27

27. Kashitarou, To Kyou

It was in the back room of the Kondou dojo, atop a hill in Kohinata Yanagi Town where Itou Kashitarou first came face to face with Kondou Isami.

"Itou-sensei," Kondou called the man. His eyes were so sharp they seemed capable of shining right through people. From beginning to end, he was laughing. Takeda Kanryuusai, Ogata Shuntarou, and Nagakura Kenpachi, who were all at his side, would later remark that they had never seen their Captain in a better mood.

"Ogata-kun, sensei's cup is looking a little lonely there," he motioned.

"Oh no, I think I've had enough." Itou courteously bowed his head.

"Please, make yourself at home. I've heard that you can really hold your sake, so please, enjoy yourself. Let us talk to our hearts' contents today."

"I would have it no other way."

Itou Kashitarou was wearing a stylish Nanako fabric haori, a lined black silk kimono with a crest embroidering, and a striped Sendaihira hakama. The hilts of both his swords were coated in silver with gold inlays, and the sheaths had fretwork of bamboo and sparrows on them. All in all, Itou was dressed in a majestic fashion that made him seem like a high-ranking vassal. By nature, he was a man with a fine appearance.

"This is truly a great turn of events." Kondou, despite being someone who couldn't drink, had already downed three cups, and had earned himself a face as red as a beet.

He seemed extremely happy.

'Just what kind of man is he?' Itou did not loosen up on his surveillance as his drinks piled up. To Itou, who planned on someday taking hold of the reins of the Shinsengumi, this survey meant everything.

'Just as the rumors say, he's no average man' was Kashitarou's first observation. This wasn't to say that Kondou was a remarkable character -- the Force Captain just seemed to have an abnormally animal aura about him. To put it simply, he appeared as an unadulterated example of the human male. He possessed a vitality like any other wild beast, and a spirit swelling up from every point on his body that if focused on, would easily make one tremble.

To Itou, Kondou was much like a human blade...but not a thin one like a razor or a dagger...like a chisel. If struck with a gavel, he could become strong enough to cut through pure steel.

'Frightening...' Kashitarou thought, simultaneously filled with disdain. 'This is a man that only a chaotic world would deem necessary.' In order to ward off Kondou's massive presence, Itou eagerly scorned the man. 'But he has an unexpected weak point.'

This chisel of a man had a rather pathetic love for politics. And on this day, Kondou acted quite unlike himself and told an immense lie.

According to this man, the real reason for this trip from Kyou was in order to persuade the shogun.

"The shogun?"

"Yes."

Apparently, he had requested that the shogun to come up to Kyou and lead an army under Imperial command to subjugate Choushuu.

"Hohoh..." In the beginning, Itou was only half-convinced. No matter how much governmental authority he may have had, there was no way some masterless samurai captain would be able to request such a thing. "How surprising. To think that you, Kondou-sensei, would be granted the honor of receiving an audience with the shogun..."

"Ah, no..." Kondou became flustered. "I didn't speak directly to the shogun. First, I met with Council Elder Sir Matsumae Izu-No-Kami, and then visited every other elder on the council, leaving no man unspoken to. Through explaining the urgency of the situation in the capital, I expressed the reasons as to why our Lord's emergency ascent is necessary."

"I see." It was still a commendable job. Giving political advice to the government was strictly the duty of trusted daimyo and relatives of the Tokugawa family. During the reign of Chief Minister Ii, numerous daimyo of outer clans had been incriminated merely for saying something offhand to the government. And yet, here was the masterless samurai Kondou preparing to maneuver the entire political machine himself. (Of course, in order to meet with these officials, Kondou had received special help from the Aizu clan.)

'The government really has wasted away,' Itou concluded. "Well then? What did they have to say about your ideas?"

"Itou-sensei," Kondou lowered his voice. "I trust that what I say here will not leave this room."

"You needn't harbor even the slightest worry." Itou nodded gracefully.

