc.

Speaking of arcs, I thought the second arc ends in episode 24, but turns out this arc still continues to episode 25 lol. I’ll probably tell more after I finish the second half of this drama.

Until then~ 👋

[ichibantai]

@homeport replied to your post: because yesterday I was like, “SHINSENGUMI...

Only Kogoro? I want the entire Choshu crew. :( At least Kusaka Genzui and… oh, yes Yoshida Toshimaro since he got killed by the Shinsengumi! :3

Shinsengumi Lostbelt = Recreation of the Boshin War

and

TWO GACHA BANNERS

SHINSENGUMI & CHOSHU

[leenaevilin]

[Pics] BSP『新選組』完結編 (bsp shinsengumi kanketsu hen)

visuals update under the cut^^

Cast:

Kanegae Kou as Okita Souji (沖田総司)

Tanaka Naoki as Hijikata Toshizou  (土方歳三)

Tabuchi Noriaki as Serizawa Kamo (芹沢鴨)

Yamamoto Masahiro as Kondou Isami (近藤勇)

Ishida Naoya as Yamanami Keisuke (山南敬助)

Aoki Takeshi as Inoue Genzaburou  (井上源三郎) Kuroda Yousuke as Nagakura Shimpachi (永倉新八) Ikenoue Yoritsugu as Toudou Heisuke (藤堂平助) Nakauchi Tanma as Saitou Hajime (斎藤一) Harada Kenji as Niimi Nishiki (新見錦) Fujii Toshinari as Hirama Juusuke (平間重助) Matsuda Hiroki as Tachikawa Chikara (立川主税) Iida Torayoshi as Okuzawa Eisuke (奥沢栄助) Shin Masatoshi as Nakaoka Shintarou (中岡慎太郎) (終ノ章のみ） Umebayashi Ryouta as Matsudaira Katamori / Kiyokawa Hachirou (松平容保 / 清河八郎) Yamamoto Kenji as Kido Takayoshi (桂小五郎) Suzumura Chikao as Enomoto Takeaki (榎本武揚)（終ノ章のみ） Ueda Ryou as Kusaka Genzui (久坂玄瑞) Nagano Tasuku as Mochizuki Kameyata (望月亀弥太) Ikeda Reo as Kitazoe Litsuma (北添佶麿) Kaneko Ryouta as Miyabe Teizou (宮部鼎蔵) Ogawa Takeru as Boy (少年) Hara Akiko as Akari / Oume (あかり / お梅)

Tomimori Justin as Ito Kashitarou (伊東甲子太郎)（終ノ章のみ） Arai Shou as Harada Sanosuke (原田左之助) Doi Taiji as Okada Izou (岡田以蔵)

Matsuda Gaku as Yoshida Toshimaro / Sakamoto Ryouma (吉田稔麿 / 坂本龍馬)

homepage twitter sumabo

[enami17]

ブルーシャトルプロデュース 「『新選組』完結編」 Shinsengumi Kanketsuhen Shinsengumi: Concluding Chapter

Tokyo 2019.02.02-12 Owl Spot Osaka 2019.02.16-24 Knowledge Theater

HP: http://www.blue-shuttle.com/bsp10/

暁ノ章 / Akatsuki no Shou (Dawn chapter) 「近藤勇の大志」 Kondou Isami no Taishi (The Ambition of Kondou Isami) 「芹沢鴨の後悔」 Serizawa Kamo no Koukai (The Regret of Serizawa Kamo)

宵ノ章 / Yoi no Shou (Evening chapter) 「土方歳三の憂鬱」 Hijikata Toshizou no Yuuutsu (The Melancholy of Hijikata Toshizou) 「沖田総司の純愛」 Okita Souji no Jun'ai (The Pure Love of Okita Souji)

終ノ章 / Tsui no Shou (Final chapter) 「志士たちの悪夢」 Shishi-tachi no Akumu (The Patriots' Nightmare) 「志士たちの面影」 Shishi-tachi no Omokage (The Patriots' Trace)

CAST: Kanegae Kou - Okita Souji Tanaka Naoki - Hijikata Toshizou Tabuchi Noriaki - Serizawa Kamo, Matsumoto Ryoujun Yamamoto Masahiro - Kondou Isami Matsuda Gaku - Yoshida Toshimaro, Sakamoto Ryouma

Ishida Naoya - Yamanami Keisuke Aoki Takeshi - Inoue Genzaburou Kuroda Yousuke - Nagakura Shinpachi Arai Shou - Harada Sanosuke Ikenoue Yoritsugu - Toudou Heisuke Nakauchi Tenma - Saitou Hajime Harada Kenji - Niimi Nishiki Fujii Atsunari - Hirama Juusuke Matsushita Wataru - Hirayama Gorou, Mochizuki Kameyata Matsuda Taiki - Tachikawa Chikara Iida Torayoshi - Okuzawa Eisuke Umebayashi Ryouta - Matsudaira Katamori, Kiyokawa Hachirou, Tokugawa Yoshinobu Yamamoto Kenji - Katsura Kogorou Ueda Ryou - Kusaka Genzui Ikeda Reo - Kitazoe Kitsuma, Shinohara Tainoshin Kaneko Ryouta - Miyabe Teizou Ogawa Takeru - a boy Hara Akiko - Akari, Oume, Black cat Doi Taiji - Okada Izou, Katsura Hayanosuke, Satou Hikogorou

"Tsui no Shou" only: Tomimori Justin - Itou Kashitarou Suzumura Chikao - Enomoto Takeaki Shin Masatoshi - Nakaoka Shintarou Oka Naoki - Katsu Kaishuu Mochizuki Hiroko - Satou Nobu, Miyuki tayuu

STAFF: Director: Ootsuka Masashi Music: Wada Shunsuke Choreography: Fujikawa Miina

[once-a-turncoat]

Shinsenvember 2: Bakemono

Prompt list here.

