Hachiro Kiyokawa, the creator of the Shinsengumi | What was the character of this anti-foreigner patriot who opened the curtain on the end of the Edo period? [Yamagata Prefecture]

Are you familiar with Kiyokawa Hachiro , the man who played a key role in the formation of the Shinsengumi ?

"the end of the Edo period began with Kiyokawa Hachiro and ended with Sakamoto Ryoma,"indicating the great influence he had on Japan at the time. However, compared to Sakamoto Ryoma and other figures of the late Edo period, his name is not as well-known.

It is also true that history buffs do not have a very good image of him, seeing him as an "agitator" who caused great unrest in Japan and a "con man" who deceived the shogunate

What kind of person was Kiyokawa Hachiro? We will introduce him by focusing on his personality

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Who is Kiyokawa Hachiro?

Kiyokawa Hachiro was a samurai from the Shonai Domain in Yamagata Prefecture (present-day Shonai Town) during the late Edo period, and he was a figure who energetically worked to overthrow the shogunate. Later, he was even called "Yoshida Shoin of the West, Kiyokawa Hachiro of the East" as a pioneer of the Sonno Joi (Revere the Emperor, Expel the Barbarians) movement

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One of the greatest geniuses of the late Edo period, a man skilled in both the arts and martial arts

Disappointed with Japan's best education system, he opened his own cram school

After running away from home at the age of 18, Kiyokawa relentlessly pursued his studies at a private school in Edo. He slept only two hours at his desk, without going to bed. He continued this life of intense academic pursuit for 74 days, and finally entered the Shoheiko, a government-run educational institution where the most talented students from all over Japan gathered . Although the Shoheiko was considered the highest educational institution in Japan at the time, Kiyokawa was disappointed by the authoritarian atmosphere and the content of the education, and chose to drop out and open his own private school, the Kiyokawa Juku . At that time, Kiyokawa was the only scholar in Edo who could teach both academics and swordsmanship simultaneously. The Kiyokawa Juku quickly became a renowned school and he became famous overnight.

His face as a swordsman

Kiyokawa was famous in Edo not only as a scholar but also as a master swordsman

He studied swordsmanship at the Genbukan dojo of Chiba Shusaku , one of the three major dojos of the Hokushin Itto-ryu school during the late Edo period , and acquired the "Shomokuroku" (first rank), which normally takes 2-3 years to obtain, in just one year.

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Why did he become a wanted man by the shogunate?

Founding of the Sonno Joi group "Torao no Kai"

By the time Kiyokawa was 31 years old, radical sonno joi (revere the emperor, expel the barbarians) patriots had begun flocking to the Kiyokawa School

Around this time, Kiyokawa and others were deeply shocked by the "Sakuradamon Incident," in which Grand Elder Ii Naosuke was assassinated by ronin (masterless samurai) from Mito, and formed the "Torao no Kai" (Tiger's Tail Society)

The Torao Society plotted actions to drive foreign nations out of Japan, and eventually some of its members carried out the assassination of Heusken, an interpreter at the American Embassy and known to be a pro-Japanese person, which led to a surge in the wave of Sonno Joi (revere the Emperor and expel the barbarians) movement throughout Japan

Kiyokawa falls into the shogunate's trap

The shogunate suspected Kiyokawa to be the mastermind behind Heusken's assassination, and sent assassins to capture him, deliberately tangling with him on the street to provoke a fight. Kiyokawa fell into the shogunate's trap, slicing off the assassin's neck in an instant, and became a wanted man for the shogunate

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Life on the run changes dramatically as Qinghe Theatre opens

amnesty by the shogunate

Despite being a wanted man, Kiyokawa had been energetically traveling around the country urging patriots to overthrow the shogunate. However, in order to rescue his wife and comrades who had been captured, he submitted a petition to the shogunate titled "Three Urgent Measures."

Three urgent measures

1. Execution of the expulsion of foreigners
2. Forgiveness of past crimes of Roshigumi members (amnesty)
3. Educating talented British people who excel in both the arts and martial arts

At the time, the shogunate was at a loss as to how to respond to the pressure from the imperial court to "carry out the barbarians," so they adopted Kiyokawa's suggestion. They gathered ronin (masterless samurai) who were overflowing in Edo and formed the "Roshigumi" (a group of masterless samurai), assigning them the task of guarding the shogun on his journey to Kyoto.

