Chapter 9 Sakurada Gate Incident-1

Author: Translated by Sima Ryotaro Nakajima Xiaozi Preface & Conclusion "The Sakurada Gate Incident" is a representative work of Shiba Ryotaro. In 1860, the Falling Curtain Movement began outside the Sakurada Gate, and ronin from Mito and Satsuma assassinated Taishi Ii.Although political acts such as assassination have rarely produced positive results in history, this incident can be said to be an exception.If the Meiji Restoration is affirmed, this incident should be affirmed. The collapse of the shogunate began outside the Sakurada Gate.The purpose of this article is not to discuss the historical significance of the Sakurada Gate Incident.However, while it can be asserted that political acts such as assassinations have almost never produced positive results in history, this incident can be said to be an exception.If we affirm the Meiji Restoration, we should affirm the incident that started it.The killed Jingyi Naosuke ended his most important historical mission because of being killed.Hikone has been known as the essence of the shogunate army for three hundred years, but it was completely defeated by a dozen ronin who broke in. This brought encouragement and courage to those who were engaged in the movement to overthrow the shogunate. With the arrival of the Restoration, the Shuisha patriots who died in this incident were not as light as a feather.

As for Ajing and Songzi, Toshimichi Okubo recorded it in his post just after the incident: "Jizaemon died in battle, and the grief of the mother and daughter is indescribable. They are extremely loyal to justice. The daughter vows not to remarry throughout her life, and the mother and daughter are determined to stick to their chastity." However, in September of the following year, the first year of Bunku (1861), the mother returned to Kagoshima, the hometown of her deceased husband. In December, she chose Zaemon's elder brother Toshisai as her husband and married her daughter.

There is such a section in the "History Biography Before and After the Restoration" (Kisei Society Magazine in May of the second year of Taisho), which records Junzhai's conversation: "It was a certain day in December of the first year of Bunjiu (1861), and Junzhai had something to do. The adopted son of Kusakabe Isami, called Kaieda Takeji." Kaieda is Kusakabe's original surname. "Marry pine nuts as a wife." The subtleties are still unknown.In short, Junzhai, that is, Takeji Kaieda.After breaking through the storms of the reform, he later served as a righteous official in the Senate.Pine nuts became the Viscountess.Ah Jing also enjoyed the happiness.

The second brother, Yusuke, went west to mobilize the Satsuma Domain and returned to Kagoshima on March 23.However, the feudal hall executed the person related to the Sakurada Gate Incident that night, because the reason was to take care of the relationship with the shogunate. *** Arimura Jizaemon, who became famous all over the world for the Sakuradamon Incident, was transferred from his hometown Satsuma to the Edo feudal residence in the autumn of the sixth year of Ansei (1859) the year before the incident.At that time, there were two in twenty. "What do you think is the happiest thing about coming to Edo?"

an old woman asked half-jokingly. "rice." Jizaemon answered loudly.He was a handsome man rarely seen among Satsuma vassals, with fair skin and rosy cheeks.It seems that this young man's personality is as simple as his appearance. He worked as a small errand in the Edo feudal mansion as a "small and medium surname serviceman".He had just arrived in Edo, and his second brother Yusuke had been transferred some time before him to serve as the official document approval secretary.In this way, Jizaemon is guided by his brother in everything. On the day Jizaemon settled in the mansion, his brother Yusuke whispered to him:

"Jizaemon, since you are in Edo, you should put your life aside." "I've already made up my mind." It was with this ambition in mind that Jizaemon came to Edo. "This is my feeling, and it is also a deadly poem." As he spoke, he took out his pipe, and on the handle of the pipe was engraved with a waka: Facing the national crisis, the samurai swung his long sword resolutely.The rock can still be urged, and the iron billet can also be broken, and the ambition is for the country and the people. "The writing is not bad!" Yusuke secretly praised.He was surprised and amazed by his younger brother's talent.He thought that his younger brother might have inherited his mother's talent.Their mother was good at poetry.

"Did you write it?" "yes." The eldest brother's name is Arimura Toshisai, and the second brother's name is Yusuke.The three brothers, it seems that Jizaemon is also good at swordsmanship, and he learned the art from the celebrity Yaomaru Hanzaemon who taught the genre in his hometown.Stand out among the brothers.The teacher said he was "very talented". One day after Jizaemon came to Edo for a few days, his second elder brother Yusuke took him to a widow's house in Saioji Temple not far from Fanxie.Her house is rented. Yusuke solemnly introduced:

"This is my younger brother Jizaemon, just like me, please teach me a lesson." The widow's name is A Jing, and she is about forty years old.Maybe it's because of all the hardships, she took on the demeanor of an old woman too early, and she was the one who asked Jizaemon "the happiest thing about coming to Edo". She loves to laugh and fucks a beautiful Mito samurai Even a single word of her language can make people feel that she has a lot of Sinology, so it is more or less blunt.But in any case, she is an extraordinary woman. The Kusakabe family has a daughter named Songzi who is petite and has a mole at the corner of her eye.Jizaemon came from a remote village in Satsuma, the capital, and the first Edo girl who spoke to him was this pine nut.So the impression of meeting for the first time is particularly fresh and profound.

