was a

samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of History of Japan#Medieval Japan (1185–1573/1600), medieval and Edo period, early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retai ...

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 character ...

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 when ...

. 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, the 11th generation lord of the Tsu domain, 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'', trained at Chiba Shusaku Narimasa's dojo. However, according to some sources, he was trained at

Itō Kashitarō Itō may refer to: *Itō (surname), a Japanese surname *Itō, Shizuoka, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan *Ito District, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan See also *Itô's lemma, used in stochastic calculus *Itoh–Tsujii inversion algorithm, in field theory ...

's dojo instead. In around 1862, he started "taking his meals" at Kondo Isami's Shieikan.

Shinsengumi Period

In 1863, Tōdō joined the Rōshigumi 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 (one of the original commanders of the Shinsengumi) assassination. Tōdō received a wound on his forehead during the Ikedaya incident 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-yashik ...

's ''Shinsengumi Tenmatsuki'', Kondō had wished to spare Tōdō's life. However, Tōdō was killed by a new member,

Miura Tsunesaburō Miura may refer to: Places *Miura, Kanagawa *Miurakaigan Station *Miura District, Kanagawa *Miura Peninsula * Ganadería Miura, the home of the Miura fighting bull line People * Miura (surname) *Miura clan, Japanese descended clan of the Taira ...

, who did not know the circumstances.

Background

Shinsengumi Period

Death

Notes

Further reading