Print by Utagawa Kunisada

How can you ask what an oni is?

After all you are one just like us.

The words of her would-be kidnappers echoed in Chizuru’s mind. They didn’t make much sense. Certainly, those men were exceptionally agile and strong, and yes, her healing abilities were unusual, but she knew what oni were supposed to look like. They were monsters with horns and distorted bestial faces, not unusually dressed young men who could jump over walls.

Then again, she might have missed something important. Come to think of it, her father had always discouraged stories of ghosts and goblins within their home. Did oni take on other forms? Did their wounds heal immediately? Were there stories about them that everyone but her knew? She was afraid to ask the Shinsengumi captains; they might push to know why she was asking.

Under the circumstances, the bookseller they passed on their rounds seemed the best option. The Shinsengumi captains often let her linger there while they were out, and either out of kindness or a fear of the Shinsengumi, the proprietor gave her a special discount.

“Do you have any books about bakemono?” she asked the bookseller in an uncharacteristically low voice. Captain Okita was across the street talking to another shopkeeper, but she didn’t want to chance being overheard.

“Of course,” the bookseller seemed puzzled at her manner, but directed her to a stack of books. “Women and kids can’t get enough weird tales.”

Chizuru felt offended for a moment as a woman, then as a supposed kid. Most men didn’t read heavy intellectual literature either, judging by all the erotic picture books on sale!

She picked up the first of the books, a guidebook to strange spirits and creatures, and began to flip through the pages looking for an entry on oni. Tanuki, kitsune, humans with long necks or no faces, a spirit who took the form of a child carrying a tray of tofu - she wondered if Captain Saitou had heard of that one … Oh, here was an oni, a monster wrapped in a loin cloth of tiger’s skin, and brandishing a club.  That didn’t help at all.

Turning the page, she found a small pamphlet nestled within the book. It had no illustrations. The title read Kwaidan Joui.

Strange stories about expelling the barbarians?

She heard a gasp from the bookseller. “You don’t want that,” he said quickly, reaching to take the pamphlet from her. Despite her curiosity, she let him take it from her. She wasn’t one to start confrontations.

“She may not, but I very much want to see it.” She was startled by Captain Okita’s voice at her shoulder. “Would you please hand me the pamphlet?”

The bookseller was shaking as he complied. “It’s not one of mine, sir,” he said. “I don’t know how it got there.”

Okita was studying the pamphlet. There was a small smile on his face. “This is interesting. I might keep it as a souvenir. How much are you selling it for?”

“It’s not mine, so you may take it,” the bookseller answered. “I lend some of my books out, and someone must have left this in – “

Okita waved him away. “All right. You can make excuses when you’ve actually been accused of something. It isn’t a strange place to find a story about oni, is it?”

The man hung his head. “Yes sir. Thank you.”

Okita didn’t offer any explanation after they’d moved on. So, despite her trepidation, Chizuru steeled herself to ask.

“Okita-san?”

“Hmmm?”

“Why was that man trying to hide that pamphlet?”

“It’s a political pamphlet. Written by a Choshu man. It was quite all right to circulate around the city last year but now who wants to be associated with that trash?”

“I thought you said it was a story about oni.”

He laughed. “You’re too innocent, Chizuru. It’s a very boring story where the oni are foreigners, and Raikō and his retainers defending Kyoto from the oni are Sonnou Joui ronin. It’s a call to arms.”

“Oh. I see.” She didn’t entirely understand the situation, but it didn’t sound as though the bookseller should suffer for such a small thing. “I don’t think that man should be punished for having it.”

“Don’t worry. I told him, it’s just my souvenir.”

“Of what?” 

“I bet the the author’s dead now. At the Hamaguri Gate, or up on Mount Tennou. Maybe even at the Ikedaya. And if I didn’t personally kill him, I killed his comrades.”

“And that makes it your souvenir,” Chizuru restated the sentence with a tone of slight disbelief.

“Well, doesn’t that make me one of the oni in the story?” Okita’s eyes twinkled. He tapped the pamphlet. “We can’t all be storybook heroes, Chizuru. Got to take pride in our achievements as oni.” 

She laughed in spite of herself.

Notes: Darn my laptop for not working. This was yesterday’s prompt but I couldn’t miss it.

Anyway, in his memoirs, Itou Hirobumi mentioned that Choshu leader Kusaka Genzui had written a political pamphlet called Kwaidan Joui, which was a story about yokai as a political allegory. I actually don’t know what the real contents were, but defending Kyoto from oni (as in the old stories) seems like it’d make sense. 

Kusaka died in the Kinmon no Hen/Hamaguri Rebellion, committing seppuku after being wounded. 

The Tofu yokai mentioned is really odd, and may have originated as an advertisement for a tofu shop. 

[ilikelookingatthesky]

Character vs. actor ages at the beginning of the drama:

A list comparing the ages of historical personas in 1854 and actors in 2004. I’m using the year the story starts, not the year the drama opens up with (1864). Hopefully I’ve calculated everything correctly!

