(1833 - March 20 1865) was a Japanese
samuraiis the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character 侍 was originally a verb meaning to wait upon or accompany a person in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau...
. He was the General Secretary (Vice Commander) of the
ShinsengumiThe were a special police force of the late shogunate period.-Historical background:After Japan opened up to the West following U.S. Commodore Matthew Perry's visits in 1853, its political situation gradually became more and more chaotic...
, a
special policeSpecial police and Special Police Force are terms which have different meanings in different countries, as described below.-Canada:Special Police is not a term used in Canada...
force in
Kyotois a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area....
during the late
Edo periodThe , or , is a division of Japanese history running from 1603 to 1868 and is the premodern era. The period marks the governance of the Edo or Tokugawa shogunate, which was officially established in 1603 by the first Edo shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu. The period ended with the Meiji Restoration, the...
.
Though the details of his origin are unclear, he was thought to be the son of a
kenjutsu, meaning "the art of the sword", is a term for classical Japanese sword arts , in particular those which predate the Meiji Restoration...
instructor originated from the Sendai domain.
Yamanami was trained under
Chiba Shusaku NarimasaChiba Shusaku Narimasa was the founder of the Hokushin Itto school of swordsmanship and is considered by many to be the second greatest swordsman of Japan, after Miyamoto Musashi.-Origins:Shusaku was the son of the swordsman Koemon , who was originally a...
, the founder of the
Hokushin Itto-ryu, and attained
Menkyo Kaiden (
license of total transmission) sometime before 1860.
In 1860, after Yamanami was defeated by
Kondo Isamiwas a Japanese swordsman and official of the late Edo Period, famed for his role as commander of the Shinsengumi.-Background:Isami, who was first known as Katsugorō, was born to Miyagawa Hisajirō, a farmer residing in Kami-Ishihara village in Musashi Province, now in the city of Chōfu in Western...
in a match, he was enrolled at the Tennen Rishin Ryus Shieikan dojo in
Edo, literally: bay-door, "estuary", ), also romanized as Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of the Japanese capital Tokyo, and was the seat of power for the Tokugawa shogunate which ruled Japan from 1603 to 1868...
(which was run by Kondo from 1861.) Yamanami was particularly educated in literary and military arts, with a gentle personality and a kind heart.
(1833 - March 20 1865) was a Japanese
samuraiis the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character 侍 was originally a verb meaning to wait upon or accompany a person in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau...
. He was the General Secretary (Vice Commander) of the
ShinsengumiThe were a special police force of the late shogunate period.-Historical background:After Japan opened up to the West following U.S. Commodore Matthew Perry's visits in 1853, its political situation gradually became more and more chaotic...
, a
special policeSpecial police and Special Police Force are terms which have different meanings in different countries, as described below.-Canada:Special Police is not a term used in Canada...
force in
Kyotois a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area....
during the late
Edo periodThe , or , is a division of Japanese history running from 1603 to 1868 and is the premodern era. The period marks the governance of the Edo or Tokugawa shogunate, which was officially established in 1603 by the first Edo shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu. The period ended with the Meiji Restoration, the...
.
Background
Though the details of his origin are unclear, he was thought to be the son of a
kenjutsu, meaning "the art of the sword", is a term for classical Japanese sword arts , in particular those which predate the Meiji Restoration...
instructor originated from the Sendai domain.
Yamanami was trained under
Chiba Shusaku NarimasaChiba Shusaku Narimasa was the founder of the Hokushin Itto school of swordsmanship and is considered by many to be the second greatest swordsman of Japan, after Miyamoto Musashi.-Origins:Shusaku was the son of the swordsman Koemon , who was originally a...
, the founder of the
Hokushin Itto-ryu, and attained
Menkyo Kaiden (
license of total transmission) sometime before 1860.
In 1860, after Yamanami was defeated by
Kondo Isamiwas a Japanese swordsman and official of the late Edo Period, famed for his role as commander of the Shinsengumi.-Background:Isami, who was first known as Katsugorō, was born to Miyagawa Hisajirō, a farmer residing in Kami-Ishihara village in Musashi Province, now in the city of Chōfu in Western...
in a match, he was enrolled at the Tennen Rishin Ryus Shieikan dojo in
Edo, literally: bay-door, "estuary", ), also romanized as Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of the Japanese capital Tokyo, and was the seat of power for the Tokugawa shogunate which ruled Japan from 1603 to 1868...