"Then I will inform you as a fellow comrade. Please consider this as a government secret of the highest priority. If any part of this is somehow leaked out to obviously Choushuu, Satsuma, Inshuu, Chikuzen, Tosa, or any other western daimyo attempting to steal away control the nation from the Tokugawa, things will turn dire."

The elders had revealed to Kondou just how classified this information was, and the Force Captain was in turn attempting to display this to Kashitarou.

"Itou-kun." Kondou changed the suffix of the man's name to one he would use for an ally. "The treasury has reached the point to where our Lord does not possess the capital needed to ascend to the west."

"Money--"

"Yes...it's all gone," he nodded.

"The government's?"

"They're completely out of funds. In order for our Lord to ascend to the capital, a plentiful number of accompanying men is vital. They have no way to supply a sufficient allowance for this–but that isn't all. Artillery is necessary. Packhorses are necessary. Provisions also need to be prepared. Gunpowder is necessary. And warships to carry it all are also necessary. Itou-kun, the capital to accomplish this...does not exist." Kondou made a bitter expression, as if he himself was one of the elders.

Incidentally, around this time, the government was in the middle of secret talks with France, negotiating an international loan through which they planned to Westernize their army and subjugate Choushuu (although, due to complications, it ended up not working out). This was how extreme the government's financial difficulties were.

"But..." Itou quietly began. "In Edo, the Tokugawa family has their vassals, who they've fostered for over three hundred years. If our Lord truly is planning to take the first battle stance since the days of the Incarnation of Light in the East (Tokugawa Ieyasu), then they should be prepared to repay their centuries of debt and take part, even if it means selling their belongings, taking up arms, and supplying provisions for the trip themselves."

"About that..." Kondou said uncomfortably. "I expect you've heard the rumors yourself, Itou-kun...but a majority of the Edo vassals do not wish for mobilization, due to their own poverty."

Itou had heard. Of course, it wasn't every vassal, but well over half that had spoken out against the shogun going in person to subjugate Choushuu. There were even some stationed in Edo Castle that openly criticized the idea. "How could it ever be necessary for the shogun to go subjugate some lone 360,000 koku daimyo in the West?"

The bottom line was, if the shogun ended up leaving for Kyou, all of his family and vassals would have to follow. This wasn't just a matter of damaging personal finances, it would mean abandoning days of indolence in Edo and risking their lives for some meaningless battle. For these men, who had been honored as direct servants and feudal lords for the past 300 years, such a change was unthinkable.

"The so-called myriad of vassal warriors," Kondou said, "are no more useful than straw dolls. Itou-kun, our Lord must obey orders from the Emperor and protect the Imperial Palace, suppress Choushuu, and then finally cleanse our country of the foreign barbarians. The question is, who will be our Lord's protectors? The vassals hate war. In the end, the only entity left capable of protecting both the shogun and the Royal family is the Shinsengumi."

Kondou downed the rest of the sake in his cup, and then held it out to Itou, who took it. Ogata Shuntarou, from Kondou's side, refilled the utensil.

"Itou-kun, let us seal a brotherly pact."

"Absolutely." Itou silently drank his sake. As to the thoughts brewing in the man's heart at that moment, no one can be sure.

One day after meeting with Kondou, Itou gathered up his prominent disciples and comrades from the Fukugawa Saga Town dojo.

He came up with seven men, none of them supporters of the government. They were all planning, if possible, to raise their flags in Kyou, kidnap the Emperor, and then begin a new chapter in the "Revere the Emperor, Expel the Barbarians" movement.

Among them was Suzuki Mikisaburou (who later defected to Satsuma, and attempted to snipe Kondou. After the Restoration, he became an Assistant Inspector in the Imperial Prosecuting and Investigating Office. In Taishou 8 (1920), he passed away at the age of 83).

The rest of Itou's old comrades included:

Shinohara Tainoshin (who also defected. He died in Meiji 44 (1911) at age 84).

