Well, new to those of us who don't know Japanese (^_^)
***all the info will end up on Saitou's profile at
http://www.shinsengumihq.com (eventually)
In the Files section are translated webpages on Saitou Hajime and so
forth, from those pages we know that Goro was a bodyguard for the
Meiji Emperor's mother...
but
he was also a bodyguard to <<
>>
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inoue_Kaoru
http://www.jref.com/glossary/inoue_kaoru.shtml
***the Inoue Kaoru connection was once mentioned on this mailing
list a really long time ago I think---but my translator said this
not a rumor at all
We have all committed to memory, Goro's love of washing his fundoshi
but he also said....
Fujita Goro "Tie your sash tightly: don't leave it loose and untidy!"
Fujita Makoto, Goro's grandson heard that:
"My grandfather was the favorite retainer of Matsudaira Katamori"
which is not surprising at all
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I have 2 translations of the same page...
http://homepage3.nifty.com/naitouhougyoku/sub14.htm
most of it translated by our SHQ member Hirotada Tokugawa (please
send warm cuddly thoughts to him)...
The Yamakawa Shogun residence (???) was in Tokyo Ushigome-Wakamatsu
cho, 3rd lot. It had a stable.When Fujita had days off, he would go
to the Yamakawa residence and drink sake, and his spirit would burn
Many many people visited all year round, attested to by Ookura
(Yamakawa Hiroshi) being a person of virtue as well as a "Center of
(gathering for) Aizu People. So the many comings and goings were a
matter of course.
Among those who visited can be seen the name of Fujita Goro.
Fujita Goro. Of course, it goes without saying that this is
Shinsengumi 3rd captain, Saitou Hajime.
The time of his frequent visits then must be around the time that
Ookura had long since retired from the Police Office and had become
headmaster of the "Normal School" (I think "Normal School," Shihan-
gakko, should actually be translated "Military Academy")
The man who, as Yamaguchi Jiro, left his fame and renown in many
places in the course of the Boshin War's Aizu front.
Fujita, after Hijikata Toshizo left Aizu, commanded the remaining
Shinsengumi men, sharing in Aizu's fate, following the people to
Tonami, and then fighting in the Seinan War, always remaining by the
side of Aizu people.Looking at it from Fujita's perspective, his
visits to the Yamakawa residence must have been very calming.
Fujita Goro "When you draw your sword with the intent to kill, don't
waste your time posturing like in kenjutsu. Just kill your enemy on
the spot."
(from another volunteer translator: "When you actually fight
somebody with a real sword, never mind about taking a correct
posture as you would in your fencing trainings; you just have to go
forward holding your sword up high. Then the next moment you'd find
your oppenent collapsed on the ground.")
Fujita Goro "I want my bones to be buried next to the [mass?] grave
of the men who died at Amida-ji in the Aizu Boshin War"
Today, Fujita Goro's soul, as was his wish, rests alongside those of
his war comrades in Amida-ji, sharing in their eternal rest
[Footnotes]
***Yamakawa Hiroshi was one of the matchmakers for Goro+Tokio, and a
major figure in the post 1868 Aizu story
see his pic here
http://www.shinsengumihq.com/YamakawaHiroshioldyoungpic.jpg
***the Normal School was a teacher training academy in Tokyo for men
the history of the Normal School is totally connected to Tokyo
Women's Normal School (Takagi/Fujita Tokio's workplace and her
cousin Takamine Hideo)
you can learn more here:
http://www.shinsengumihq.com/TakagiTokioinfo.htm (with an account of
a graduation ceremony, fire and pics etc)
Edward Sylvester Morse (1838-1925)(google name) mentions and
sketched the fire
https://mywebspace.wisc.edu/tnamwong/web/Takamine/TWNSfire.jpg
in his amazing book JAPAN DAY BY DAY (contains info on Takamine
Hideo all over the place)--book has no index
-----------------------------------
In the past I have mentioned that Fujita Goro was a friend of
Natsume Soseki (just google this name) my volunteer translator did
some double checking independently and found that this eccentric
novelist had not one but 2 connections to the Shinsengumi. I have
recently searched for webpages and found quiet a few repeating this
connection---nifty mistranslated some things. Below is a *human*
translation.
Nagakura Shinpachi was a friend of Natsume Soseki's [father]
[warning] Natsume Soseki was adopted out to a family and then later
adopted back into his natural birth parents...it is not clear
*which* father
Natsume Soseki and Fujita Goro were co-workers (they worked in the
same office)
[note: Soseki wasn't alive during the Bakumatsu however he did write
2 weird short stories on that era.
Anyone who reads Soseki's works will notice that he has an older
friend, who like himself was neurotic and had gastric ulcers this
friend is an elderly man with a white moustache (who eats relish a
food recommended to people who have ulcers). This older friend is a
recurring character in more than one work. Soseki ofcourse changes
the names of his real friends who frequently appear in his fiction--
in this case the mystery character is anonymous and often stops by
for dinner. Both men starve themselves for days and then share big
meals. In another work this same character appears in a dream
sequence. Interestingly in I AM A CAT Soseki writes long passages
about dastardly under cover police, how they are uneducated, rude
and plant evidence on people. He lists their possible disguises as
well! Soseki, understandably was paranoid as he was blacklisted for
his liberal leanings and anti-Russo-Japanese War stance.]
-----------------------------------
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http://www.jbox.com/SEARCH/shinsengumi/1/
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http://www.hlj.com/product/AZNSB004MAN
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[Off-Topic but of possible interest]
someone brought up the 47 Ronin a while back...
The MANY paintings and reproductions you see of the 47 Ronin (many
versions of the famous scenes) were amassed in a huge collection by
a guy named Ernest F.Fenollossa (1853-1908) (google name)---most of
his stuff ended up in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts or were
gradually sold to private collectors once he returned to the United
States. Although he later severed his connection to the museum his
legacy still remains. While in Japan, his
assistant/translator/travelling companion was Takamine Hideo (the
cousin of Takagi Tokio and friend to Goro). Takamine himself
collected 3,000 ukiyo-e, calligraphy, ALOT of pottery and swords
(which Goro worked with in Takamine's store room). Fenollossa also
cites Takamine Hideo in his writings. Recently I went to my
university's historical society and read a pamphlet printed in 1905
when part of Fenollossa's collection arrived in my city (the small
collection was purchased by a Japanese man). Fenollossa himself
wrote the introduction and description of the paintings. Of the
little over 20 pieces displayed, 5 were of the 47 Ronin. Much of
Fenollossa's collection are now commonly mass reproduced ukiyo-e
posters you can purchase right off the internet.
[scroll down to see new translations on the Byakkotai]
http://1happyturtle.com/makoto/YHFGtranslation.htm