When he answered "rice" loudly, Matsuko couldn't help being impolite, raised the back of his hand to cover his mouth and laughed, and was stared at by his mother, then lowered his head and swallowed his laughter desperately. This gesture made Jizaemon feel amused.On the way back, Jizaemon asked his brother: "Brother, who was the wife just now?" "You are such a fool." Yusuke was stunned.It seems that my younger brother was in a daze just now, and he didn't know who he was visiting. "Those two women are the survivors of Mr. Kusakabe Yisan. If you are so negligent, you can't do great things!"

"Because my brother didn't tell me then; of course I had no way of knowing." "No way? I forgot to tell you, you should ask me, such carelessness) can't do big things!" "In the future, I will definitely ask for advice." Jizaemon was very leisurely, and he couldn't tell that he was a young man who wrote such angry poems. "It seems that he is not familiar with Edo yet!" Yusuke thought to himself. The three brothers grew up in abject poverty.His father, Arimura Niemon, was originally a small official who reviewed official documents in the feudal clan.In the second year of Jiayong (1849), he was dismissed for scolding a certain ruling party. After that, the family often ate the last meal without the next meal.The old man is a tough guy who doesn't know how to deal with the world.After working as a rabbit, in order to make a living, he planned to be a blacksmith forging swords.This is a good idea, he started with a kitchen knife to practice his skills.Jizaemon was still young, so his father asked Shunsai and Yusuke to help him forge iron.In any case, the forging room was too simple, and one day it was blown away by the wind, and my father said angrily, "Even Fengshen is against me!" After that, he gave up without even forging a kitchen knife.