Kanou Michinosuke (also known as Washio, who later defected to Satsuma).

Hattori Takeo (who died in battle before the Restoration).

Sano Shimenosuke (who committed seppuku before the Restoration).

The remaining two, Nakanishi Noboru and Utsumi Jirou (who both later defected to Satsuma) were Itou's disciples.

Out of these men, the ones said to be especially skilled in their swordsmanship were the Bushuu native Hattori Takeo and the ex-Kurume clan warrior Shinohara Tainoshin. Even men like Kanou and Sano, however, were no less capable than the Shinsengumi's current division captains.

Itou explained the details of his talk with Kondou to these seven, even going as far as to reveal the truth of his own intentions. "At the most, this is nothing more than a union. Eventually, I will come to grip the leadership of the group, and we will become a righteous army capable of toppling the government. Any questions, gentlemen?

"Our goal," Itou continued, "is to enter the lion's den. We won't be hunting the lions, but instead kicking out the rabid ones and taking the hole for ourselves. I request that you men trust in me with your lives."

Everyone acknowledged this.

There was one person, however -- the eldest member of the group, Shinohara Tainoshin -- who wondered if this clever scheme of Itou's wasn't a bit too dangerous.

"I wonder if we'll be alright..." he speculated, in his charming Kurume accent. Shinohara was a radical so extreme that he had set fire to a foreign residence in Yokohama with some of the other men a few years ago. With that said, he was normally a very calm man, much like one would expect a village headman to be. Aside from swordsmanship, he was also trained in judo.

"What do you mean you wonder if we'll be alright?"

"I'm not very good at acting, you know. Entering the Shinsengumi with this much treachery in mind...I'm not sure if I could keep it up for even three days."

"That's fine," Itou was confident in himself. "I'll take care of all the acting. All you men need to do is listen to the orders of Kondou and go about your business. When the time is right, we'll begin our revolt."

"Sounds easy enough for me," Shinohara smiled. "But, boss..."

"You're concerned about me?"

"Yes. You may not like the way this sounds, but...I wonder if your immense talent might not accidentally cause you to trip on your way from the audience to the stage."

"Shinohara-kun..."

"Just hear me out here. Even a motley crew like the Shinsengumi isn't composed solely of morons. They have a very clever man on their side, one that can easily see through third-rate performances...he goes by the name Hijikata Toshizou."

"No, I already gathered some information on him. Hijikata is an uneducated man. An insignificance."

"Hmm...you sure about that?"

"Shinohara-kun, cowardice is quite unbecoming of you."

"What?" Shinohara laughed. "Since things were decided, I was prepared to bet my life and beliefs on your wisdom. But I am feeling a little uneasiness about this whole union thing."

"Uneasiness? According to Toudou-kun, the Shinsengumi is just a disorderly mob. You're fearing them too much, Shinohara-kun."

"What I'm afraid of isn't Kondou or Hijikata."

"Then what are you afraid of?"

"That wisdom of yours. No, maybe it's the way you're betting so much on it. From my point of view, you've got a bunch of ham actors lined up here to follow you, the star. I just hope you don't act too well and float higher up than you need to."

"Shinohara-kun..."

"Nope, that's all I have to say. I leave the rest to you, boss -- hey, it's sake, time, Hattori-kun!"

"Huh?"

"Let's all go grab some sake. As a farewell to Edo's alcohol, I'm drinking until I burst tonight."

That night, after everyone left, Itou wrote a letter about his plans to leave for Kyou to his aged mother Koyo who was living alone in Mimura, Joushuu. After telling his wife Ume about the nature of the union, Itou closed up the dojo and moved his family to a rented house in Mitadai Town.

As mentioned earlier, Itou originally went by the name Ookura, and then changed his name to Kashitarou after he left Edo. He seemed to be greatly prepared for his mission, in a very Itou-esque fashion.

Another episode exists, however, in regards to Itou's preparation to shift up to Kyou. Judging from the man's letters, it may appear that his wife Ume was a very educated woman, but she was also greatly worried about the fate of her husband in the capital.

