was a doctor practicing Western medicine and also a patriot in the closing days of the Tokugawa shogunate. He is well known as the doctor who saved the life of

Inoue Kaoru Marquess Inoue Kaoru (井上馨, January 16, 1836 – September 1, 1915) was a Japanese politician and a prominent member of the Meiji oligarchy during the Meiji period of the Empire of Japan. As one of the senior statesmen ('' Genrō'') in J ...

, who was severely wounded by would-be assassins. He was also a staff officer of

Takasugi Shinsaku was a samurai from the Chōshū Domain of Japan who contributed significantly to the Meiji Restoration. He used several aliases to hide his activities from the Tokugawa shogunate. Early life Takasugi Shinsaku was born in the castle town Hagi ...

Biography

Ikutaro Tokoro ( ja), formerly Ikutaro Yabashi, was a doctor practicing Western medicine and a patriot in the closing days of the Tokugawa shogunate. He was born in

Akasaka-juku (Nakasendō) was the fifty-sixth of the sixty-nine stations of the Nakasendō connecting Edo with Kyoto in Edo period Japan. It is located in former Mino Province in what is now Akasaka neighborhood of the city of Ōgaki, Gifu Prefecture, Japan.Ibisoku Co ...

in 1838 as the 4th son of Mataichi Yabashi (矢橋亦一). Later this "Yabashi" family had to moved out of the homeland because Ikutaro became a supporter of the doctrine of restoring the emperor. At the age of 11 Ikutaro became the son-in-law of Iori Tokoro (所伊織) who also had to move out of the homeland for the very same reason. Ikutaro entered into

Tekijuku Tekijuku (適塾) was a school established in , Osaka, the main trading route between Nagasaki and Edo in 1838 during the Tenpō era of the late Edo period. Its founder was Ogata Kōan, a doctor and scholar of Dutch studies (Rangaku). The forei ...

. He had the reputation of being a brilliant student and enjoyed the companionship of

Fukuzawa Yukichi was a Japanese educator, philosopher, writer, entrepreneur and samurai who founded Keio University, the newspaper '' Jiji-Shinpō'', and the Institute for Study of Infectious Diseases. Fukuzawa was an early advocate for reform in Japan. His ...

Ōmura Masujirō was a Japanese military leader and theorist in Bakumatsu period Japan. He was the "Father" of the Imperial Japanese Army, launching a modern military force closely patterned after the French system of the day. Early life and education Ōmura ...

and so on. He became the head of the Kyoto Residence of

Chōshū Domain The , also known as the , was a domain (''han'') of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan during the Edo period from 1600 to 1871.Deal, William E. (2005) ''Handbook to Life in Medieval and Early Modern Japan,'' p. 81 The Chōshū Domain was ba ...

upon the recommendation of Katsura Kogorō (later Kido Takayoshi). In 1864 Ikutaro succeeded in saving the life of

by sewing about 50 stitches of

tatami A is a type of mat used as a flooring material in traditional Japanese-style rooms. Tatamis are made in standard sizes, twice as long as wide, about 0.9 m by 1.8 m depending on the region. In martial arts, tatami are the floor used for train ...

needle in the wounds on the whole body without anesthesia because of emergency during the domestic war time. At that time

had been severely wounded by the attack of Zokuron-tō (Sodetogi-bashi Bridge (袖解橋) incident), received a near-fatal injury and had been appealing to Kaoru's brother for beheading right after the attack. The episode that then Inoue's mother, holding bloody Inoue, dissuaded his brother from beheading by saying "What's this? If he dies, he'll be unable to do his best for the country". 『世外井上公伝』p.180-183 This episode was introduced in the National Primary School Reader of the 5th Period. Before

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

everyone knew this episode. Ikutaro became staff officer of

. It is said that Ikutaro Tokoro, temperate and elegant person, didn't fawn although he rendered good service to the country and Chōshū and that even Takasugi Shinsaku with a fiery temperament followed Ikutaro's opinions even if they were against Takasugi's will. Ikutaro Tokoro died of typhoid in camp at the age of 27. He was enshrined in

Kyoto Ryozen Gokoku Shrine The is a Shinto Shrine located in Kyoto, Japan. It honors the heroes of Japan, especially from the period of the Bakumatsu period and the Meiji Restoration, most famously Sakamoto Ryōma and his associate Nakaoka Shintarō, who are buried s ...

in 1869.

The Monuments of Seigan Yanagawa and Ikutaro Tokoro in Kyoto Ryozen Gokoku Shrine

Ikutaro Tokoro was awarded the title of ju shi-i no ge (従四位下, Junior Fourth Rank, Lower Grade) by the recommendation of

Shinagawa Yajirō Viscount was a Chōshū Domain samurai, who became Home Ministry (Japan), Home Minister in early Meiji period Japan. Biography Shinagawa was born in Hagi, Yamaguchi, Hagi, in former Chōshū Domain (present day Yamaguchi Prefecture). His father ...

and so on. Ikutaro was also awarded by the erection of the monument at the site of the demolished Tokoro's house in Ono Town, where Ikutaro as a member of the Tokoros grew up, with the cooperation of Marquis Inoue Saburō, grandson of Inoue Kaoru. Inoue Kaoru rehabilitated the extinct family, the Tokoros, by bringing up Ikutaro's nephew from the family, the Yabashis, where Ikutaro was born, whose name was Minokichi Yabashi, in Inoue's residence at Torii-Zaka, Tokyo (now, International House of Japan).I want to sleep in Chōshū Domain : Ikutaro Tokoro ⑤
/ref> Thus the conferment of the Imperial court rank ( Junior Fourth Rank, Lower Grade), the erection of the monument and the rehabilitation of the extinct Tokoro family, namely

's wishes, came to be realized with the help of the later generation. The Statue of Ikutaro Tokoro was built in

where he was born. Inscription says as follows. Alongside the statue of

in Yudaonsen there is the monument to honor Ikutaro Tokoro which says as follows.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tokoro, Ikutaro 1838 births 1865 deaths 19th-century Japanese physicians