Shinsengumi

Shingo Katori/Kondo Isami: 27/20

Koji Yamamoto/Hijikata Toshizo: 28/19

Tatsuya Fujiwara/Okita Souji: 22/10 (or 12 if born in 1842)

Joe Odagiri/Saito Hajime: 28/10

Nakamura Kantaro II/Todo Heisuke: 23/10

Taro Yamamoto/Harada Sanosuke: 30/14

Masato Sakai/Yamanami Keisuke: 31/21 (or 19 if born in 1835)

Tomomitsu Yamaguchi/Nagakura Shinpachi: 35/15

Takashi Kobayashi/Inoue Genzaburo: 45/25

Shoei/Shimada Kai: 30/26

Koji Ohkura/Kawai Kisaburo: 30/16

Seichū-rōshi gumi

Koichi Sato/Serizawa Kamo: 44/24

Kazuyuki Aijima/Niimi Nishiki: 43/18

Itō-dōjō party

Shosuke Tanihara/Ito Kashitaro: 32/19

Aizu Domain

Michitaka Tsutsui/Matsudaira Katamori: 33/18  

Tosa Domain

Yosuke Eguchi/Sakamoto Ryoma: 37/18

Chōshū Domain

Ken Ishiguro/Kido Takayoshi: 38/21

Hiroyuki Ikeuchi/Kusaka Genzui: 28/14

Satsuma Domain

Takashi Ukaji/Saigo Takamori: 42/26

Tokugawa shogunate

Noda Hideki/Katsu Kaishu: 49/31

Tetsushi Tanaka/Matsumoto Ryojun: 38/22

Others

Koji Ishizaka/Sakuma Shozan: 63/43

Jay Kabira/Henry Heusken: 42/22    

(I’m using the Shinsengumi no Makoto page/Wikipedia as a birthdate source. Names are written as stated on Wikipedia.)(I didn’t include the girls because I have no idea where to find the dates?? I’ll update if I do. Some people have no dates listed so they’re not mentioned and some people arent there because there is simply too many of them and I get lazy XD)

[nikki-romero]

Oh My Demon ~ Chapter 3

Remember, Emi is the real protagonist. From this point on (mostly) everything is in her pov.

“What’s going on here?” I pretended to be oblivious.

“Well, you tell me. What does it look like?” The corner of Shin’s mouth curved up cruelly.

“You finally show your true colours…” I replied.

“Shinsengumi! Just making my rounds.”

As Hijikata made his presence known, the man next to Shin blew out the candle. I slowly turned my face towards the door. Shin shoved me roughly to the floor.

“Mmph!” He had his hand over my mouth as though to keep me from giving them away. 

“Is someone in there?” Hijikata called.

“Can a man and a woman not enjoy a private moment without you poking your nose in!? How rude! Do me a favour, and don’t open that door… Man to man, you understand what I’m saying, yes?” Shin made up a story. My hand was placed over the hand covering my mouth. I heard Hijikata’s footsteps retreating. “I must say, that man is courteous in the way he carries out his duties. Take a look out there… he might still be snooping around somewhere.”

“On it…” One of the men slid the door open just enough to check outside. “Looks like he’s gone.”

“Good…” The candle was lit once again, and Shin finally took his hand from my mouth. “I could get used to this.” From his position straddling me, Shin looked down with a slimy grin.

“Gross. Who are you?” I demanded.

“If you value your health, you’d be better off not asking that question,” he replied.

“Too bad. I’m asking anyway,” I retorted.

“Your life holds that little value to you, huh?”

“I’ve never been particularly attached to it, no.” Hmph. I can never die, even if I wanted to. I have this creepy power keeping me alive for eternity.

“Ha! So you’re ready to die, are you? Impressive. You’ve got courage. I like that. Alright, my name is Shinsaku Takasugi, retainer of the Choshu.”

“Choshu, huh…” Ai had told me quite a bit about what she knew of the Choshu. Apparently they were the ones who burned the clinic down. Apparently…

“You’re clever too. Though I’d expect nothing less from the princess of the Shinsengumi.” Shin grabbed my chin firmly. Being classified as the princess of some lame ass human squad is offensive.

“I’m not a member of the Shinsengumi,” I said.

“I don’t think that’s entirely up to you to decide. Anyhow… I thought the man of your dreams was someone with character. Integrity.”

“What are you talking about?” I was officially confused.

“You saw him just now, didn’t you? First, he lets his lady slip away into the night. She leads him to his sworn enemies, and then he just lets them get away too. Seems to me like he’s just using you, honey.”

“Is that supposed to elicit some kind of response from me?” I cocked my eyebrow.

“Oh…? You don’t seem surprised. Do you think the Choshu are the bad guys? Let me tell you something… There’s nothing in the world that makes me angrier.” Shin’s laughter was shrill and a pain to my ears.

“Oh cry me a river, why don’t you? I couldn’t care less. And get off me.” From where I lay on my back, I kicked him hard in the chest, causing him to stumble back.

 When I opened my eyes the next morning, I found myself in another unfamiliar room. I didn’t even remember falling asleep. I sat up.

“I wouldn’t move too much if I were you. You should rest.”

“You made quite the scene during your boyfriend’s little investigation yesterday. You must be sore.”

Just like yesterday, these two men were watching over me. My eyes widened a little.

“That’s what you call a scene…? I suppose you two are with the Choshu as well?” I asked.

“Should we tell her?”

“She already knows about Takasugi. What difference would it make?”

“Yeah, what the hell? I’m Genzui Kusaka.”

“And I’m Toshimaro Yoshida. We’re Choshu retainers, just like Takasugi.”

They introduced themselves to me. I nodded.

“Ai. Quick question. Why exactly would three ronin be running a restaurant?”

“You think walking around swinging swords puts food on the table? Gotta make money somehow,” Yoshida explained.

“I guess.” I forgot humans have to buy their food, unlike us.

“Besides, it beats hanging around with nothing to do. Running a restaurant is fun, you know,” Kusaka added.

“I wouldn’t know.” I eyed the two of them up and down.

“You should quit staring like that. Your eyes’ll stay that way,” Yoshida stated.

“Hmph.”

“You know what we Choshu like to do…? And this includes your friend, Shinsaku Takasugi… We burn down embassies. We form militia when we need to further our cause,” Yoshida said.

“Most of us have done our time in various prisons,” Kusaka added.

“Ha, yeah… Gosh that brings back memories,” Yoshida stated.