(which was run by Kondo from 1861.) Yamanami was particularly educated in literary and military arts, with a gentle personality and a kind heart. He was very much admired by the Head Teacher (Jukutou) at the Shieikan, Okita Soujirou (the later Okita Souji), who called him a big brother. In 1863, Yamanami. Kondo and other members of the Shieikan joined the
RoshigumiThe Rōshigumi , the "Kyoto Defenders", was a group of 234 masterless samurai , originally founded by Kiyokawa Hachirō in 1863. Loyal to the Bakufu, they were supposed to act as the protectors of the Tokugawa shogun....
, the military unit being sent to Kyoto by the
Tokugawa ShogunateThe Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the and the , was a feudal regime of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family. This period is known as the Edo period and gets its name from the capital city, Edo, which now is called Tokyo...
.
Shinsengumi Period
In Kyoto, Kondo and his "faction" stayed in Kyoto while the rest of the
RoshigumiThe Rōshigumi , the "Kyoto Defenders", was a group of 234 masterless samurai , originally founded by Kiyokawa Hachirō in 1863. Loyal to the Bakufu, they were supposed to act as the protectors of the Tokugawa shogun....
returned to Edo. Soon, the Mibu Roshigumi (which would eventually become known as the
ShinsengumiThe were a special police force of the late shogunate period.-Historical background:After Japan opened up to the West following U.S. Commodore Matthew Perry's visits in 1853, its political situation gradually became more and more chaotic...
) was formed. Yamanami served as a vice-commander, alongside
Hijikata ToshizoHijikata Toshizō was the deputy leader of Shinsengumi, a small-built and talented Japanese military leader who resisted the Meiji Restoration.-Background:...
and
Niimi Nishiki, was born in Mito-han . He was a master of the Shintomunen-ryu swordsmanship. He was one of the original thirteen members of the Shinsengumi, together with Serizawa Kamo and Kondo Isami...
(after Niimi's demotion due to the fight with wrestlers.)
Yamanami was said to be one of the Shieikan members involved in the
Serizawa KamoSerizawa Kamo was a samurai known for being the original lead commander of the Shinsengumi. He trained in and received a licence in the Shindō Munen-ryū.-Background:...
assassination in 1863. After the purge of the Serizawa faction, Yamanami became one of two vice-commanders (the other being Hijikata).
Yamanami did not take part in the famed
Ikedaya JikenThe Ikedaya Jiken , also known as the Ikedaya Affair or Ikedaya Incident, was an armed encounter between the shishi which included masterless samurai formally employed by the Chōshū and Tosa clans , and the Shinsengumi, the Bakufu's special police force on July 8, 1864 at the Ikedaya Inn in Kyoto,...
in 1864, instead he guarded the group's headquarters.
Death
Some time after the Ikedaya Jiken he tried to escape the Shinsengumi, despite the regulation against deserters. As a result, he committed
seppukuis a form of Japanese ritual suicide by disembowelment. Seppuku was originally reserved only for samurai. Part of the samurai honor code, seppuku was used voluntarily by samurai to die with honor rather than fall into the hands of their enemies, as a form of capital punishment for samurai who have...
with Okita as his second on March 20 (
lunar calendarA lunar calendar is a calendar that is based on cycles of the moon phase. The only widely used purely lunar calendar is the Islamic calendar or Hijri calendar, whose year always consists of 12 lunar months...
February 23), 1865. There are several speculations on Yamanami's reason to escape, including a theory that Yamanami committed
suicideSuicide is the intentional killing of one's self. Many dictionaries also note the metaphorical sense of "willful destruction of one's self-interest"...
without ever leaving the Shinsengumi.
