Okita Soji

Okita Sōji ( Japanese 沖 田 総 司 ; * 1842 or 1844 ; † July 19, 1868 ) was captain of the first corps of Shinsengumi , a police protection force that was active in Kyoto during the Edo period .

biography

Family background

Okita was born in either 1842 or 1844 into a samurai family of the lower nobility in the Edo residence of the Abe family, the daimyos of Shirakawa in the Mutsu province . His childhood name was Sōjirō ( 宗次郎 ) and his clan name Fujiwara . His great-grandfather and grandfather were Okita Kan'emon († 1819) and Okita Sanshirō († 1833). His father was Okita Katsujirō, who died in 1845, and his mother also died very early. He had two sisters, Okita Mitsu (1833-1907) and Okita Kin (1836-1908).

When Okita's older sister Mitsu in 1846 wanted to marry the adopted son of the Okita family, Okita Rintarō (1826-1883), she was named after the adopted daughter of Kondō Shūsuke. This was the third head of the Tennen-Rishin-Ryū sword fighting school and the adoptive father of Shimazaki Katsutas, who was later to rename himself Kondō Isami .

In Shieikan - Dojo Okita Sōji began at the age of nine, his training, was able to finish his education at age 15 and at age 18 years master of Kenjutsu ( Menkyo kaiden ) are. In 1861 Okita became head coach ( 塾 頭 ) at the Shieikan . Even if his friends rated him honest, polite and good-natured, he is said to have been a very quick-tempered and strict teacher, which is why he was more feared than Kondō Isami.

Yagi Tamesaburō and Satō Shun'sen describe Okita as a tall, dark, and thin man with high cheekbones, a large mouth, and a rather flat face. He was also known as a man who smiled and laughed a lot, but was not very talkative.

Shinsengumi

Together with his teacher Kondō, his friend Hijikata Toshizō and other members of the Dōjō, Okita, who shortly before renamed himself Okita Kaneyoshi ( 沖 田 房 良 ), joined the samurai militia Rōshigumi in Kyoto in 1863 , which later became Shinsengumi . There he became a founding member and assistant to the Vice-Commander Fukuchō Jōkin. With other Shieikan members, he was involved in the murder of Commander Serizawa Kamo and Shinsengumi member Uchiyama Hikojirō.

Okita, along with Saitō Hajime and Nagakura Shinpachi, was considered to be the strongest fighter in the troop. He was the second youngest while Tōdō Heisuke was the youngest. He was a master at using the katana , bokken and shinai . Okita is said to have wielded a famous sword that was named Kikuichi-monji . It is also possible that he owned a pair of Kaga Kiyomitsu , i.e. a katana and a wakizashi , as well as a Yamashiro Kunikiyo , which may have been mistaken for the Kikuichi-monji .

His best-known sword technique was called Sandantsuki or Mumyo-ken , which translates as "3-part stitch". With this technique, the neck and the left and right shoulders are hit with the sword in quick succession. The technique was developed from the Hirazuki technique by Hijikata Toshizō .

Based on the novel by Shiba Ryōtarō , many believe that there should have been an almost brotherly relationship between Hijikata and Okita. It is true, however, that this relationship with Yamanami Keisuke existed while it is not even certain whether Okita and Hijikata liked each other at all. Therefore, Yamanami's seppuku in 1865, in which Okita seconded him, was very painful for him.

In 1865 he became the leader of the first corps and also a kenjutsu trainer. In the same year he was appointed by Kondō Isami, who had become the fourth head after Kondō Shusuke , to the fifth head of the Tennen-Rishin-Ryū sword school.

Okita Sōji fell ill with tuberculosis at an early age. Rumor has it that the disease was only discovered when he began to spit blood and passed out in the Ikedaya incident . Other sources say the disease only broke out later. Both possibilities would be conceivable, as tuberculosis kills within weeks, but can also progress very slowly. Only the commander and the vice-commanders are said to have known of the outbreak of the disease. The information was not made available to the entire Shinsengumi as the disease is highly contagious and the morale of the troops should not be undermined. Corps Leader Nagakura has often also led the first corps, as Okita is said to have been absent due to illness.

death

During the Boshin War , which marked the end of the Shinsengumi, after the Battle of Toba-Fushimi , Okita Sōji went to Matsumoto Ryōjun's hospital in Edo . He then moved to an inn with his sister Mitsu , his brother-in-law Rintaro and their children. When the Shinsengumi withdrew to the Tōhoku region, he stayed in Edo. But he operated regular correspondence with Kondo. When he was executed as a result of the persecution by the Meiji government, no one dared tell Okita about his death.

He died on July 19, 1868 as a result of the disease. His ashes were buried in the Senshōji Temple in Roppongi ( Tokyo ). His grave cannot be visited.

The information that Okita died at the age of 25 is based on two theories. The first assumes that he was born in 1844 and therefore, according to East Asian age determination, would have turned 25 when he died in 1868. It is assumed that newborns are one year old and that they are one year older on New Year's Day and not on their birthday. The second and lesser known is that he was born before July 19, 1842 and therefore had to be 25 by Western standards since he died in 1868.

Okita in literature and film

In fiction, Okita is usually portrayed as a young, very feminine and happy man.

Novels

The novels Shinsengumi Keppūroku and Moeyo Ken by Shiba Ryōtarō are known , the former being implemented as a television drama series in 1965, 1998 and 2011 , and the latter as a television series in 1966 and 1970 and as a feature film in 1966.

Manga

Okita is portrayed in various manga series. In Nobuhiro Watsuki's Kenshin he is only mentioned briefly by name, but the figure of Seta Sōjiro bears his features. Okita has a leading role in Nanae Chronos Peace Maker Kurogane , as well as in the manga Kaze Hikaru , where he trains a girl so that she can avenge her family. In Mutsu Enmeiryū Gaiden: Shura no Toki a fictional last fight of Okita with a warrior from the Mutsu clan is shown before he succumbs to his illness. He also appears in Gintama .

Anime

In addition to the anime adaptation of the aforementioned manga, Okita appears in an episode of the anime Ghost Sweeper Mikami , where he is portrayed as a bloodthirsty madman. The character Ukyo Tachibana from the anime Samurai Shodown has his features. In Bakumatsu Kikansetsu Irohanihoheto , Okita's death is fictionally decorated. In the Hakuōki - Otome games he is one of the possible routes and therefore one of the main male characters in the anime adaptations.

Movie

Okita is featured in the movie Gohatto and Tatsuya Fujiwara starred in the 2004 television drama Shinsengumi! represent.

literature

• Mori, Makiko: Okita Soji Feature . Tokyo: Shin Jinbutsu Oraisha, 1999. ISBN 4404028075
• Oji, Kazuko: Walking with Okita Soji . Tokyo: Shin Jinbutsu Oraisha, 1989. ISBN 4404016212

Web links

• Alleged picture of Okita Sōji
• shinsengumihq.com

Japanese name: As is common in Japan, the family name comes before the first name in this article . Thus Okita is the family name, Sōji the first name.