“Most of us look like chumps compared to Takasugi, though… You could say he’s our boss.” The two of them took turns telling me about their ‘work’ or whatever.

“I sincerely… don’t care,” I said in a bored tone.

Kusaka knelt down at the edge of my futon and took my hand in his.

“What?” I instinctively shook him off.

“Huh?!” He cast a nasty glare at me.

“You got something to say?”

“Kusaka was just trying to help you with the scrapes on your hand, you know,” Yoshida said.

“Scrapes? What scrapes?” I looked at my hands from every angle, but there was nothing there.

“What? But there were definitely scrapes when I checked earlier…” Kusaka looked dumbfounded.

“I heal fast.” I shrugged.

“Well that’s fine and all. But Kusaka used to be a doctor, see. He knows what he’s doing,” Yoshida stated.

“I’ll be sure to come to you if I need it then,” I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm. 

Kusaka cast me another unfriendly glare.

“What’s the hold up? This one little lady giving you fools trouble?” The door slid open and Takasugi walked into the room.

“This woman’s becoming a real pain. Couldn’t we just dump her somewhere?” Kusaka asked. I had half a mind to eat him.

“Absolutely not. She’s too important a hostage. When the time comes, she’s the best bargaining chip we’ve got with the Shinsengumi,” Takasugi replied.

“That’s your plan?” I was dumbstruck. “Humans really are idiots,” I mumbled quietly enough so they wouldn’t hear.

Takasugi stared at me coolly, with a snort of derisive laughter.

“We’ve got techniques that could turn just about anyone into a perfect hostage. No problem at all. I’m going to take very good care of you. It’s only right, you being a princess and all,” Takasugi said, taking a seat next to me. An oni princess, yeah…

“Yeah, sure, sure.” I waved him off. He grabbed my hand.

“Your skin is so flawless and beautiful. You don’t want a scar to mess that all up, do you? Although it looks like the scratch is gone…”

“Yeah, yeah.” I shook my hand free from his grip as well. “So? What are you planning to do to me now?”

“We already talked about that. Hostage. So we’re just going to keep you right here.” Takasugi grinned as though he was enjoying every moment of this.

I sighed in exasperation. Humans...

It was nightfall. A piece of paper and a writing brush sat in front of me. I’d been told to write a letter to Hijikata, so they wouldn’t worry about me. How painfully ironic.

“How about this?” I showed Takasugi the letter where I stated that I was sightseeing with a friend.

“That’ll do,” he replied.

“Does Hijikata suspect that the three of you are members of the Choshu clan?” I asked curiously.

“Does he? I’ve often wondered that myself. I’d love to ask him. Whether he does or not, though, I’m getting sick and tired of the Shinsengumi sniffing around. So hopefully, when they receive your letter, it’ll send them off scrambling in all directions.”

“I wouldn’t bet on it. So what I’m hearing is, you want to buy time?”

Takasugi leaned back with his elbows on the armrests of the chair; he looked amused.

“I need to keep the Shinsengumi out of my hair somehow. At least until I’m able to carry out my plan.”

“Oh? And what plan is that?”

“You…You’re like…” Takasugi looked at me in disbelief for a moment before he burst out laughing. “Hear me out… Next time Hijikata stops by, I’ll just sip a little poison in his soba! Simple!”

My eyes widened. Was this guy for real?

“I fail to believe someone capable of that level of stupidity would still be walking free,” I said.

“Wow, you’re sharper than I thought. You’re right. If I were to do something as brainless as that, I’d be found out as a criminal in no time.” I glared at him suspiciously. “Whoa, don’t look at me like that. We’re going to be sleeping in the same room for the next little while. We should try to get along.”

“The same room?” I asked.

“Yeah, I’m nice enough to let you stay here, in my room. Unfortunately there’s only one futon, so it’s going to get a bit cuddly at night.”

“I’ll sleep on the floor.”

“Okay, allow me to let you in on one valuable little secret…” He firmly took hold of my chin. “As long as you are here with me, you will not be calling any of the shots. Got it? How you live… and whether you live… will be up to me.” I could tell by the look in his eyes that he meant every word. There wasn’t a hint of mercy in them. These humans, I swear. “So, now… let me ask you again.” Takasugi let go of me, showing me his horrible grin. “Where are you going to sleep?”

“I believe I told you. I’ll be sleeping on the floor.” My expression remained unchanged.

The room rang with laughter more loudly than ever.

“You’re fun. Maybe I should feed you after all, if only to see what you’ll do next.”

“Don’t tempt me…” I muttered, getting up and moving to the opposite side of the room.

I sat down at the window and stared outside. I couldn’t care less about what these people do. I had but one target. Hijikata, your time will come. Mark my words.  

  To be continued…

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[hakuouki-history]

Takasugi Shinsaku - 2010 Japanese Wikipedia  Entry Translation

From the Japanese-English Bilingual Corpus of Wikipedia's Kyoto Articles . This is a translation from Takasugi Shinsaku’s Japanese wiki entry, exactly as it was in 2010. It is taken from PNM02488 in that collection.

For information on the database and how to use it, please check this post.

Just like English wikipedia, none of this information is guaranteed to be accurate. It’s not a current version of the Japanese article either. 

My personal judgment of this article is that it’s very good for giving dates for Takasugi’s biography, something lacking in his English wiki article, and difficult sometimes to glean from fan write-ups. Not much about personality in this article, and it reminds me I have a whole lot of Takasugi stuff in my drafts that would flesh out information here. 

The translated sentences used in this service contain English contents which are translated by the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) from Japanese sentences on Wikipedia. My use of these translated sentences is licensed by the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0. Please refer to http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ or http://alaginrc.nict.go.jp/WikiCorpus/ for details.

