was a Japanese
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 ...
. He was the General Secretary (Vice Commander) 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 ...
, a
special police
Special police usually describes a 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 consiste ...
force in
Kyoto
Kyoto (; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin, Keihanshin metropolitan area along wi ...
during 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 characte ...
.
Background
Though the details of his origin are unclear, he was thought to be the son of a
kenjutsu instructor originated from the
Sendai domain.
Yamanami was trained under
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 ...
, the founder of the ''
Hokushin Itto-ryu'', and attained ''Menkyo Kaiden'' (''license of total transmission'') sometime before 1860.
In 1860 after Yamanami was defeated by
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 ...
in a match, he was enrolled at 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 ...
s
Shieikan dojo in
Edo (which was run by Kondō from 1861.) Yamanami was particularly educated in literary and military arts, with a gentle personality and a kind heart. He was very much admired by the Head Instructor (Jukutou) at the Shieikan, Okita Sōjirō (the later
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 ...
), who called him a big brother. In 1863, Yamanami Kondo and other members of the Shieikan 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 ...
, the military unit being sent to Kyoto by 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 ...
.
Shinsengumi Period
In Kyoto, Kondō and his "faction" remained in Kyoto while the rest of the Rōshigumi returned to Edo. Soon, the
Mibu Rōshigumi (which would eventually become known as 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 ...
) was formed. Yamanami served as a vice-commander, alongside
Hijikata Toshizō after
Niimi Nishiki
was born in Mito-han (now Ibaraki Prefecture). He was a master of the ''Shintomunen-ryu'' swordsmanship style. He was one of the original thirteen members of the Shinsengumi, together with Serizawa Kamo and Kondō Isami. He was originally one of ...
was demoted for instigating a vicious street brawl with sumo wrestlers in Kyoto.
Yamanami was said to be one of the Shieikan members involved 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 ...
assassination in 1863. After the purge of the Serizawa faction, Yamanami became one of two vice-commanders (the other being Hijikata).
Yamanami did not take part in the famed
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 ...
in 1864, instead he guarded the group's headquarters.
Death
Some time after the
Zenzaiya incident he tried to escape the Shinsengumi, despite the regulation against deserters. As a result, he committed
seppuku with Okita as his
Kaishakunin
A ''kaishakunin'' ( ja, 介錯人) is a person appointed to behead an individual who has performed seppuku, Japanese ritual suicide, at the moment of agony. The role played by the ''kaishakunin'' is called ''kaishaku''.
Aside from being spared p ...
on March 20 (
lunar calendar
A lunar calendar is a calendar based on the monthly cycles of the Moon's phases ( synodic months, lunations), in contrast to solar calendars, whose annual cycles are based only directly on the solar year. The most commonly used calendar, t ...
February 23), 1865. There are several speculations on Yamanami's reason to escape, including a theory that Yamanami committed
suicide without ever leaving the Shinsengumi. Another theory is Yamanami lost hope about Shogunate's future and was disillusioned about
Tokugawa Yoshinobu political decisions, but when forced to choose between his friends and Justice, he decided to commit an honorable suicide and escape scandal.
In ''Shinsengumi : the Shogun's Last Samurai Corps'' by
Romulus Hillsborough there is something mentioned about Yamanami's escape. The following is quoted from this book:
''The trouble with Yamanami seems to have originated over a disagreement in philosophy, though Shimosawa also cites a bitter rivalry with the other vice commander, Hijikata Toshizo. Yamanami was apparently vexed over the lately inflated self-importance of Kondo and Hijikata. He felt that they had forgotten the original purpose for which the members of the Shieikan had enlisted in the "loyal and patriotic" corps. The unyielding will to power that had lately consumed his erstwhile friends had diminished their former patriotic ideals. According to most sources, Yamanami's vexation was exacerbated sometime early in 1865, when Kondo and Hijikata, unhappy with their cramped headquarters at Mibu, decided to move to a more spacious location at Nishihonganji Temple in the southwest of the city. The temple priests were perplexed over the decision. Their attempts to rebuff the Shinsengumi were ignored by Kondo and Hijikata. Yamanami objected to what he considered coercion of Buddhist priests. "Certainly there are many other suitable places, " he admonished Kondo, and suggested that his commander reconsider. But his commander would not reconsider, and Yamanami resolved to pay the ultimate price. He composed a farewell letter explaining the reasons he could no longer, in good conscience, risk his life under Kondo's command. Then he defected.''
In short, this is the most accepted theory in regard of Yamanami's reason to leave the Shinsengumi, even though officially it is still a mystery. In addition, Hillsborough's source in regard of the rivalry between Yamanami and Hijikata,
Shimosawa Kan's ''Shinsengumi Shimatsuki'', is in fact categorized as historical fiction.
Yamanami fled to
Otsu while Kondo sent Okita to retrieve him. After Yamanami returned to Mibu, he was ordered to commit seppuku. He asked Okita to serve as his Kaishakunin. There is also a theory that Kondo asked Okita to serve as Yamanami's Kaishakunin out of respect for Yamanami. (The Kaishakunin was usually a closest friend or family member whenever possible.) Yamanami saw Okita as family and the two shared a strong bond till the very end of Yamanami's life.
Yamanami was buried at the in Kyoto.
Before his death, Yamanami was the second-in-command of the Shinsengumi. (It is a misconception that Hijikata had always been the second-in-command. In fact, Hijikata became the second-in-command after Yamanami's death.)
References
*''Shinsengumi Master's Bible''. Shin Jinbutsu Oraisha, 2003.
*''Shinsengumi Encyclopedia''. Shin Jinbutsu Oraisha, 1978.
*Yamamura, Tatsuya. ''Shinsengumi Kenkyaku-Den''. Tokyo: PHP Interface, 1998.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yamanami, Keisuke
1833 births
1865 deaths
Shinsengumi
Japanese swordfighters
Suicides by seppuku
1860s suicides