Kondo Isami, a highly skilled swordsman and the Commander of the Shinsengumi, was born in Kami-Ishihara, a quaint farming village in Chofu, western Tokyo, under the name Miyagawa Katsugoro. His journey into the samurai caste began when Kondo Shusuke adopted him. The catalyst for this adoption was Kondo's valiant defense of his family home at the age of 13 against a band of robbers.
Demonstrating exceptional swordsmanship, Kondo became the fourth master of the Tennen Rishin-Ryu in 1861. Subsequently, in 1863, the Tokugawa Shogunate enlisted 234 ronin as bodyguards for Shogun Iemochi. Kondo and his associates, initially part of the Roshigumi, served as police under the Tokugawa in Kyoto. This group eventually evolved into the notorious Shinsengumi, credited with uncovering and suppressing a potential rebellion in the Ikedaya Incident.
While celebrated as courageous heroes, Kondo and the Shinsengumi gained notoriety for their ruthless tactics, often eliminating perceived opponents to advance their agenda. Internal strife and assassinations within the group further tarnished their reputation. Notably, Kondo Isami was implicated in the assassination of statesman Sakamoto Ryoma.
The downfall of the Tokugawa Shogunate led to the Boshin War during which the Shinsengumi, including Kondo, participated in the Battle of Toba-Fushimi. Kondo sustained injuries from gunfire in this conflict and also fought in the Battle of Koshu-Katsunuma before surrendering to Imperial forces.
Following his capture, Kondo spent 20 days in jail in Itabashi, Tokyo, before facing execution at the Itabashi grounds on May 17, 1868. His grave and memorial stone stand as testaments to his legacy. Kondo Isami, at the age of 33, was laid to rest at Ryugen-ji Temple in Tokyo's Mitaka, while his severed head, initially displayed publicly, was later stolen and discreetly interred in a small mound behind Hozo-ji, an ancient temple in Okazaki, Aichi Prefecture.
See also
-
Okubo Tadanori
Okubo Tadanori (January 13, 1842 – August 10, 1897) was the 9th daimyo of Odawara Domain in Sagami Province (modern-day Kanagawa Prefecture) during the late Edo period. Before the Meiji Restoration, he held the courtesy title of Kaga no Kami.
-
Okubo Tadayo
Okubo Tadayo (1532 – October 28, 1594) was a samurai general who served Tokugawa Ieyasu during the Azuchi–Momoyama period and later became the daimyo of Odawara Domain in the early Edo period.
-
Araki Murashige
Araki Murashige (1535 – June 20, 1586) was a samurai and retainer of Ikeda Katsumasa, the head of the powerful Settsu-Ikeda clan in Settsu Province. Initially serving under Katsumasa, he aligned himself with Oda Nobunaga after Nobunaga’s successful campaign to establish control over Kyoto.
-
Yuki Hideyasu
Yuki Hideyasu (March 1, 1574 – June 2, 1607) was a Japanese samurai who lived during the Azuchi–Momoyama and early Edo periods, serving as the daimyō of Fukui Domain in Echizen Province. Born Tokugawa Ogimaru, he was the second son of Tokugawa Ieyasu and Lady Oman (also known as Lady Kogō), a handmaiden to Ieyasu’s wife, Lady Tsukiyama. Due to Ieyasu’s fears of his wife’s reaction to Oman’s pregnancy, Ogimaru and his twin brother were born in secrecy at the home of Honda Shigetsugu, one of Ieyasu’s retainers. Oman’s other son eventually became a priest, while Ogimaru was raised apart from Ieyasu, whom he only met at the age of three, in a meeting arranged by his older half-brother, Matsudaira Nobuyasu.
-
Tsutsui Sadatsugu
Tsutsui Sadatsugu (June 6, 1562 – April 2, 1615) was a prominent figure in the Sengoku and early Edo periods, known as the cousin and adopted heir of Tsutsui Junkei, the feudal lord of Yamato Province. Following Junkei's death in 1584, Toyotomi Hideyoshi relocated Sadatsugu to Iga Province, where he oversaw the construction of Iga Ueno Castle, marking the height of his prominence.
-
Matsudaira Kiyoyasu
Matsudaira Kiyoyasu (September 28, 1511 – November 29, 1535) served as the 7th lord of the Matsudaira clan during Japan's tumultuous Sengoku period. Renowned as the paternal grandfather of Tokugawa Ieyasu, one of Japan's "great unifiers," Kiyoyasu expanded his clan’s influence, bringing all of northern Mikawa Province under his control after subduing the Saigo clan. His power was further symbolized by the construction of Okazaki Castle, a testament to the Matsudaira’s growing dominance.
-
Matsudaira Hirotada
Matsudaira Hirotada (June 9, 1526 – April 3, 1549) was a daimyo and lord of Okazaki Castle in Mikawa Province during Japan’s turbulent Sengoku Period. He is best known as the father of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder of the Tokugawa shogunate.
-
Ikeda Tsuneoki
Ikeda Tsuneoki (1536 – May 18, 1584), also known as Ikeda Nobuteru, was a prominent daimyo of the Ikeda clan and a distinguished military commander during Japan's Sengoku and Azuchi-Momoyama periods. He served under the influential warlords Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Tsuneoki’s connection to Nobunaga began early, as his mother, Yotokuin, was Nobunaga’s wet nurse and later became a concubine to Oda Nobuhide, Nobunaga's father.