Shinsaku TAKASUGI (September 27, 1839 - May 17, 1867) was a Japanese samurai of the Choshu clan. He was an anti-shogunate royalist who lived at the end of the Edo period. He formed various military corps including the Kiheitai (irregular militia) and led the Choshu clan to campaign against the shogunate.

His imina (personal name generally used posthumously or by one's parents or lord) was Harukaze. His common names were Shinsaku, Toichi and Wasuke. His courtesy name was Chofu. His pseudonym was Togyo. He used various aliases including Senzo TANI, Umenosuke TANI, Sukeichiro BINGOYA, Wasuke MITANI, Taro HORI, Gyoma SHISHIDO and Matsusuke NISHIURA. He later officially changed his name to Senzo TANI. He was posthumously awarded the court rank of Shoshii (Senior Fourth Rank).

Biography

He was born on Kikuya Yokocho Street in Hagi-jo Castle Town, Nagato Province (now Hagi City, Yamaguchi Prefecture) as the first son of Kochuta TAKASUGI (an upper-class samurai with a stipend of 200 koku) and Michi. He suffered from smallpox at the age of 10.

After studying at a private school of Chinese classics, he entered a hanko (public school for the children of samurai), Meirinkan, in 1852 and learned swordplay as well. In 1857, he entered Shoka Sonjuku, a private school headed by Shoin YOSHIDA, and in 1858 was sent by the clan to study in Edo. He studied at Shoheizaka Gakumonjo (a shogunate school) and other places. 

When his teacher Shoin was arrested during the Ansei Purge in 1859, Takasugi visited him in jail. Shoin was executed in October.

Takasugi returned home in December 1860 and married the second daughter of Yamaguchi town magistrate Heiemon INOUE, Masa, who was said to be the most beautiful lady in Suo and Nagato Provinces.

In April 1861, he undertook naval training on the clan's warship Heishinmaru, and travelled to Edo. In September he went to the Tohoku region to study, and there associated with Shozan SAKUMA and Shonan YOKOI. 

In May 1862, by order of the clan, he departed Nagasaki for Shanghai City, China, with Tomoatsu GODAI and others, accompanying the shogunate envoys. There he learned about the state of the Qing dynasty's colonization by the West and of the Taiping Rebellion, a popular uprising that had continued since 1854. He then returned home in July, having been greatly influenced by the journey, according to his diary "Yu-shin Goroku" (Five Accounts of a Voyage to China).

In the Choshu clan, during the absence of Takasugi, Uta NAGAI and others of the old guard faction were ousted and the Sonno Joi faction (those who advocated reverence for the Emperor and expulsion of foreigners) became dominant. Takasugi also joined the Sonno Joi movement with Kogoro KATSURA (Takayoshi KIDO) and Yoshisuke KUSAKA (Genzui KUSAKA) and launched a campaign in Kyoto espousing loyalty to the Emperor, nullification of treaties and the expelling of foreigners, in cooperation with royalists from other clans.

In 1862, Takasugi argued, 'The Satsuma clan has already seen results in expelling foreigners by killing them in Namamugi, and yet our clan is still advocating for reconciliation between the imperial court and the shogunate. We must find some way to get results in expelling foreigners. If the clan government cannot take a decisive action to do it...'

Just at that time, Takasugi and his comrades (Genzui KUSAKA, Yahachiro YAMATO, Kurata NAGAMINE, Monta SHIJI, Gozo MATSUSHIMA, Chuzaburo TERAJIMA, Kumajiro ARIYOSHI, Mikinojo AKANE, Yozo YAMAO and Yajiro SHINAGAWA) conspired to kill the foreign ministers who often holidayed in Kanazawa in Musashi Province (Kanazawa Hakkei). However, Kusaka told the plan to Hanpeita TAKECHI of the Tosa clan, who made it known to the head of the Tosa clan Yodo YAMAUCHI, and from him the news reached the head of the Choshu clan Sadahiro MORI, who stopped them from carrying it out recklessly, and ordered them to confine themselves at home. 

The comrades, during their confinement, signed a covenant to form the Mitategumi group and sealed it with their blood. In this process, Takasugi formed the idea of Choshu nationalism, thinking that only the royalists from the Choshu clan were trustworthy. The Choshu clan's cooperation and negotiation with the imperial court and other clans came to be handled by Katsura and Kusaka exclusively. 

On January 31, 1863, Takasugi and his comrades attacked and burned the British legation building under construction in Gotenyama, Shinagawa, in order to protest the shogunate's acting against the intentions of the Emperor. Takasugi also transferred the remains of Shoin, who had been executed as a rebel against the shogunate, from Odawara to Setagaya in broad daylight, and held a funeral service.Being afraid that such radical actions might irritate the shogunate, the clan recalled Takasugi from Edo.

On June 25, 1863, after the deadline for the expulsion of foreigners that had been set by the shogunate upon the demand of the imperial court, the Choshu clan fired cannons at foreign ships in the Kanmon-Kaikyo Strait, but was overwhelmingly defeated by the American and French counter-attack. Takasugi was in put charge of the defense of Shimonoseki.

In July, at the residence of Shoichiro SHIRAISHI who was a wholesaler in the port, Takasugi formed the Kiheitai militia, consisting of voluntary soldiers of any social rank, with its headquarters at Amida-ji Temple (next to Akama-jingu Shrine). However, he was dismissed from the post of commandant in October, for being responsible for the Incident at Kyoho-ji Temple.

In Kyoto, the Choshu clan was ousted in the Coup of August 18, by a coalition of the Satsuma and Aizu clans in the imperial court. In February 1864, Takasugi tried to dissuade the radical Matabei KIJIMA from his plan to fight the Satsuma and Aizu in Kyoto, but failed and then left the domain to hide in Kyoto himself. He returned home in February, having been persuaded to do so by Kogoro KATSURA, and then was put into Noyamagoku jail for the charge of leaving the domain.

