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Toshizo Hijikata was the deputy leader of
Shinsengumi, a young, small but talented group of Japanese swordsmen
who tried to resist the
Meiji Restoration in 1868 and failed.
Hijikata was born in 1835 in present-day
Hino, a suburb of
Tokyo,
Japan. He was the youngest of six children, and his father was a
well-to-do farmer. Hijikata was spoiled at an early age and was known to
be mean to all but his friends and family. This changed, however, in
1864, when a 21-year-old swordsman from the
Aizu clan, which was known for opposing the Imperial Loyalists and
their loyalty for the
Tokugawa Shogunate, was forced to commit
seppuku (ritual suicide). When Hijikata attended the man's funeral, he
apparently cried in public. Later that year, he and
Isama Kondo formed Shinsengumi. Kondo and two other men,
Kamo Serizawa,
Nishiki Niimi became joint leaders of the group, and Hijikata served
as one of several deputy leaders. Shinsengumi served as a police force in
Kyoto that fought Imperial Loyalist activities after being appointed
to that position by
Matsudaira Katamori, the
Daimyo of Aizu.
Serizawa and Niimi starting abusing their power in Kyoto by fighting,
drinking, and committing extortion, which started to tarnish the
reputation of Shinsengumi. Hijikata found enough proof against Niimi in
these matters and ordered him to commit seppuku. Serizawa and his
followers, however, were assassinated, and Kondo became the sole leader of
Shinsengumi with Hijikata as his deputy.
The group grew to 140 men, which included farmers and merchants whose
livelihood was threatened if the Tokugawa Shogunate was overthrown. The
laws set up by Shinsengumi within Kyoto were strictly enforced and
Hijikata was known to be harsh in enforcing them, earning him the
nick-name "The Demon of the Shinsengumi". Even within the Shinsengumi
itself, rules were strictly enforced by Hijikata. Deserters and traitors
were forced to commit seppuku; this happened to
Keisuke Yamanami, one of Hijikata's close friends, when he tried to
leave Shinsengumi in 1865.
After Kondo surrendered to the Imperial Loyalist Army was executed in
April 1868, Hijikata led Shinsengumi on their final battle against his
comrade's killers. He knew he fighting a losing battle, and told a
physician acquaintance of his that "I am not going to battle to win. With
the Tokugawa government about to collapse, it would be a disgrace if no
one is willing to go down with it. That is why I must go. I will fight the
best battle of my life to die for the country".
On
May 11,
1869, he killed while in combat on horseback by a bullet that
shattered his lower back. It is unknown where he was buried, but a
memorial gravestone stands near Itabashi Station in
Tokyo, next one of Isama Kondo.
The story of Hijikata and the Shinsengumi is a very popular one in
Japanese culture, and several books and
anime movies have been made about them. There also exists many
Hijikata fan clubs in
Japan, including the
Kyoto Shinsengumi Fans' Group.
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