The following article was adapted from an essay in the Daitokan Newsletter No. 4 published August 1, 1974 and prepared with the kind assistance of Jill Lopato of the U.S.A.

Sokaku Takeda was born the second son of Sokichi Takeda on October 10, 1860 at the Takeda Mansion, part of the Ise Shrine (dedicated to the deity Amaterasu Omikami) in Oikeda, Aizubangecho, Fukushima Prefecture, the former center of the Aizu clan.

Takeda Family in the Service of the Aizu Ise Shrine

Sokaku’s birthplace was near the Seinei Temple in Fukushima Prefecture, which was built by Tamuramaro Sakanoue (758 – 811), the military commander of an expeditionary force against the “Barbarians”. Also known as Aizu Ise Shrine, it was dedicated to the spirit of the Great Ise Shrine in Mie. Successive generations of the Takeda family served this shrine.

(Ise Shrine in Mie Prefecture is known as the Grand Shrine of Ise, the highest mausoleum, and the “original” Japanese shrine. Tamuramaro Sakanoue also founded Kiyomizu-dera, the well-known temple in Kyoto.)

The founder of the Aizu clan, Lord Masayuki Hoshina (d. 1671) who was a guardian of a family that later inherited the Shogunate, contributed 170 koku (one koku = 5.119 bushels) of rice from his fief to the Ise Shrine, increasing its estate substantially. He wanted to revive Shinto, during a period when Chinese literature flourished in Japan, as an essential part of his vision for support of the Imperial family. Successive heads of the Aizu clan inherited the administration of Aizu Ise Shrine, which was established to revere the Kami (deities) and the Emperor. This involved sending representatives to convey congratulations and condolences as well as visiting the Imperial palace.

Lord Matsudaira: Kyoto Military Commissioner

When Lord Katamori Matsudaira (1835 - 1893) became head of the clan he was appointed Military Commissioner of Kyoto. For a number of years he committed himself to uniting the Imperial Court and the Shogunate, thereby gaining the confidence of Emperor Komei.

Matsudaira’s wife and children, who had remained in the Aizu fief, sold everything, even combs and ornamental hairpins, in order to support him in Kyoto. The entire Aizu clan backed the Emperor heart and soul. Later, due to a court intrigue involving the Choshu clan, Aizu suddenly lost favor and came to be regarded as enemies of the Emperor. The members of the Shogun’s Council of Elders, who were also promoting the union of the Imperial Court and the Shogunate, resigned their posts to avoid responsibility for this turn of events. The Aizu clan got the blame, and the Emperor’s former enemy, the Choshu clan, came to form the Imperial Army. The combined forces of Satsuma, Choshu, Tosa and Hizen then attacked the Aizu who were brought to the brink of ruin. This was the tragic episode in which ten of the Byakkotai and 21 members of the Saigo family committed seppuku (ritual suicide), in the Boshin War of 1868.

The so-called loyalists in pre-Meiji Japan had differing ideologies, some wanting to “revere the Emperor and expel the barbarians” while others supported the Shogun and the opening of Japan to foreign intercourse. Despite this difference they shared the same reverence for the Emperor and loyalty to the nation. Their spirit of willingness to sacrifice their lives during a time of national crisis was called Yamato Damashii or “Japanese Spirit”.

Sokaku and the Japanese Spirit

Sokaku grew up in the shadow of the tragic Aizu war, at the end of which the Satsuma and Choshu clans of the Western Army seized command of the army, navy and police. In later years Sokaku was to teach military officers and police his own version of Yamato Damashii, embodying of the spirit of reverence toward the Kami and the Emperor. Sokaku’s warrior code prepared him, when faced with death, to fight against thousands for the sake of a noble cause. In 1899, Sokaku’s budo spirit was expressed in the form of a poem, which is recorded in one of his enrollment books (eimeiroku):

“Poem dedicated to Sokaku Takeda Sensei, the Kami of the samurai warrior, giving his entire soul to his nation without any thought for reward.”

Political Turmoil in Pre-Meiji Japan

Conditions in Japan during that period greatly affected Sokaku’s childhood. The political situation was confused due to the pressure to open Japan to the outside world. In August 1859 the Shogunate put to death anyone opposing its policies (including Sanai Hashimoto of the Fukui clan and Shoin Yoshida of the Choshu clan) and many able men were lost during this purge, known as the Mass Execution of the Ansei Period.

On March 3, 1860, Lord Naosuke Ii, the Chief Minister of the Shogun, was assassinated by 18 members of the Mito and Satsuma clans outside the Sakurada Gate of Edo Castle. As a result of this incident the authority of the Shogunate seriously began to erode.

