Yamanami Keisuke, the second in command of the Shinsengumi, a special police force during the late Edo period, shocked many when he performed seppuku on March 20, 1865, at the age of 32.
Born in Sendai in 1833, Yamanami hailed from a lineage of sword instructors. He rose to the rank of Sensei of the Hokushin Itto Ryu, achieving the prestigious Menkyo Kaiden (master's license) at the youthful age of 27. Despite his formidable swordsmanship, Yamanami was known for his kindness and gentleness, along with his deep knowledge of literature and military arts.
Around 1860, fate crossed paths with Shinsengumi leader Kondo Issami, who bested Yamanami in a duel. This encounter led Yamanami to become Kondo's student and later an instructor at his dojo in Edo (Tokyo), eventually assuming the role of second in command of the Shinsengumi, a group often remembered as a "ruthless squad of murderers."
It is suspected that Yamanami took part in the 1863 assassination of the founding leader of the Shinsengumi, Serizawa Kamo, who was infamous for his excessive drinking and aggressive behavior.While Yamanami did not participate in the Ikedaya Incident of 1864, where Shinsengumi members thwarted a Choshu clan revolutionary group's attempt to set Kyoto ablaze, historians speculate that he was either injured or unwell during the event.
Following the Ikedaya Incident, Yamanami grew disenchanted with the government's secret police and expressed a desire to leave the Shinsengumi. However, strict rules against desertion made departure difficult. It is widely believed that Yamanami chose seppuku as an honorable way out, though the exact motive remains shrouded in mystery. His friend Okita Shoji, one of the group's finest swordsmen and captain of the First Unit, served as his Kaishakunin, or second, during the ritual.
Yamanami found his final resting place at Kyoto's Kouenji temple, chosen due to its shared family crest with the Shinsengumi's vice-commander. His funeral was attended by numerous Shinsengumi members and local residents, a testament to the respect and fondness he commanded as a samurai of great character.
See also
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Oda Nobutaka
Oda Nobutaka (1558–1583) was a samurai of the Oda clan, also known as Kanbe Nobutaka after being adopted as the head of the Kanbe clan, which governed the central region of Ise Province. He was the third son of Oda Nobunaga, born to a concubine named Sakashi. Nobutaka was referred to as "San Shichi," possibly because he was born on the seventh day of the third month in the Japanese lunar calendar. However, there is a theory suggesting he was born twenty days earlier than his elder brother, Oda Nobukatsu, but due to delays in reporting and the low status of his mother’s family, he was acknowledged as Nobunaga’s third son.
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Yamauchi Kazutoyo
Yamauchi Kazutoyo (also spelled Yamanouchi; 1545/1546? – November 1, 1605) was a prominent samurai and retainer who served Oda Nobunaga and later Toyotomi Hideyoshi during Japan's Sengoku and Azuchi-Momoyama periods. His father, Yamauchi Moritoyo, was a descendant of Fujiwara no Hidesato and a senior retainer of the Iwakura Oda clan, which opposed Oda Nobunaga. Moritoyo was also the lord of Kuroda Castle in Owari Province. Kazutoyo is especially renowned for his marriage to Yamauchi Chiyo, whose wisdom and resourcefulness played a key role in his rise to prominence.