This Roshigumi comprised 234 ronin, including Kondo Isami, Serizawa Kamo, Hijikata Toshizo, and Okita Soji, who would later become members of the Shinsengumi.

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For the first time in Japanese history, a ronin receives an imperial edict from the Emperor

In 1863, an event occurred that every Shinsengumi fan knows.

Kiyokawa gathered the entire group of ronin who had arrived in Kyoto to guard the shogun and delivered a speech that was hard to believe.

"Our purpose is not to guard the Shogun! We have no connection whatsoever with the Shogunate. We will support the Imperial Court and rise up for the Emperor and for Japan!"

In that instant, the Shogunate's guard unit transformed into a unit fighting to overthrow the Shogunate.

Overwhelmed by Kiyokawa's forceful presence, everyone signed a petition to the Imperial Court. The Imperial Court accepted it and sent an imperial decree (the Emperor's words) to the group of ronin. It was an unprecedented event for an imperial decree to be issued to civilians, especially low-ranking ronin.

After this, Kiyokawa and the other ronin decided to return to Edo to carry out their Sonno Joi (Revere the Emperor, Expel the Barbarians) ideology. However, Kondo Isami and others opposed this decision, viewing it as an act of deceiving the shogunate, and left the ronin group. This incident led to the formation of the Shinsengumi

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Assassination before his ambition was over

Sixteen days after the Rōshigumi returned to Edo, and just two days before carrying out the expulsion of foreigners, Kiyokawa was assassinated by an assassin sent by the shogunate, ending his short life of 34 years with his goals unfulfilled.
Perhaps sensing something instinctively, Kiyokawa left behind a poem on the day of his assassination.

"Forerunner, forerunner, mountain of death, I will not stray from the path of the Emperor. Even if it breaks and breaks again, the waves will crash against the rocks."

Takahashi Doshu, a close friend of Kiyokawa, sensed something ominous in this song and tried desperately to stop him from going out, but he went out saying he had an appointment with a senior patriot in his hometown of Yamagata, and never returned

Kiyokawa was known as a hero who even deceived the shogunate, but his final moments gave us a glimpse of his true character, a man of great loyalty

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Kiyokawa Hachiro Memorial Museum

We would like to introduce the Kiyokawa Hachiro Memorial Museum in Shonai Town, Yamagata Prefecture

This is a valuable place where you can get a glimpse of Kiyokawa's warm and sincere personality, which is different from the image of him as one of Japan's sharpest men

"Roshigumi Kaijo-tome" (Roushigumi circular letter) listing the names of Shinsengumi members

This memorial museum displays the "Roshigumi Kaijo-Ryu," a list of members of the Roshigumi. This time, I was allowed to photograph a copy of the "Roshigumi Kaijo-Ryu."

It seems that descendants of the Roshigumi also visit this memorial museum, and copies of the circular notices appear to have sticky notes added to them with information about the visitors and the relative relationships between the Roshi

This is an extremely valuable document that vividly shows that each soldier was not just a historical figure, but an individual who lived through the end of the Edo period as an individual human being

Kiyokawa Hachiro Memorial Museum <Information>

• Name: Hachiro Kiyokawa Memorial Museum
• Address: 37, Kiyokawakamikawahara, Shonai-machi, Higashitagawa-gun, Yamagata Prefecture, 999-6606
• Phone number: 0234-57-2104
• Official URL:https://hachiro.navishonai.jp/

Google Maps

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Kiyokawa Hachiro's true wish

Although Kiyokawa was known as a radical advocate of sonno joi (revere the emperor and expel the barbarians), he was not actually averse to foreign countries

There is a record that when Tanaka Heihachi, a great businessman who would later amass a huge fortune through raw silk trade, met Kiyokawa while traveling, he told him, "The age of trade is coming."

Kiyokawa could not tolerate the pressure exerted by American diplomacy and the shogunate's succumbing to it; his true desirewas to be on equal footing with foreign countries.

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summary

In a turbulent era torn between opening the country to the world and expelling foreigners, Kiyokawa Hachiro, with his strong will and sometimes brilliant mind, was known as a "charlatan" for his incomprehensible strategies.

However, deep down, he was a straightforward and warm-hearted man who spared no effort or action to uphold his beliefs.

Reference: "Kiyokawa Hachiro Kiyokawa Hachiro Graffiti: The Life of a Hero Who Ran Through the End of the Edo Period" (edited by Tachikawacho)

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