was a Japanese samurai of the late

Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characteriz ...

. Also known by his formal name (), , A retainer of the

Aizu is the westernmost of the three regions of Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, the other two regions being Nakadōri in the central area of the prefecture and Hamadōri in the east. As of October 1, 2010, it had a population of 291,838. The princip ...

domain, Gonsuke was an accomplished martial artist of Ichinomiya ryu iaijutsu, Naganuma ryu strategy, and gunnery. Promoted to in 1862, he went to Kyoto at the start of Lord Matsudaira Katamori's tenure as

Kyoto Shugoshoku The was a Japanese bureaucratic office of the Tokugawa shogunate from 1862 through 1868.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Kyōto-shugoshoku''" in ; n.b., Louis-Frédéric is pseudonym of Louis-Frédéric Nussbaum, ''see'Deutsche Nationalbibl ...

. Fighting at the various skirmishes in the 1860s, he most notably fought alongside

Shinsengumi The was a special police force organized by the (military government) during Japan's Bakumatsu period (late Tokugawa shogunate) in 1863. It was active until 1869. It was founded to protect the shogunate representatives in Kyoto at a time when ...

against

Maki Izumi was a Japanese samurai of the late Edo period, who served as a retainer of the Arima clan_of_ ">DF__..._of_Kurume_Domain">Kurume_in_northern_Kyūshū.html" ;"title="Kurume_Domain.html" ;"title="DF 6-7 of 80/nowiki>">DF ... of Kurume Domain">Kuru ...

's force at Tennozan. Commanding Aizu artillery forces at the

Battle of Toba–Fushimi The occurred between pro-Imperial and Tokugawa shogunate forces during the Boshin War in Japan. The battle started on 27 January 1868 (or fourth year of Keiō, first month, 3rd day, according to the lunar calendar), when the forces of the shog ...

, Gonsuke fought against overwhelming odds, coming under heavy fire while inadequately supported by spearmen instead of rifle infantry. Grabbing a long spear, he charged the enemy infantry but was shot repeatedly. Evacuated from the battlefield, he was placed on a Shogunate warship, and died at sea, en route to

Edo Edo ( ja, , , "bay-entrance" or "estuary"), also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo. Edo, formerly a ''jōkamachi'' (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province, became the ''de facto'' capital of ...

. His age at death was 63. Gonsuke's ancestor Matazaburō was famous for having served under Torii Mototada and died at the Battle of Fushimi Castle. On the other hand, Gonsuke's grandson and namesake, Hayashi Gonsuke, was a prominent figure in the

Japanese annexation of Korea Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspo ...

References

*Fukushima Hiroshi. ''Bakumatsu Ishin: Yume no Ato Kikō''. Tokyo: Kyōiku Shoseki, 1990. *Yamakawa Kenjirō. ''Hōshu Aizu Byakkōtai Jūkyūshi-den''. Aizu-Wakamatsu: Aizu Chōrei Gikai, 1926. *Yamakawa Kenjirō. ''Aizu Boshin Senshi''. Tokyo: Tokyo Daigaku Shuppankai, 1933. {{DEFAULTSORT:Hayashi, Yasusada 1806 births 1868 deaths Samurai Deaths by firearm in Japan Japanese warriors killed in battle Meiji Restoration People from Aizu Aizu-Matsudaira retainers