He was released from jail in July and ordered to confine himself at home. In August, the Choshu clan lost a battle in the Kinmon Incident and became an enemy of the Emperor. Kijima died in the battle and Genzui KUSAKA killed himself.

In September, a combined fleet of warships from four nations — England, France, the United States of America and the Netherlands — attacked Shimonoseki and occupied the gun battery there. Shinsaku was then forgiven and put in charge of peace negotiations. 

In the peace conference, the coalition countries demanded "lease of Hiko-shima Island" as well as various other terms. Takasugi accepted almost all terms proposed, but persistently refused this "lease of territory" and finally succeeded in eliminating it. Takasugi, having seen the situation of the Qing dynasty, understood that the "fixed-term lease of territory" was a method of colonization. Later generations have concluded that if this demand had been accepted, Japanese history would have turned out very differently.

Shinsaku TAKASUGI was then 24 years old.

As the shogunate planned the first conquest of Choshu, a moderate faction advocating reconciliation with the shogunate became dominant in the Choshu clan and Takasugi escaped to Fukuoka in October. He was sheltered in the Hirao Sanso Mountain Villa, but returned to Shimonoseki on hearing that the moderate faction had executed a chief retainer of the reformist faction.

On the night of January 12, at Kozan-ji Temple, Takasugi raised an army made up of various corps of the Choshu clan, including the Rikishitai led by Hirobumi ITO and the Yugekitai led by Kojiro ISHIKAWA. Other corps later joined as well, including Kiheitai, and in March 1865 they ousted the leader of the moderate faction, Tota MUKUNASHI, and seized power in the clan.

In the same year, Takasugi contacted an English merchant named Glover in Nagasaki, in an attempt to go abroad, but Glover rejected the proposal. Takasugi then pressed for the opening of Shimonoseki Port to foreigners, which led both the reformist and moderate factions to try to kill him, and in April he escaped to the Shikoku region with his mistress Ono (later called Baishoni), relying on the support of Enseki KUSANAGI there.

In July, Kogoro KATSURA arranged for him to return home. On February 6, 1865, Shinsaku was disinherited by the Takasugi family and treated as 'Hagukumi' (peasant who became a samurai through a system unique to the Choshu clan). On November 17 of the same year, he changed his name to Senzo TANI on the order of the clan. On May 3, 1867, he was awarded a stipend of 100 koku and became the first head of the Tani family.

On March 7, 1866 (March 8 according to another theory), an alliance between the Satsuma and Choshu clans, which Shinsaku had been promoting with Kogoro KATSURA, Kaoru INOUE and Shunsuke ITO, was concluded at the residence of the Satsuma clan in Kyoto, with Ryoma SAKAMOTO, Shintaro NAKAOKA and Hisamoto HIJIKATA from the Tosa clan acting as intermediaries.

In June, he was ordered to go to Satsuma with Shunsuke ITO, and in Nagasaki independently purchased a warship called the Otentosamamaru. 

In July, at the time of the second conquest of Choshu by the shogunate (the Shikyo War), he boarded the Otentosamamaru as chief commander of the Navy. He attacked at night and defeated a shogunate fleet moored in the sea near Suo-oshima Island, and recaptured the island in cooperation with other corps, such as the second Kiheitai unit led by Hanshichi HAYASHI. 

In the area of Kokura City, he began the attack by commanding his warships to fire cannons at the coast of Moji and Tanoura. With this support, he landed Kiheitai and Hokokutai troops and destroyed the gun battery and magazine of the shogunate, whose army then took flight.

He then tried to attack further, but meeting a furious counter-attack by the Higo clan in front of Kokura-jo Castle, he temporarily ceased the assault. However, various clans supporting the shogunate withdrew from time to time, being furious about the timidity and indecisiveness of the shogunate chief commander Nagamichi OGASAWARA.

In August, Ogasawara was informed that the Shogun Iemochi TOKUGAWA had died, and taking this opportunity, he withdrew from the battle. The defeat of the shogunate was decided. This defeat eroded the authority of the shogunate in a dramatic fashion and marked a turning point towards the restoration of Imperial rule in November 1867.

However, Shinsaku himself, suffering from pulmonary tuberculosis, was forced to recuperate in Sakurayama. He died at the age of 27, on May 17, 1867, assured that the Edo shogunate would end, but without witnessing the restoration of Imperial rule.

A story says that his father, mother, wife and son came to see him, and Motoni NOMURA, Aritomo YAMAGATA and Kensuke TANAKA also witnessed his death, although its details are unclear, as Tanaka's diary says that he was in Kyoto on that day.

Takasugi's tomb is in Shimonoseki City, Yamaguchi Prefecture. He was also enshrined and honored at Tokyo Shokonsha Shrine, which is currently Yasukuni-jinja Shrine, by Takayoshi KIDO and Matsujiro OMURA, together with Shoin YOSHIDA, Genzui KUSAKA, Ryoma SAKAMOTO and Shintaro NAKAOKA

His death poem reads 'Living an exciting life in the not-exciting world.' The last part of the poem, 'It depends on what the heart sees' is said to have added by Motoni NOMURA. However, another theory claims that this is not true, since there is a record indicating that the poem was created one year previously.

A dodoitsu song (Japanese popular love song in the 7-7-7-5 syllable pattern), 'I want to kill the crow of the Three Thousand Worlds, and sleep with you in the morning' is widely considered to have been penned by Shinsaku (or Takayoshi KIDO according to another theory). This dodoitsu song is still sung today as the lyrics of folk songs in Hagi City, such as 'Otoko nara' and 'Yoishokosho bushi.’

