Saitou Speaks at the Fall of Aizu

There are many out there, such as self-proclaimed authority Romulus
Hillsborough, to whom the story of Shinsengumi after Kondou Isami's death is
meaningless. However, the fact of the matter, as we know, is that
Shinsengumi, as an organization, survived until mid-1869, when its last
survivors, under the nominal command of Soma Kazue, surrendered together
with Nagai Genba-no-Kami Naoyuki's forces at Benten Daiba, in Hakodate.

One of the "forgotten" elements of this ignored history is Saitou Hajime's
period in command of the Shinsengumi, during the Aizu Theater of the Boshin
War.

By the latter part of the 8th month of Meiji 1, Aizu was surrounded, and the
month-long siege had begun. At this time, the former Shogunate army under
Otori Keisuke abandoned Aizu, heading for Sendai. This force could have been
put to good use in defending Aizu, however, its commander considered
withdrawal the better course of action. Despite this, the fact remains that
by doing so he probably did as much to hasten Aizu's fall as Itagaki
Taisuke's lightning-strike through Bonari Pass did.

When Saitou Hajime heard of Otori's army having left Aizu, he spoke, and
spoke harshly. For a man of little words, the following ones, as recorded in
the diary of Taniguchi Shirobei, a Kuwana-han retainer turned Shinsengumi
samurai (picture is here:
http://www.dokidoki.ne.jp/home2/quwatoro/syashin3/sirobei.jpg), are
powerful. Remember, Saitou and the Shinsengumi had just fought a long and
brutal battle at Bonari Pass in order to defend the people of Aizu, and had
barely managed to escape with their lives. Listen to what the taciturn
warrior has to say about Otori's army:

"If they are really our allies, then they should come back to Aizu and
help-- and then we wouldn't have to see the castle about to fall like this.
For our so-called comrades to run like this is unjust!"

(cited from: Ito Tetsuya, "Saitou Hajime Nenfu". pp. 223-243 of "Saitou
Hajime no Subete". Tokyo: Shin Jinbutsu Oraisha, 2003, p. 236)

The fall of the castle was still a month away, but in many people's eyes the
fate of Aizu was already sealed...

Definitely words to think about.

-M.

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That is just friggin' awesome. I knew there was a reason I loved Saitou so
much.


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

When one considers the price of war, it is often all too easy to get caught
up in the details. "Heroes" loom large, facts get distorted, and in the
earnest quest for "truth," one can easily get sidetracked. I'd like to bring
up another fact that is important for all of us who have an interest in
Shinsengumi or the period at large.

Following the fall of Aizu, Saitou Hajime, who had tried to get into Aizu
Castle, was with Aizu senior retainer Sagawa Kanbei, fighting on in
Minami-Aizu, south of the domain capital of Wakamatsu. Aizu military affairs
magistrate Asabane Tadanosuke was sent to Sagawa's men, and informed them
that the battle was over. Saitou and the men who had fought outside Aizu
Castle during the siege were rounded up and taken to an internment camp in
Shiokawa. They remained there until the beginning of the following year,
when it was decided they were to be sent to Takada, in Echigo Province, for
incarceration. The group stopped by Amida-ji in Aizu to pray for safety
before embarking. Saitou had fought in that area, in the time leading up to
and during the siege, and this must have affected him. On the 5th, the group
was separated into six units, and after some time they arrived in Takada.

They were to remain in Takada until the 9th month, and it was in reference
to the 2nd day of the 9th month that scholar Ito Tetsuya notes something
curious: "[On this day], the Meiji Government permits the prisoners to use
surnames and wear swords." (from-- Itou Tetsuya, "Saitou Hajime Nenfu",
appearing pp. 223-243 of "Saitou Hajime no Subete". Tokyo: Shin Jinbutsu
Oraisha, 2003, p. 237)

The new government granting permission to have surnames and wear swords
implies that these men, who were samurai and *born* with that right, had
been deprived of it after the surrender, since they were viewed as
criminals. (A pardon was issued hard on the heels of this announcement, on
the 28th of the 9th month)

Our beloved Saitou Hajime obviously had a name-- Ichinohe Denpachi. The Aizu
men interacting with each other, men who in many cases knew each other since
childhood, obviously still had to have called each other by their names. But
legally, and in the eyes of the country, Saitou Hajime, and his Aizu
friends, were nameless, faceless, and without any clearly defined position
in society. The best way that it can be described is if a group of people
were treated like burned-out lightbulbs and thrown into a box for nine
months.

I wonder...can any of us in this modern world of rights and privileges
imagine what it must have been like, to have no name and no place in
society? Can we imagine how heart-wrenching it might have been?

Once again, something to think about.

-M.

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Saitou says (continued)

all of the info below is unlike what Hirotada Tokugawa posted,
because in that case...Saitou's words were recorded in a diary

these words are noted from word of mouth and are probably not "exact"
but close enough:

1) Saitou liked to lament the evils of the times (during the Meiji
Era) with various friends and relatives

2) "Tie your sash tightly: don't leave it loose and untidy!"

3) "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."
[or]
"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.")

4)"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"

** he also said he didn't want a Buddhist posthumous name

5) Saitou tells Yamakawa Kenjiro about the Tenmaya incident ""In a
real fight with real swords, people cannot think how to knock down
their enemy. We just fight off one's head (react---do not "think").
While I [Saitou] rampaged around in this evening as in the usual
fight, one of enemies said, `he is wearing something. Don't cut him,
but thrust with sword.' Therefore, I thought if they started to
thrust me with sword, I would wait for it.""

Saitou spoke to many friends and relatives and we have descriptions
of Fujita Goro from those people.
------------------------------------
Ofcourse we all know he often asked [this is pure fiction]

Fujita Goro "Tokio?---where is the detergent I need to wash my
fundoshi"

Goro shuffles around an empty house looking for his absent wife.

:: PANIC ::

Fujita Goro :: thinking :: "this ruins my day, I can't do anything
without first washing my fundoshi, patting it down and hanging it up
neatly, then I take my tea and check in at work and then have lunch,
then I come home and change and bring in my dried fundoshi..."

obsessive compulsive disorder is also a recurring characteristic of
people with gastric ulcers---if their daily routine is changed
*suddenly---it usually upsets them considerably

(^_^)