was a Japanese member of the Shinsengumi and

Hijikata Toshizō was a Japanese warrior. As of the ''Shinsengumi'', he resisted the Meiji Restoration and fought to his end. Background was born on May 31, 1835, in the Ishida village, Tama region of Musashi Province (present day Ishida, Hino, Tokyo), Jap ...

's page. Although commonly believed to be a fictional character, Ichimura Tetsunosuke was a real member of the Shinsengumi.

History

Born in 1854, Tetsunosuke was the third son of Ichimura Hanemoki of the Ōgaki Domain, Mino Province,

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. In 1859, his father was expelled from the Ōgaki Domain, so he was raised in a village in Ōmi Province (present day Nagahama, Shiga Prefecture) and lived with his close relatives there. In 1867, he joined the Shinsengumi with his older brother Ichimura Tatsunosuke (1846 – March 15, 1872) when he was 14 years old and was the attendant of Vice Commander Hijikata Toshizō. In 1868, Tatsunosuke left the Kōyō Chinbutai (the renamed Shinsengumi) after the Battle of Kōshū-Katsunuma. However, Tetsunosuke decided to stay with the group. He and the group continued to fight in

Aizu is the westernmost of the three regions of Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, the other two regions being Nakadōri in the central area of the prefecture and Hamadōri in the east. As of October 1, 2010, it had a population of 291,838. The princip ...

Sendai is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Miyagi Prefecture, the largest city in the Tōhoku region. , the city had a population of 1,091,407 in 525,828 households, and is one of Japan's 20 Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, desig ...

and later arrived at Republic of Ezo. During the final battle of 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 ...

, the Battle of Hakodate, Ichimura Tetsunosuke was summoned by Hijikata on June 14 ( lunar calendar May 5), 1869, to a private room in an inn. There, Ichimura was entrusted with Hijikata's death poem, a katana, a letter, a photograph of Hijikata, and several strands of Hijikata's hair. He was instructed to bear them to the home of Satō Hikogorō (Hijikata's brother-in-law) in

Hino Hino may refer to: Places Estonia * Hino, Põlva County * Hino, Võru County ** Lake Hino Japan * Hino, Shiga * Hino, Tokyo * Hino, Tottori ** Hino District, Tottori ** Hino River Transportation * Hino Motors, a Japanese truck manufacturer o ...

. Ichimura insisted on staying with Hijikata's side and fight to the death, asked him to look for someone else to deliver them, but Hijikata threatened to kill him should he refused to obey him. Ichimura reluctantly carried out his orders and left. As he departed from the fortress

Goryōkaku (literally, "five-point fort") is a star fort in the Japanese city of Hakodate on the island of Hokkaido. The fortress was completed in 1866. It was the main fortress of the short-lived Republic of Ezo. History ''Goryōkaku'' was designed in ...

, he looked back and saw someone who he believed to be Hijikata watching him from the distance through a small opening in the gate. He later learned of his master's death on the ship to Yokohama. Ichimura arrived in Hino three months later. When he arrived at Satō's home he reported the news, and later recounted that there were none that did not weep. Ichimura stayed at Sato's house for two to three years. Later, he returned to Ōgaki, where he was reunited with his brother Tatsunosuke.

Death

There are a few theories regarding the date of Ichimura Tetsunosuke's death. It is believed that he died from an illness in his house in Ōgaki in 1873, but according to the relatives of Shimada Kai and tradition of the Kishi family, Tetsunosuke joined the Saigō Takamori's army and died during the Satsuma Rebellion in 1877. Therefore, the date of his death is uncertain.

In popular culture

Ichimura Tetsunosuke is the

protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...

of the

manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...

and anime series '' Peacemaker Kurogane'', which focuses around the exploits of the famous Shinsengumi. He is 15 years old (16 in the manga) and rather short. His brother Tatsunosuke also joins him for the series. Ichimura is also featured in the anime series, '' Intrigue in the Bakumatsu - Irohanihoheto'', '' Katsugeki/Touken Ranbu'', the short OVA '' Hijikata Toshizou - Shiro no Kiseki'', video game ''

Fu-un Bakumatsu-den is a Japanese PlayStation 2 game made in 2005 by Genki Co. as a follow-up to '' Fu-un Shinsengumi''. In 2009, it was remade for the PlayStation Portable as by From Software. As in the previous game, the player takes the role of a member of t ...

'' and in NHK's 2011 series ''

Shinsengumi Keppuroku 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 when ...

''. Ichimura is portrayed by Sosuke Ikematsu in NHK's '' Shinsengumi!!: Hijikata Toshizo Saigo no Ichinichi''. Ichimura is also a supporting character in ''Shin Teito Monogatari'', the prequel to the bestselling historical fantasy novel '' Teito Monogatari'' ( Hiroshi Aramata). Gintama character ''Sasaki'' Tetsunosuke is loosely based on him, being a new Shinsengumi recruit and assistant to Hijikata Toshi''rō'' (based on

), but also as a younger brother to Sasaki ''I''saburō (based on

Mimawarigumi The was a special police force created by the Tokugawa shogunate during the late Bakumatsu period to restore public order to Kyoto. History In the unsettled period after to ending of the national isolation policy, the political situation in Jap ...

member

Sasaki Tadasaburō Sasaki () is the 13th most common Japanese surname. Less common variants are 佐咲, 佐佐木 and 笹木. Notable people with the surname include: Overview *, Japanese figure skater *, Japanese alpine skier *, Japanese idol and singer *, Japane ...

, presumed to be the one who orquestrated the assassination of Sakamoto Ryōma, which is also present in the series as Sakamoto ''Tatsu''ma).

References

*Kojima, Masataka. ''Shinsengumi Episodes''. Tokyo: Kojima-Shiryoukan, 1991. *''Shinsengumi Dokuhon~Taishi Gaiden 2''. Namegata: Tamatsukuri, 2006 *''Shinsengumi Encyclopedia''. Tokyo:

Shin Jinbutsu Oraisha Shin may refer to: Biology * The front part of the human leg below the knee * Shinbone, the tibia, the larger of the two bones in the leg below the knee in vertebrates Names * Shin (given name) (Katakana: シン, Hiragana: しん), a Japanese g ...

, 1978 {{DEFAULTSORT:Ichimura, Tetsunosuke 1854 births 1870s deaths Year of death uncertain Shinsengumi Japanese pages