{{Short description, Japanese guerrilla warfare unit
The Raijintai (雷神隊) was a Japanese
guerrilla warfare
Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare in which small groups of combatants, such as paramilitary personnel, armed civilians, or Irregular military, irregulars, use military tactics including ambushes, sabotage, Raid (military), raids ...
unit of the
Kuwana
is a city located in Mie Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 141,045 in 60,301 households and a population density of 1000 persons per km². The total area of the city is .
Geography
Kuwana is located in northern Mie Pr ...
Tatsumi Naofumi
Baron was a samurai from the Kuwana Domain in the Bakumatsu period Tokugawa shogunate and later a general in the Imperial Japanese Army during the Meiji period.Dupuy, Trevor N. ''et al.'' (1992). ''Harper Encyclopedia of Military Biography,'' p. ...
, the unit excelled in combat, particularly becoming renowned for taking the head of
Kiheitai
The was a volunteer militia raised by Takasugi Shinsaku of the Chōshū domain during the Bakumatsu period of Japan.
Background
Formed in 1863 by Takasugi Shinsaku in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture, the Kiheitai militia consisted of 300 men ...
officer Tokiyama Naohachi in the fighting at Asahiyama.
Along with the whole of the northern clans and the pro-Tokugawa forces loosely allied with them, the Raijintai was defeated in the Boshin War and was disbanded.