His monument of honor says, 'Moving like the lightning, speaking like the storm, all are astonished and none dare face him. This is our Togyo Takasugi.' This is a comment by Hirobumi ITO on Shinsaku TAKASUGI.

The Takasugi clan

There are various theories about the origin of the Takasugi clan. Novelist Ryotaro SHIBA has pointed out that Shinsaku had his origin in 'Takasugi-jo Castle' in present Takasugi, Miyoshi City, Hiroshima Prefecture. This Takasugi-jo Castle is said to be the castle ruins of hafurishi, people involved in Shinto rituals under the control of the Eda clan.

Another theory asserts that the castle was 'Takasugi-yama-jo Castle' in Akitakata City, Hiroshima Prefecture. At this former castle site, descendants of Shinsaku established a monument in 1935, indicating that Shinsaku was the thirteenth descendant of the Takasugi clan.

Both castles of Takasugi seem to be associated with Shinsaku, but it is not clear which theory is correct.

There is also a theory presuming that the Takasugi clan was a vassal of the Takeda clan, military governors of Aki Province, and involved in some Shinto rituals. The family crest is a diamond divided into four parts inside a circle.

[queengurako]

The Hakuouki fandom tag game !

Thank you to @shenanigumi to create this game and big hug and thanks to @queen-mizera to tag me :3

How and when you got into this glorious fandom:

Two years ago and I ALWAYS remembered it because it was the time when I sold my soul to this fandom. I discovered it by Loki. I explain. I searched some tumblr post about my sweet and marvelous Loki (Marvel you know. Tom Hiddleston you know. *deep deep breathe* I’m not in love.) and I found some posts of Loki Laevatein (he is ginger ! My weakness we’ll be always redhead !). So I watched Kamigami no Asobi and I liked it. So I rediscovered anime and mostly...I discorvered Hakuouki. And now two years after I’m completely love addict to Bakumatsu, my spiritual husband is Sakamoto Ryôma, I’ve got a pearl bracelet with Shinsengumi’s colors, I’ve met so much lovely people (Ritsu, @impracticaldemon, @queen-mizera...), I practice kendo, I imagine AU!Hakuouki e v e r y t i m e...and my dissertation to finalize my 5th year of History University is about the beginning of the relationship between Japan and France (1862 - 1867). Okay it was long but you see : THIS FANDOM IS TOTALLY RUNNING MY LIFE AND I NEVER REGRET IT ! 

Aaaaand my new goal is pushed my friends to join me in this glorious fandom (luv you @kazama-hime and @laerelei-in-the-tardis)( @aramis-du-tardis and @atoutscoeur you will be the next) because this is too fabulous to be ignored. 

Favorite character in terms of development:

If I must choose...My favorite character’s development is...Ryunosuke ! I liked him when I discovered Reimeiroku and moreover after I read Tokio Fujita’s translations (please please translate this game !) and in Hakumyu Reimeiroku. I can explain but I love how he has no life purpose and tries to find a life goal at the end of the game. I just love his evolution and his complexity through the differents routes (and his love story with Kosuzu is too cute). I love his relationship with Serizawa, his drawing passion, his behaviour, his past...This boy need more hug and love in his life !

The character you’d get along with most irl:

Sakamoto Ryôma. I don’t really know. I think it would be baka trio (no kidding !) because they’re very friendly and outgoing and a lot of my friends are like this. And if I was in Chizuru’s situation (or Ryu’s situation) I completely get closer with them because I would feel reassured with them (eeeeh as possible as can be with strong and terrifying samurais. Yes ! They’re terrifying ! I N E V E R want to be their ennemy or their target !). I could totally get along with Chizuru and Sen. Sen who is like one of my big close friend ahaha (she is pretty badass as our marvelous Onihime). But also I think I could get along with Yamazaki Susumu. Just because he reminds me my best friend and my cousin who have the same behaviour as him. So in a nutshell : a lots ?

The character you are most like:

Heisuke ! But also Chizuru. I mean I’m just like Heisuke who is so outgoing, lively, wanted everybody smiling and I’m also confused about what is the best thing to do during troubled times like Heisuke about Shinsengumi and Itou/Bakufu or Sonno Joui. And I’m most like Chizuru because...she is the perfect Hufflepuff in the world and I’m Hufflepuff with all my heart and my soul ? I don’t know. She is sweet, openminded, strong, thoughtful, clumsy and shy but also lively, curious, angry, sad, feared of being abandonned...and moreover tender, teasing, spontaneous, fair and loyal...I can totally relate her ! 

(and I’m Kotsune just because @kazama-hime is the Shinpachi of my life. And I’m also her Heisuke because we are always the ones who eat a lot (like Shinpatsuan and Sunshine) during lunchtime. We finished all seafood platter during New Year’s Eve XD)

Least favorite character:

This is REALLY hard because I don’t hate any character (even Itou and Kodo. Yup). It’s just sometimes I think some caracters are not well developped while they have so much potential (and usually they’re all well developped but not enough for me. I need moooooore about them). I think my least favorite character is Nimii. Just because I’m very indifferent about him. I don’t hate him or despise him. I write about him (when I need it in my fic and my plot) but I’m not interested by him.

Personal favorite husband:

Sakamoto Ryôma. NOW I CAN SAY IT ! AHAHAHAHAHHA ! BLESS YOU HAKUOUKI SHINKAI ! NOW I CAN BANG AND MARRY MY FAVORITE BAKUMATSU AND HISTORICAL CHARACTER <33333 ! Okay but without Shinkai my personal favorite husband is Harada Sanosuke. 

I mean...

Why

are you

SO PERFECT ?! 

I hate him to ruine my life and my ovaries ! Moreover now Higashi Keisuke (fucking gorgeous photoshop man) plays him in Hakumyu. Honestly THE only man who can me forget Sano...is Sakamoto Ryôma (my sun my stars...my everything *deep deep breathe*). 

