, also known as Sagawa Naoki (1831–1877), was a military figure of the

Aizu Domain was a domain of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan during the Edo period from 1601 to 1871.Ravina, Mark. (1998) ''Land and Lordship in Early Modern Japan,'' p. 222 The Aizu Domain was based at Tsuruga Castle in Mutsu Province, the core of the ...

at the end of the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tokugawa-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia ...

. He was also a police officer during the

Meiji era The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization b ...

before he was killed at the

Siege of Kumamoto Castle The from February 19 to April 12, 1877, in Kumamoto, Japan, was a major battle of the Satsuma Rebellion. Summary After the opening of hostilities between Satsuma and the Meiji government, Satsuma military leader Saigō Takamori announced his int ...

in 1877.

Biography

Bakumatsu era

He was born the son of Naomichi Sagawa, a samurai of the

. In 1862, he followed the feudal lord,

Matsudaira Katamori Matsudaira Katamori after the Meiji restoration was a samurai who lived in Bakumatsu period and the early to mid Meiji period Japan. He was the 9th ''daimyō'' of the Aizu Domain and the Kyoto Shugoshoku (Military Commissioner of Kyoto). He in ...

, and served as a head of the school before serving as a school magistrate. When 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 ...

broke out in January 1868, Kanbei served the Aizu Domain and participated in 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 ...

. His service during the battle earned him the nickname of ''Kikanbei''. After the battle, he returned to Aizu and went to participate in the

Battle of Hokuetsu The was a battle of the Boshin War of the Meiji Restoration, which occurred in 1868 in the northwestern part of Japan, in the area of modern Niigata Prefecture. Background The Boshin War erupted in 1868 between troops favourable to the restora ...

, but when the war situation became unfavorable, he left the front with the

Ōuetsu Reppan Dōmei The was a Japanese military-political coalition established and disestablished over the course of several months in early to mid-1868 during the Boshin War. Its flag was either a white interwoven five-pointed star on a black field, or a black i ...

clans and returned to Aizu. In the

Battle of Aizu The Battle of Aizu (Japanese: 会津戦争, "War of Aizu") was fought in northern Japan from October to November in autumn 1868, and was part of the Boshin War. History Aizu was known for its martial skill, and maintained at any given time a s ...

on August 29, he led about 1,000 elites and was appointed commander of the castle's counter-attack force. However, he was drunk with the sake he received from his feudal lord the night before the attack, and was defeated late in the sortie, which was still early in the Battle of Chomeiji. He was redeemed in the Battle of Zaimoku-Cho (Sumiyoshi Kawara) on September 5, when he led a small number of soldiers and defeated the new

Imperial Japanese Army The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor o ...

and secured food for

Aizuwakamatsu Castle , also known as Tsuruga Castle (鶴ヶ城 ''Tsuru-ga-jō'') is a concrete replica of a traditional Japanese castle in northern Japan, at the center of the city of Aizuwakamatsu, in Fukushima Prefecture. Background Aizu Wakamatsu Castle is locate ...

. After the end of the Boshin War, he was detained in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

with other feudal lords.

Meiji Era

When the former Aizu domain was revived as the Tonami Domain, he moved to

Gonohe is a town located in Aomori Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 16,880, and a population density of 95 persons per km2 in 7,006 households. The total area of the town is . Geography Gonohe is located in the north-easte ...

Aomori Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan in the Tōhoku region. The prefecture's capital, largest city, and namesake is the city of Aomori. Aomori is the northernmost prefecture on Japan's main island, Honshu, and is bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the east, ...

. After the

abolition of the han system The in the Empire of Japan and its replacement by a system of prefectures in 1871 was the culmination of the Meiji Restoration begun in 1868, the starting year of the Meiji period. Under the reform, all daimyos (, ''daimyō'', feudal lords) ...

, he served at the Metropolitan Police Department in 1874 after Chief

Kawaji Toshiyoshi , also known as Kawaji Toshikane, was a Japanese statesman and chief of police during the Meiji period.Lanman, Charles. ''Leading Men of Japan: With an Historical Summary of the Empire''. The University of California. Published by D. Lothrop a ...

praised him for his service during the Boshin War, and was appointed as the First Grand Inspector. In the

Satsuma Rebellion The Satsuma Rebellion, also known as the was a revolt of disaffected samurai against the new imperial government, nine years into the Meiji Era. Its name comes from the Satsuma Domain, which had been influential in the Restoration and beca ...

, he served as the first platoon leader of the Bungoguchi No. 1 Police Corps from the beginning of the war. In

Aso District, Kumamoto is a district located in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan. As of the Aso and Yamato mergers (but with 2003 population data), the district has an estimated population of 40,841 and a density of 58.1 persons per square kilometer. The total area is 703 ...

, he was killed when he was shot while engaged in

hand to hand combat Hand-to-hand combat (sometimes abbreviated as HTH or H2H) is a physical confrontation between two or more persons at short range (grappling distance or within the physical reach of a handheld weapon) that does not involve the use of weapons.Huns ...

during the

. He died at the age of 45. He was buried at and Chofuku-ji Temple in Kitakata City, Fukushima Prefecture.

Legacy

Several monuments in

Minamiaso, Kumamoto is a village in Aso District, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan. It was formed on February 13, 2005 from the merger of the villages of Chōyō, Hakusui and Kugino. Neighbouring towns are Takamori, Ōzu, and Nishihara. As of April 30, 2019, the ...

are dedicated to Kanbei.Furusato Terakoya No.45 "Onikanbei" - Kumamoto Prefecture tourism site
/ref>

References

Bibliography

*Aizu Historical Meeting ''All about the Aizu War'' New People Visiting Company, 1980 {{DEFAULTSORT:Kanbei, Sagawa 1831 births 1877 deaths Meiji Restoration People of the Boshin War Military personnel from Fukushima Prefecture People of Meiji-period Japan People killed in the Satsuma Rebellion