The Unfortunate Fate of Princess Kazunomiya

The Shogunate then adopted the ideology of its opponent, which centered upon reverence for the Emperor. A particularly crucial event involved Kazunomiya, the younger sister of the Emperor who was engaged, at age six, to Taruhito Arisugawanomiya Shinno, an Imperial prince. Despite the fact that the date of this marriage had already been decided, she became a victim of the movement in favor of the union of the Imperial Court and the Shogunate and was forced to marry the Shogun, a subject. In October 1861 she was taken to Edo (the former name of Tokyo) over the treacherous Nakasendo road. Shogunate authorities feared she would be captured by the loyalists and selected 50 members of the Kobusho (where retainers skilled in martial arts gathered for training) as her security guard, armed with bows, guns and swords. The party succeeded in reaching Edo and on February 14, 1862, at age 16, Kazunomiya’s life of sacrifice began as the wife of Shogun Iemochi Tokugawa.

Strife in Kyoto

Six loyalists upset at this incident attacked Nobumasa Ando, a member of the Shogun’s Council of Elders, outside the Sakashita Gate while he was on his way to Edo Castle on January 15. Nobumasa suffered a back wound, but all six would-be assassins were killed on the spot. This is known as the Sakashita Gate Incident.

Arson and assassination were commonplace. Sakon Shimada, a high-ranking official of the Kujo family of Kyoto, was murdered in July 1862. Mobs belonging to the Tenchu group ran rampant, threatening to overthrow the Shogunate,. They gibbeted the heads of wooden images of three generations of the Ashikaga family (Shogun dynasty ruling from 1338 to 1573), creating high anxiety among the residents of Kyoto.

In August 1862, as noted above, the head of the Aizu clan, Katamori Matsudaira became Military Commander of Kyoto. Tanomo Saigo (who later became Kinshin Hoshina), the principal retainer of the Aizu clan, was considered to be of the same stature as Takamori Saigo of the Satsuma clan. Both men were so well known that they were referred to popularly as the “Saigos of the East and West”. Having learned of Lord Matsudaira’s appointment, Tanomo Saigo strongly urged him to reject the commission, since the Aizu clan was not closely linked with Kyoto and that his absence from the seat of the clan at such a critical moment would threaten its very existence. However, Matsudaira ignored Saigo’s advice and insisted that this was a special request of the Shogunate and Shungaku (Yoshinaga) Matsudaira. He accepted this great mission and determined to die in Kyoto. After occupying his post in Kyoto, he gained the confidence of Emperor Komei and moved actively between the Imperial Court and the Shogunate during this strife-torn period. In October of 1862 he received a signed letter and two poems from the Emperor in recognition of his loyalty.

Tenguto Revolt

In August 1863, Torataro Yoshimura of the Tosa clan established the Tenchugumi with Tadamitsu Nakayama, an ex-chamberlain, as its head. This group attacked the magistrate’s office in Gojo, Nara and killed four chief magistrates. A force of about 1,000 men, including country samurai from Totsugawa (Nara Prefecture), joined in an attack on Takatori Castle, but the attack was repulsed and the army crushed. In February 1864, an extremist group known as the Tenguto was established to urge the Shogunate to exclude foreigners. This group included two prominent members of the Mito clan. They raised an army near Mt. Tsukuba (Ibaragi Prefecture) but it was subsequently defeated and 830 men including the leader surrendered, 353 were executed and about 100 exiled to Sado Island. This episode is known in history as the Tenguto Revolt.

Shinsengumi: Special Force of the Shogunate

In February 1863, the Shogunate gathered together ronin (leaderless samurai) skilled in martial arts to form the Shinchogumi. Tetsutaro Yamaoka (Tesshu Yamaoka, founder of the Muto school of swordsmanship), who was headmaster of swordsmanship at the Kobusho, became the leader of these ronin who opposed the loyalist ronin. This group espoused the principle of reverence toward the Emperor and the expulsion of foreigners.

The Shinchogumi was reorganized by such figures as Isami Kondo and Toshizo Hijikata into the Shinsengumi through the elimination of the Serizawa group. The Shinsengumi was an activist corps of supporters of the Shogunate in Kyoto during the closing days of the Tokugawa regime. Members of this group were on loan to the Aizu clan and used the characters “chusei” meaning “loyalty” as their motto. They were commanded by the iron hand of Isami Kondo and his vice-commander Toshizo Hijikata. The Shinsengumi wore haori (Japanese half-coats) with light yellow lining and white mountain-patterned sleeves. Kondo wore protective armor and headgear as well as a yellow sash for securing his sleeves, which was a mark of the Aizu clan. The Shinsengumi patrolled Kyoto exercising police authority.

In 1864 Yoshinobu Tokugawa became Governor-General of the Imperial Court and Sadaaki Matsudaira, head of the Kuwana clan, became Shoshidai or Representative of the Judicial Magistrate. Sadaaki, together with his brother, Katamori Matsudaira the military commissioner, took steps to fortify Kyoto because of the unstable political situation.

