was a

samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They h ...

of Japan's 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 characte ...

who served as the eighth unit captain 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 ...

. His full name was ''Tōdō Heisuke Fujiwara no Yoshitora''.

Background

Tōdō was from Edo, Musashi Province (now Tokyo). Very little is known about his origin. Although he was said to be an illegitimate child of

Tōdō Takayuki was the 11th ''daimyō'' of Tsu Domain under the late Edo period Tokugawa shogunate and the 19th hereditary chieftain of the Tōdō clan. Takayuki's sudden betrayal of the Tokugawa forces at the Battle of Toba–Fushimi during the Boshin War w ...

, the 11th generation lord of the

Tsu domain was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, located in Ise Province and in Iga Province in what is part of now modern-day Tsu, Mie. It was centered around Tsu Castle. Tsu Domain was controlled the '' tozama'' Tōdō ...

, this is highly debatable. However, one argument some use in favor of this theory is the fact that he possessed a sword made by ''Kazusa no suke'' Kaneshige, who was a swordmaker under the patronage of the Tsu domain; and that such a sword would be difficult for a mere rōnin to obtain, even by heritage. Another point that suggests possible Tsu domain heritage is his formal given name , , which shares a character in common with the name of the first Tōdō lord of Tsu, . Tōdō was a practitioner of the ''

Hokushin Ittō-ryū Hokushin Ittō-ryū Hyōhō (北辰一刀流兵法) is a koryū (古流) that was founded in the late Edo period (1820s) by Chiba Shusaku Narimasa (千葉周作成政, 1794–1856). He was one of the last masters who was called a Kensei (swor ...

'', trained at

Chiba Shusaku Narimasa Chiba may refer to: Places China * (), town in Jianli County, Jingzhou, Hubei Japan * Chiba (city), capital of Chiba Prefecture ** Chiba Station, a train station * Chiba Prefecture, a sub-national jurisdiction in the Greater Tokyo Area on t ...

's dojo. However, according to some sources, he was trained at Itō Kashitarō's dojo instead. In around 1862, he started "taking his meals" at Kondo Isami's Shieikan.

Shinsengumi Period

In 1863, Tōdō 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 ...

with Kondō and other members of the Shieikan. After the

was formed, Tōdō first became a ''fukuchō jokin'' (assistant vice commander). Tōdō was the youngest unit captain of Shinsengumi. Sources vary as to his role in the

Serizawa Kamo Serizawa Kamo (芹沢鴨; September 2, 1826 – October 30, 1863) 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. "Kamo" means goose or duck in Japane ...

(one of the original commanders of the Shinsengumi) assassination. Tōdō received a wound on his forehead during the

Ikedaya incident The , also known as the Ikedaya affair or Ikedaya riot, was an armed encounter between the ''shishi'' which included masterless samurai (''rōnin'') formally employed by the Chōshū, Tosa and Higo clans ( han), and the Shinsengumi, the Ba ...

on July 8, 1864.Yamamura, Tatsuya. ''Shinsengumi Kenkyaku-Den''. Tokyo: PHP Kenkyūjo, 1998, p.177 He then became the captain of the eighth unit in 1865.

Death

Tōdō, having joined Itō Kashitarō's breakaway group, left the Shinsengumi. While with the help of six other defectors, attempting to retrieve the body of Itō who was killed earlier, he was killed along with Hattori Takeo and Mônai Arinosuke in an ambush by the Shinsengumi during the Aburanokōji incident in Aburanokōji, Kyoto in December 13, 1867. Their bodies were left there for 3 days before they were buried first in Kōen-ji, Kyoto. Later they were moved and interred in Kaikō-ji, Kyoto. According to

Nagakura Shinpachi was the former captain of the 2nd troop of the Shinsengumi, He was later known as during the Meiji era. History Early life Nagakura Shinpachi Noriyuki, known as Eikichi or Eiji during his childhood, was born in the Matsumae clan's "kami-yash ...

's ''Shinsengumi Tenmatsuki'', Kondō had wished to spare Tōdō's life. However, Tōdō was killed by a new member, Miura Tsunesaburō, who did not know the circumstances.

Background

Shinsengumi Period

Death

Notes

Further reading