Favorite route:

Sakamoto Ryôma (télémagouilles running gag). More seriously I’ve not finish the game (I am always on Harada route ohhoho. I’m too slow) so it’s really hard to choose. Maybe Okita’s route. Or Harada. When I’ll play all the game I’ll know. (butSakamoto’sroutealwaysbethebest)

Who you wish had a route:

S H I R A N U I ! I think you don’t undersand dear Hakuouki’s creators why I need this route. He is the best friend of Takasugi fucking Shinsaku. And he is friend with Sakamoto Ryôma (bless you Shinkai for this). Which means he knows Kusaka Genzui, Katsura Kogoro, Kawakami Gensai, Yoshida Shoin, maybe also Otose-san...We could have more historic characters of Satchô Alliance and Chôshû and more Onis background. He has SO MUCH potential ! 

Least favorite route: 

I DON’t know ! It is really hard and moreover because I don’t finish the game. So maybe Kazama’s route. Because I think Kazama has too many problems to be a good lover for Chizuru. Maybe when I’ll finish the game I’ll change my mind.

Favorite Chizuru ship:

Erh...I don’t know. Seriously I don’t know. 

Top 3 ships overall:

Suki (Kikuzuki/Sen). Seriously I’m the only one who ship them ? They’re perfect together ! And more canon than any ship with Sen (just my opinion of course but come on ! They’re so perfect together). Yeah Sen/Chizu is pretty cute but my gosh Kimigiku/Kikuzuki and Sen are married for me ! Definitely !

Haraji (Harada/Hijikata). It all began with Hakuouki SSL drama because the interactions between Harada and Hijikata were pretty cool...And one day, @kazama-hime said “I ship them” and I replied “Me too” and I jumped with her. Now I’m more and more addicted to them. I need more of their bromance (like a lot of bromance in Hakuouki which are underexploited. I NEED MORE ABOUT MY BABIES) but I will always smile and giggle when I see interactions between them...where I can interpret many things *wink wink*. So you’ll be warned : when I read your fanfics and there are Hijikata and Harada...My imagination can go far far away.

Birdjime (Saito/Peacock). YES ! It’s a crackship ! But you know what ? I like it ! Okay I got many private jokes on it with kazama-hime but I just loooooove the symbolism of the peacock (immortality, a guardian to royalty...). I blame also I Origins and this music. In this movie we discover that the white peacock symbolize the souls scattered in the world. So maybe I just imagine something more deep and more spiritual in this crackship. It’s a crackship but like Hijikata/Cherryblossom it’s an inspiringship :P 

But more seriously I ship a lot of historical ships like : Akenan (Akesato/Sannan), Kochi (Shinpachi/Kotsune), Mano (Harada/Masa), Ryôryô (Oryô/Ryôma), Ikutsura (Ikumatsu/Katsura), Tokito (Tokio/Saito)...And some ships which are not historic but are between Shinsengumi Captains and Historical Characters like : Yaeda (Harada/Yae), Yukita (Nakano Yuko/Okita) and Hijimitsu (Hijikata/Okita Mitsu)(I will ship them to the death !). And also ship a little bit Takasugi/Shiranui (best bromance in the world !). And honestly I got PLENTY ships in Bakumatsu (this is shipland this period !) but these ones are my main ships and the ones which I can put in Hakuouki (I’ve got also otp and ships with my OCs (and OCs friends) but shhhht).

Do you write/draw/contribute to the fandom in some way? If not, do you have any recommendations? Link us to them: 

Okay so I write A LOT OF things about Hakuouki...but it is in French. And moreover I’ve got a lot fanfictions and projects on this fandom but for the moment I don’t finish it.  I got a big fanfic on Hakuouki (La Grue millénaire/The Millennium Crane) but I need to go back over my plot. SO NOW I’m writing an AU!Police/Au!modern (Lapis Philosophorum). I have already written eleven chapters ! I’ll hope I could publish it on ffnet this september :3 And I’ve also a freaking amazing AU!Star Wars but I’ll wait to lead more Lapis Philosophorum to continue and write more about it. So I polish my plot and my AU for the moment :P (but I promess it will be awesome !!)(and in French. Sorry)

Otherwise I have a four hands project with @kazama-hime about AU!Fairytales (with two Bikkhuni who are in fact two of the Seven Lucky Gods). I’ve got also an AU with one of my friend (Harritsu) about World War II. AND I GOT PLENTY AU AND CRACKS!AU ABOUT HAKUOUKI ! HAKUOUKI IS PERFECT FOR EVERY FUKCING AU !!

I’ve also an idea about Kimi no na wa...maybe with Ryunusuke/Chizuru. Maybe I should make a challenge "AU! Animated film" with Hakuouki. (Like Summer War, Millennium Actress (Hijizu motherfuckers!), Tokyo Godfathers, Spirited Away (Saichi bang!), The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, The Boy and The Beast ...)(THAT WOULD BE FREAKING AWESOME !!!)...Why me ? 

FINALLY ! I’ve got some recommendations ! 

If you can read French....Please read :

Le vent venu de l’ouest by Harritsu

Les Profs by Elenwe/Kazama-hime

If you cand read English...Please read : 

The end by Harritsu

Teachers by Elenwe/Kazama-hime

Kitchen Nightmares by Elenwe/Kazama-hime

The Teachings of Demons by ImpracticalDemon

Unifying by lightningwaltz

I’m tagging: @fionnuala-hime, @kanzakiyume-blog, @once-a-turncoat, @kitsuraki, @hokagecosplay coand @nanashi1869. I don’t know if you have been already tag in this game but anyway ! I tag you ♥♥♥. And if someone in my followers (or not) see this and is in Hakuouki fandom...do it ♥.