>I have *so* many questions right now, but I'll keep it to just a
>few at a time.
Don't worry, history is my job-- I live for these questions. :)
>Why would Rintaro be adopted into the Okita family?
Because Souji was too young and being trained in kenjutsu-- and if Kondo
later had the intention to adopt him, this all makes sense-- Kondo would
have probably had that intention when Souji entered the school. With Souji
essentially "out" of the Okita family (or such a discussion taking place
when Katsujiro was still alive), the only alternative would have been for an
heir to be adopted.
>If Katsujiro died in 1845, and Rintaro married in 1846, was this
>arranged in advance by Katsujiro - or someone else?
They would have probably been engaged before Katsujiro died. My guess would
be that they waited an appropriate time. In Asian cultures (I speak from
experience) engagement can come anywhere from one year to three before the
actual marriage.
>If Katsujiro
>was ill and knew he was going to die, would it have been the normal
>thing to do in adopting an heir because Souji was so young?
Yes. Amongst Shogunal officials it was weirder-- sometimes one could be dead
for several days and then they'd set his body up behind a screen and have a
retainer read something that the deceased supposedly wrote-- "Due to my
illness, I hereby adopt so-and-so as my heir..." Because, you see, no heir
means the family not only ends, but the surviving relatives (especially
women) have pretty much their entire estate/source of livelihood taken away
by government order (I think it's called 'toritsubushi' in some cases).
>Did
>that make Rintaro head of the Okita family?
Very much so.
>What if Souji had not
>died so young? Could an adopted heir displace a blood heir?
Yes-- happened sometimes.
>And,
>where does "Fujiwara" in Rintaro's adopted name come from?
Fujiwara are one of the three big Heian-era clans that everyone liked to
claim descent from. The other two were Minamoto (Genji) and Taira
(Heike/Heishi). Fujiwara were court nobles, the other two were princely
families that became warrior clans. So when someone gave their full name,
they'd also name who they (ostensibly) descended from, even if it was a
somewhat tenuous claim *cough*Lord Ieyasu*cough*
Hence, Okita Souji's full name was first "Okita Soujirou Fujiwara no
Harumasa" and later "Okita Souji Fujiwara no Kaneyoshi"
Also, in some dealings with the Imperial Court, if Souji had, say, received
a summons from the Emperor or a Prince or other noble, he would have been
summoned-- not as Okita Souji, but as "Fujiwara no Kaneyoshi"-- kind of like
how Matsudaira Katamori *was* summoned as "Minamoto Katamori"
>Perhaps
>someone wouldn't mind giving a quick history lesson on adopting
>heirs?
That's sort of tricky...but I'll try to figure a general description out and
post it before long.
>And...about the adoption situation presented in NHK with Shuhei - If
>Kondo was going to name Souji his successor as the Tennen Rishin
>master, why wouldn't he also make him the Kondo family heir? I had
>assumed it was because he was already the Okita family heir. Is this
>a case of mixing historical accuracy and taking historical liberties?
Yes...sorta. Inheriting the tradition doesn't necessarily mean that you
inherit the master's family. Tennen Rishin Ryu today is an example of that--
the Kondo and Miyagawa families alternate headship, if I recall correctly,
but the present master is......Sono Seigo? Not sure...the last Kondo to be
head of the school was Kondo Isuke, who I believe died in the early 1990s.
Like I said before, Okita was probably not the family heir, even from the
very beginning.
If Kondo was going to name Okita his heir for both school and family, he
probably would have followed how Kondo Shuusuke did it for *him*-- train him
first, then when he was about to take over, have him change his name and
then succeed to the family *and* dojo headship.
Trust me, family/succession issues in Edo-era Japan are incredibly weird.
Which is why Kondo naming Tani Masatake as his heir (Kondo Shuuhei) is
interesting-- he would have been prepping Souji for years, BUT, since Tani
Mantaro and Sanjuro, two brothers who ran the Tani spear dojo (Taneda Hozoin
Ryu) joined Shinsengumi, Kondo would have done what was natural in a
"business deal" like that-- adopted their brother in order to seal the deal
by "family" ties. Incidentally, the Tani dojo was where Harada Sanosuke
learned how to use the spear.
I hope this helps!
-M.