Monthly Archives: September 2018

Words of Wisdom from the “Shogun’s Last Samurai”

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[皇国は属殊にして外国の風に似ず、]　唯恩義と廉恥を以って衆心を維持し、. . . . .

“We sustain the hearts and minds of our people only through obligation and justice, and integrity and shame . . . .” Katsu Kaishu

Katsu Kaishu is “the shogun’s last samurai” of my Samurai Revolution. He is one of the most fascinating men in an age of fascinating men.

For those who are not familiar with him, here’s a short piece I did for Tokyo Journal years ago.

[This photo of Katsu Kaishu, taken just before the surrender of Edo Castle in the spring of 1868, is used in Samurai Revolution, courtesy of Yokohama Archives of History.]

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Next Shinsengumi Book (13) – Ikedaya Incident

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Some “light reading” on a Sunday afternoon.

The official chronicle of Emperor Kōmei (Kōmei Tennō-ki, published 1906 by Imperial Household Ministry), volume 187, opens with the attack on outlaws in Kyoto by Bakufu security forces on the fifth day of the Sixth Month of the Japanese calendrical year that corresponds to 1864. The obvious is not stated in the heading: i.e., no mention of the names Shinsengumi or Ikedaya.