Shinsengumi Death Poems?

Does anyone know any death poems by the shinsengumi? and does anyone
know what Okita's last words were before he died?

It was believed that Souji wrote this haiku--said to be the one and only he ever made in his life--on his deathbed:

"Ugokaneba yami ni heda tsuya hana to mizu "
("If they don't move, they'll be parted by darkness: the flower and the water")


...which, quite curiously, compliments this haiku by another well-known member of the Shinsengumi:

"Sashimukai kokoro wa kiyoi mizukagami"
("The heart facing mine is a clear reflecting pool")


Quizzie quizzie ^^ ...nope, not trying to insinuate anything XD just pointing out a popular observation.



Kaneyoshi


James <dogdemonxxx16@...> wrote:
Does anyone know any death poems by the shinsengumi? and does anyone
know what Okita's last words were before he died?


















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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Kondou and Hijikata and a couple other Shinsengumi were poets however
finding their death poems is a bit difficult.

In the case of Hijikata, in

Hillsborough, Romulus. Shinsengumi The Shogun's Last Samurai Corps.
Tokyo: Tuttle Publishing, 2005.
ISBN 0804836272 (there are used copies around you can buy, currently
this is the only book in English on the Shinsengumi)

on page 173

"Though my body may decay on the island of Ezo,
My spirit guards my lord in the east."

Hillsborough and others (Japanese websites) have stated that
"Hijikata's lord in the east was none other than the last shogun,
Tokugawa Yoshinobu" (Hillborough 173).

you may want to try searching for other death poems (not yet
translated) by trying the major sites listed here:
http://www.shinsengumihq.com/links.htm
please use the online translators (which can only give you an "idea"
of the meaning) listed at the top of the page

please feel free to share with us what you find too! (^_^)

> James wrote:
> Does anyone know any death poems by the shinsengumi? and does anyone
> know what Okita's last words were before he died?

I have Kondou's death poem....but it's LONG and I still haven't been able to
work out a translation of any sort.

-M.

Kondou's death poem, transliterated:


Kogun enketaete fushuu to nari
kun'on wo konen shite namida fururu
ippen no tansou yoku setsu ni junji
Shoyou wa senko korewaga chuu
hoka ni nabikite kyou mata nani wo ihamu
gi wo toriikiwo sutsuruwa waga toutobutokoro
kokoroyoi uku denkou sanjaku no ken
tada masa ni isshu wo motte kun'on ni mukimu


All I have is the first two lines and the last two lines:

"Encircled with [my] army, with no hope of rescue/
I look back on my lord's favor, and weep..."

"...I will gladly welcome the lightning sword of three shaku/
but as long as I live, I swear to repay my lord's favor."

Kondou was big on Chinese stories like "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms,"
so that might be why he wrote such a long poem that seems more in the
Chinese style than in the Japanese style of a waka (Yes, most of the time
death poems were NOT haiku, they were waka...which have an additional 14
syllables).

-M.