After receiving a fake letter claiming that his mother had contracted a severe illness, Itou rushed back to Edo in a palanquin as fast as he could, only to hear:

"The truth is, what I wrote about your mother's illness was a lie. The possibility of danger befalling you in the capital just worries me too much, so I thought I'd call you back and ask you to stop getting involved in politics. That's why I wrote the letter." (This information was published in Ono Keijirou's "My Uncle, Itou Kashitarou").

It's unsure as to the feelings Itou harbored toward Ume at this time. All that has been recorded is that he was "extremely frustrated," and that "all the woman thinks about is herself, and has no comprehension of the importance this has on the fate of the nation."

With that, Itou separated from his wife. There were a great number of first-generation loyalists during the Bakumatsu who were also devoted husbands, and Itou Kashitarou was probably the only one to ever get a divorce over politics. (As a side note, Itou's mother Koyo kept a picture of her son in an alcove that she prayed to every morning and night. In 1892 (Meiji 25), she died at the age of 82 in the house of her second son Mikisaburou, in Ishioka Town, Joushuu. The cause of her death might possibly have been due to sorrow at the passing of the immortal Emperor).

The eight men of the Itou group entered the capital on the first day of the twelfth month of 1864 (Genji 1). It was a chillingly cold day.

That afternoon, Toshizou was eating a meal alone in his room. The Vice-Captain was technically supposed to have one apprentice soldier serve him, but Toshizou would allow no one to wait on him. He would always scoop his own rice out from the big wooden container and eat by himself. Ever since he was a child, Toshizou had hated having to dine with other people. This was yet another one of his cat-like qualities.

"Who is it?" The Vice-Captain dropped his chopsticks.

A shadow moved behind the paper screen.

Crisply, without a shred of reserve, the door slid open, and Okita Souji stepped inside.

"Oh, it's just you." If there was one young man to whom Toshizou always had trouble dealing with, it was this one.

"Don't mind me! Please, keep eating."

"Is this urgent business?"

"No, I just came to watch. I don't have a very big appetite, so I love watching other people happily eat their meals. Especially you, Hijikata-san...just watching the way you eat makes energy want to come bursting right out of my body!"

"You're such a pain, you know that?" Toshizou sipped his tea. "Come on, what do you want?"

"Have you heard?"

"Heard what?"

"There are eight visitors from Edo currently in Kondou-sensei's relaxation room (a detached estate at Koushouji Temple)."

"Hm." Toshizou sat his teacup down. "It's Itou, isn't it?"

"What sharp intuition you have there. This Itou fellow has white skin and looks so handsome he could be an actor, but that's not all...he's got a bunch of demonic-looking tough guys with him that could probably give Benkei or Ise Yoshimori a run for their money."

"Oh really?" Toshizou started fiddling with a toothpick.

"Yamanami-sensei and Toudou-san, being of the same style as these men, already went out to go greet them."

"That's strange. No messenger came to the Vice-Captain's room to report of any visitors."

"My apologies for being late -- that messenger is me, sir! Kondou-sensei ordered me to go tell you right away, Hijikata-san."

"Idiot! Why didn't you do it sooner, then?!"

"But..." Okita snickered.

"What's so funny?"

"Watching your face change like that is so amusing, Hijikata-san."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Would you be so kind as to accompany me at once to the Koushouji Temple residence?"

"I'm not going." He continued prodding himself with the toothpick. Toshizou had his own reasons for his actions. He didn't see any reason why the Vice-Captain of the Shinsengumi had to go all the way out to the soldiers' lodging in order to welcome a few new recruits.

"If Itou-san wants to see my face so badly, he is welcome to come to the Vice-Captain's room in the HQ and take a look." Toshizou tossed the toothpick away.

Okita snorted and began laughing. Teasing aside, this is what he liked about Toshizou so much.

Next: The First Month of Keiou 1