Thwarting the Choshu Clan - the Ikeda Inn Incident

The Ikeda Inn in Kyoto was known to be frequented by members of the Choshu clan. A spy in the service of Sadaaki Matsudaira reported to the Shinsengumi that Choshu ronin gathered there. Kondo ordered one of his men to disguise himself as a pharmacist and stay at the inn. In this manner Shinsengumi found the Ikeda Inn suspect, with another shop, and the owner of the latter, a certain Kichiemon, was arrested on June 5, 1864. He was found actually to be a loyalist named Shuntaro Furutaka. Tortured with candles by Hijikata, Furutaka confessed the secret plans of the loyalists, which included setting fire to the Imperial Palace, kidnapping the Emperor and assassinating various magistrates. It was also learned that the loyalists planned to spirit the Emperor away to the Choshu clan. They had planned an 8 p.m. meeting at the Ikeda Inn on the very same day. Kondo was determined to arrest the entire group of radicals in order to stabilize the Shogunate government. Hijikata requested the assistance of the Aizu clan and veteran warriors including Isami Kondo himself stormed the inn to confront some 30 Choshu loyalists. Later they were joined by a group of Hijikata’s soldiers and engaged in a fierce fight around the inn for about an hour. With the cooperation of the Aizu clan, some 23 of the loyalists were arrested after suffering seven dead and four wounded. Of the Shinsengumi, one died in the fighting, two were seriously injured,and three died subsequently of wounds received. This became known as the Ikeda Inn Incident.

Choshu Clan Attacks Kyoto

The Choshu clan was informed of this incident and responded by dispatching a large army to Kyoto. Upon their arrival they requested permission to enter Kyoto Castle. This was refused. Instead an Imperial order to suppress the Choshu clan was issued and battle broke out at Fushimiguchi. The Choshu clan attacked the Hamagurigo Gate, guarded by soldiers of the Aizu clan, in an effort to kill Katamori Matsudairi, the commissioner and Aizu clan leader, who was in seclusion under medical treatment. During this violent battle stray bullets passed through the gate of the Imperial Palace and those inside were filled with terror. However, with the arrival of soldiers from the Satsuma clan, the Choshu clan was narrowly defeated. This occurred on July 19, 1864. Leaders of the Choshu clan, including Gensui Kusaka, Tadasaburo Terajima and many others, died in this violent encounter in which some 28,000 houses in Kyoto were burned to the ground and the city was reduced to a state of panic.

At this juncture the Shogunate feared that Choshu soldiers would succeed in escaping as they set fires, so some 30 loyalists of the clan were killed. In August 1864, Shogun Iemochi declared he would personally take the field against the Choshu, and appointed the leader of the Kishu clan as commander of an army that marched to Hiroshima.

Defeat and Subsequent Victory of the Choshu clan

The Choshu clan had just suffered a heavy defeat at the hands of the allied forces of Britain, France and the United States, so they submitted to the Imperial forces; three chief retainers committed suicide, and 11 persons who masterminded the attack on Kyoto were killed. The army withdrew without actually engaging the Choshu forces.

Nonetheless, the Shogunate power elite heavily criticized the commander for his lenient handling of the Choshu clan and a renewed attempt was made to suppress it. But this time all of the clans refused to take to the field. Not even the Shogunate Army could be brought to fight against Choshu.

While the Shogunate Army temporized, an alliance between Satsuma and Choshu was forged. The Choshu troops had undergone Western military training and were armed with highly efficient foreign-made weapons. In stark contrast stood the forces of the Shogunate, with their heavy armor and conch-shell trumpets. Not surprisingly, they were helpless in the fight against the Choshu and suffered a string of defeats at the hands of the enemy. Shogun Iemochi died at Osaka Castle, and when Yoshinobu Hitotsubashi (later Tokugawa) became the 15^th Shogun, the army was hurriedly withdrawn.

Restoration of Imperial Rule

In February 1866, Emperor Komei died and Crown Prince Mutsuhito (Emperor Meiji, 1852-1912) ascended to the throne at the age of 14. On October 3, a petition requesting the formation of a government in which the will of the people would be respected, and the restoration of Imperial rule without bloodshed, was addressed to the Shogunate, to restore order to the political situation.

Yoshinobu agreed to this petition of the Tosa clan and presented a petition of his own to the Emperor, for the restoration of administrative authority to the throne. On the 15^th of the same month, the Imperial Sanction was granted.

Thus, 676 years after Yoritomo Minamoto was appointed Commander-in-Chief of an expeditionary force against the Barbarians in 1192, and 265 years after Ieyasu Tokugawa became Shogun in 1603, the military government collapsed, and administrative authority was restored to the Emperor.

This article is used with the permission of Aikido Journal and originally appeared in Aiki News #74 (April 1987).