[What day is it today? | Tohoku Edition] What day is August 23rd?

Byakkotai suicide day (Fukushima Prefecture)

On August 23, 1868 (October 8, 1868 in the Gregorian calendar), during the Aizu War the Shinoda Platoon of the Byakko Second Company, while retreating to Wakamatsu, climbed Mt. Iimoriyama and committed suicide .

the reason for his suicide was that he mistakenly believed that he had seen smoke rising from around Wakamatsu Castle and had fallen, and so he decided to commit suicide. However, in the memoirs of the sole survivor, Iinuma Sadakichi, titled "A Brief Account of the Byakkotai," there is a passage in which he discusses whether to return to Wakamatsu Castle or charge into the enemy army. This suggests that he decided to commit suicide to demonstrate his true duty as a samurai, rather than "be captured by the enemy and live in disgrace."

Of the 37 members of the Second Company, 17 returned to Wakamatsu Castle, and the remaining 20 are thought to have headed for Iimoriyama. 19 men, excluding Iinuma Sadakichi who survived, are believed to have committed suicide on Iimoriyama, where 19 gravestones were erected in November 1890 (Meiji 23)

NEFT Editorial Department

This is the NEFT editorial department.
Articles written by the editorial department and anonymous writers are published here.