In Shinsengumi : the Shogun's Last Samurai Corps
by Romulus Hillsborough there is something mentioned about Yamanami's escape. The following is quoted from this book:
The trouble with Yamanami seems to have originated over a disagreement in philosophy, though Shimosawa also cites a bitter rivalry with the other vice commander, Hijikata Toshizo. Yamanami was apparently vexed over the lately inflated self-importance of Kondo and Hijikata. He felt that they had forgotten the original purpose for which the members of the Shieikan had enlisted in the "loyal and patriotic" corps. The unyielding will to power that had lately consumed his erstwhile friends had diminished their former patriotic ideals. According to most sources, Yamanami's vexation was exacerbated sometime early in 1865, when Kondo and Hijikata, unhappy with their cramped headquarters at Mibu, decided to move to a more spacious location at Nishihonganji Temple in the southwest of the city. The temple priests were perplexed over the decision. Their attempts to rebuff the Shinsengumi were ignored by Kondo and Hijikata. Yamanami objected to what he considered coercion of Buddhist priests. "Certainly there are many other suitable places, " he admonished Kondo, and suggested that his commander reconsider. But his commander would not reconsider, and Yamanami resolved to pay the ultimate price. He composed a farewell letter explaining the reasons he could no longer, in good conscience, risk his life under Kondo's command. Then he defected.
In short, this is the most accepted theory in regard of Yamanami's reason to leave the Shinsengumi, even though officially, it is still a mystery. In addition, It must be noted that Hillsborough's source in regard of the rivalry between Yamanami and Hijikata, Shimosawa Kan's Shinsengumi Shimatsuki, is in fact categorized as historical fiction.
Yamanami fled to
OtsuŌtsu, or Otsu, may refer to:* Ōtsu, Shiga, Japan** Ōtsu Station, a railway station on the Tōkaidō Main Line ** Ōtsu incident, an assassination attempt on Tsarevich Nicholas Alexandrovich of Russia...
while Kondo sent Okita to retrieve him. After Yamanami returned to Mibu, he was ordered to commit seppuku. He asked Okita to serve as his second. There is also a theory that Kondo asked Okita to serve as Yamanami's second out of respect for Yamanami. (The second was usually a closest friend or family member whenever possible.) Yamanami saw Okita as his younger brother and the two shared a strong bond till the very end of Yamanami's life.
Yamanami was buried at the in Kyoto.
Before his death, Yamanami was the second-in-command of the Shinsengumi. (It is a misconception that Hijikata had always been the second-in-command. In fact, Hijikata became the second-in-command after Yamanami's death.)
Trivia
- Yamanami owned a sword named Banshu-juunin Sekishin Okimitsu.
- Yamanami was also known as Sannan (the alternate reading of his family name).
- Yamanami was said to be small-statured and pale-skinned.
- During his time in Edo, neighborhood children were very fond of Yamanami.
- Although some believe Akesato to be fictional, Yamanami did in fact have a mistress named Akesato in Kyoto.
Yamanami in Fiction
Yamanami is featured in
Peacemaker Kuroganeis a historical fiction manga and anime series created by mangaka . The story begins in 19th century Japan before the Meiji Restoration, a chain of events that led to enormous changes in Japan's political and social structure while the seeds of the revolution are being planted...
(anime/manga), Shinsengumi Imon Peacemaker
(manga), Kaze Hikaruis a Japanese manga series by Taeko Watanabe.Kaze Hikaru is set in the bakumatsu. After her father and older brother are murdered, Tominaga Sei decides to pose as a boy named so that she can join the Mibu-Roshigumi and avenge their deaths...
(manga), Getsumei Seiki
(manga), Hijikata Toshizou - Shiro no Kiseki
(OVA), and Bakumatsu Renka Shinsengumi
(video game series.)
In addition, he is portrayed in Shinsengumi!is a television series produced by Japanese broadcaster NHK. It was a popular drama about shinsengumi, the Japanese special police from the Shogun period....
(2004 NHKNHK is Japan's national public broadcasting organization...
Taiga drama series, played by Sakai Masato), Shinsengumi!: Hijikata Toshizo Saigo no Ichinichi
(2006 NHK New Year special, again played by Sakai Masato), and Shinsengumi Keppurokuis a novel by Ryōtarō Shiba and a television series which aired in 1998.-Details:Television series:* Title: Shinsengumi keppuroku* Genre: Chanbara* Episodes: 11* Broadcast network: TV Asahi* Broadcast period: 1998* Theme Song: "Sayonara" by Chiharu Matsuyama...
.