was born in

Hino, Tokyo 250px, Takahata Fudō in Hino is a city located in the western portion of Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 187,048, and a population density of 6800 persons per km². The total area of the city was . Geography ...

. He was the captain of the sixth unit of the

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 wh ...

which were a

special police Special police usually describes a police, police force or unit within a police force whose duties and responsibilities are significantly different from other forces in the same country or from other police in the same force, although there is no ...

force for the Tokugawa regime. Inoue is the oldest unit captain of Shinsengumi. Like his older brother, Inoue Matsugoro, Inoue Genzaburō was also a practitioner of the ''

Tennen Rishin-ryū is a Japanese martial art, commonly known as the style practiced by several core members of the Shinsengumi. Origins The Tennen Rishin ryu is a traditional swordsmanship school, codified during the Kansei Era (1789–1801) by Kondō Kuranosuke ...

'' and mastered all the techniques of the school in 1860. However, it is a misconception that he lived at the Shieikan. In 1863, he joined the

Rōshigumi The Rōshigumi (浪士組, meaning "the rōnin squad"), the "Kyoto Defenders", was a group of 234 masterless samurai (''rōnin''), founded by Kiyokawa Hachirō in 1862. Loyal to the Bakufu, they were supposed to act as the protectors of the Toku ...

together with

Kondō Isami was a Japanese swordsman and official of the late Edo period. He was the fourth generation master of Tennen Rishin-ryū and was famed for his role as commander of the Shinsengumi. Background He was born Miyagawa Katsugorō to a farmer Miyaga ...

and other members of the Shieikan. Inoue Genzaburō was related to

Okita Rintarō (born ; March 30, 1826 – February 13, 1883) was a Japanese samurai of the late Edo period who was a of the '' Shinchōgumi'' (the Shinsengumi's counterpart in Edo). Biography Born in Hino, Edo in 1826, he was Inoue Sōzō's younger ...

(

Okita Sōji was the captain of the first unit of the Shinsengumi, a special police force in Kyoto during the late shogunate period. He was one of the best swordsmen of the Shinsengumi. Background He was born in 1842 or 1844 from a samurai family in the ...

's brother-in-law). He arrested eight members of the

Ishin Shishi , sometimes known as , were a group of Japanese political activists of the late Edo period. While it is usually applied to the anti-shogunate, pro-''sonnō jōi'' (尊皇攘夷; "Revere the Emperor, Expel the Barbarian ) samurai primarily from t ...

during the Ikedaya Affair in 1864. Inoue died during 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 ...

(the first battle of the

Boshin War The , sometimes known as the Japanese Revolution or Japanese Civil War, was a civil war in Japan fought from 1868 to 1869 between forces of the ruling Tokugawa shogunate and a clique seeking to seize political power in the name of the Imperi ...

) in January 1868.Rekishi Dokuhon, December 1997 issue "The Ten Captains of The Late Tokugawa Period's Strongest Shinsengumi", p.95

Inoue in Fiction

Inoue is featured in ''

Kaze Hikaru is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Taeko Watanabe. Set in the period, the story follows Tominaga Sei, a young girl who poses as a boy named Kamiya Seizaburō so she can join the Mibu-Roshi (Special Police; later known as ...

'' (manga), '' Getsumei Seiki'' (manga), and Studio Deen's '' Hakuōki: Shinsengumi Kitan'' (anime). He is also depicted in the 1999 film ''

Gohatto , also known as ''Taboo'', is a 1999 Japanese film directed by Nagisa Ōshima. It is about homosexuality in the Shinsengumi during the ''bakumatsu'' period, the end of the samurai era in the mid-19th century. Plot At the start of the movie, the y ...

'' and

NHK , also known as NHK, is a Japanese public broadcaster. NHK, which has always been known by this romanized initialism in Japanese, is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee. NHK operates two terrestr ...

's drama series

Shinsengumi! is a 2004 Taiga drama historical fiction television series produced by Japanese broadcaster NHK. It was a popular drama about the Shinsengumi, a Japanese special police force from the Bakumatsu period. Actors include Koji Yamamoto, Tatsuya Fu ...

, as well as in Sega's ''Ryu Ga Gotoku: Ishin'' (game).

Notes

External links

Gensabrou Inoue Museum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Inoue, Genzaburo Samurai Shinsengumi Tennen Rishin-ryū People from Hino, Tokyo 1829 births 1868 deaths