Afterwards, the family lived in seclusion in the village of Fanjiazhi in the capital city, reclaimed wasteland, and harvested some sweet potatoes in the second year, so that they did not starve to death. "It's really not easy to live to this day!" Yusuke thought, "But this kid is an old son, and he grew up without being hungry or tired." Thinking of this, Yusuke found that Jizaemon also had a younger brother innocent and quite cute. Eldest brother Junzhai (later Hai Jiangtian Takeji, Yu Jue after the Restoration) was talented in life. In order to help the family make a living, he worked as a tea boy in the lord's mansion from the age of eleven, receiving a salary of four stones, and started tea ceremony at the age of fourteen. Monk: Later, by chance, I got to know Xixiang Yoshihei (Yinosuke, Takamori) and Okubo Iszo (Ritong), and became close friends; the three of them were favored by the former feudal lord Qi Bin, who was known as As the most virtuous prince in the world, this genius educated them with the most advanced worldview at that time.Therefore, the three of them were the first among the Satsuma vassals to participate in the turmoil of the shogunate era. My eldest brother is now in Kyoto Fanxe, where he is running to complete the plan to assassinate Ii. Although he is not a high-ranking person, he has already gained a reputation as a representative of the Satsuma patriots. "Jisaemon," Yusuke said, "I'll introduce you to Mito's allies another day. But if you're not smart, you'll be looked down upon." "Brother, in a nutshell, just kill Hikone Chiki (Oro Ii Naosuke)! I left my hometown with all my heart for this purpose, and I have no other thoughts. The clever thing is the work of Brother Toshizai." "This guy!" Yusuke said silently in his heart.He was at a loss for words, perhaps this young man Jizaemon has the most suitable character to be an assassin. *** Later, Jizaemon often came to visit "the bereaved family of Mr. Kusakabe".Because most of the secret meetings of the Satsuma mansion were held at their home. "Kisakabe Isami" is enshrined in the Buddhist altar of their house.There is nothing more exciting than this name for the emperor of Satsuma.He was the first martyr of Satsuma in the late years of the Shogunate. He was killed by Jing Yi. Kusakabe Yi Sanshi is a figure with a special mission in the history of the reform.He was a Satsuma feudal lord, but he had been a Mito feudal lord.Speaking of which, he belongs to both Shui and Sa.His father, Minglian, was originally a native of the Satsuma domain. He ran away due to an accident in his official business, and opened a private school in Takagi in the territory of Mito.His son Yi was summoned three times as a Mito feudal lord. Yi three times later asked the feudal lord to return to the Satsuma domain to which his father belonged, which was approved by the feudal lords of both feudal domains.Yi three times played the role of the glue connecting the two domains of Mizusa.At that time, the Mito Domain was the base camp of the idea of ​​respecting the emperor and barbarians, radiating brilliant brilliance, and people with lofty ideals all over the world looked forward to it with religious admiration. One reason why the Satsuma Domain was closest to it was that Qi Bin, the former feudal lord, admired Mito’s Qi Zhao, but the more important reason is that Kusakabe Yi played the role of bridge three times. Saigo, Okubo, and Nagashaku Shunsai of Jizaemon, through three introductions by Kusakabei, got acquainted with famous people in Mito, which had a great influence on them. Kusakabei was arrested three times for the Ansei Inuken incident, and was tortured indescribably in the Edo Denma-cho prison, and then died of exhaustion. At the same time, his eldest son Susumu who was arrested at the same time also died in prison the following year. Only the women remained in the Kusakabe family. However, Shizuko is no ordinary widow. "If Jingyi is not defeated, the country will perish," the words her husband said before his death became the pillar of her life. For her, Jingyi Naosuke is the enemy of her husband and son, and her personal enemy is also the public enemy of people with lofty ideals in the world. According to her idea, she put all her eggs in one basket and concentrated on assassinating Jingyi, which can be said to be a matter of course of. One day, older brother Yusuke said to Jizaemon: "You go to Kusakabe's house and wait for me first." Jizaemon came to Jing's house. It was a pleasure visiting this family.The widow Ajing treats each other sincerely, and the girl Songzi also seems to have a good impression. The mother and daughter call him "little brother, little brother".The Kusakabe family has long treated their elder brother Junsai as a relative, so it is a natural expression of affection to call Junsai's younger brother this way. When Jizaemon came for the second time, Ajing said: "It's very presumptuous, please be as casual as our family members!" No matter how you look at it, Jizaemon is an important person who avenges their family. Jizaemon has a reason for Jizaemon.He had been raised among brothers and was new to a female-only household, even sitting in the living room. Miss Songzi brought tea from time to time.Sometimes mother Ah Jing orders her daughter. "I can't live without my hands in the kitchen, Ah Song, you can accompany the guests!" So, only the two of them were left. However, this kind of scene of two people sitting opposite each other is unbearable even for five minutes.At such a time, Jizaemon foolishly said nothing, and Matsuko kept her head down.They have neither the courage nor the topic to talk to. However, in Jizaemon's heart, he was desperately thinking, as if he was sweating: "There is no such a beautiful girl in Kagoshima City." He couldn't frankly admit that he fell in love with her .This is his misfortune.Being attracted by a woman should be cast aside, this is the education he received in his hometown. On another day, when Jizaemon went to Kusakabe's house, his mother Yasuke came out and said in a Udo accent: "Ah, you came just in time." She told her that there was a rare visitor. According to the chronology of the incident, this day was the twenty-third day of the first lunar month in the first year of Mannoen (1860), four months after Jizaemon came to the mansion. In order to let Jizaemon know a little about the guest's situation, Ah Jing whispered the guest's name at the door.The guests were Takenosuke Sano, two hundred stones of the Mito clan's "small surname," and Tadasaburo Kurosawa, two hundred stones from the Magui group of the same clan. "It's comrade." Jizaemon understood in his heart.I have heard of these names a long time ago, and Sano is under house arrest and under surveillance by the feudal mansion, so it must have taken some unusual hardship to escape from the feudal domain. "Both are dressed as peasants." "What are they here for?" "Ok?" Shizuko was a little surprised. "To see you." "see me?" "Yes. As representatives of the Mito volunteers, they came out risking their lives in order to get in touch with you, your brother Yusuke and other Satsuma volunteers." "yes?" Jizaemon once again realized that he seemed to be a very important person.However, a country guy like myself can communicate with others and conspire. "About how old are you?" "Same as Jizaemon-san." "Ok?" "Both are twenty-two years old." "That's right, so young!" He thought, and walked in with confidence. Sano and Kurosawa were sitting in the room, joking with Matsuko.The Kusakabe family was originally a member of the Mito clan, so they talked and laughed like old acquaintances.This made Jizaemon feel a little jealous. "I'm Toshisai, Yusuke's younger brother Arimura Jizaemon. Please teach me as much as you would a brother." "Oh, sorry! Sorry!" The two hurriedly sat down on their knees and said their names.Sano Takenosuke finished kowtowing and said: "There is a village lord, it is enough to give a meeting ceremony. Don't see outsiders in the future. We are partners who live together and die together." "Yes!" Jizaemon couldn't help saying loudly, "Do as you say!" Jizaemon is not used to socializing, and the other party is the famous Mito vassal who honors the emperor and rejects barbarians, so he is very nervous. "Hey!" He was observing silently.Kurosawa Tadasaburo is a simple young man who is often seen in Satsuma; Sano Takenosuke is very chic, it seems that he is not suitable for swinging a sword, but for playing "three strings".In fact, Sano is a master of the Shinto no-mind genre. "He's a hero!" Jizaemon secretly praised in his heart.But Sano's attitude towards Songzi somewhat attracted his attention.Sano freely called pine nuts "pine girls": "Ms. Song, I am dressed like this. Do you have your father's old clothes?" Sano said while tugging at the collar of his peasant clothes. "Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't think of that," Songzi stood up lightly to look for it. "Nothing compares to the people of Mito," Jizaemon thought. The attitude of mother Ah Jing is also the same.She seemed to have forgotten that Jizaemon was here, and was only busy receiving new guests from afar.Although the mother and daughter belong to the Satsuma clan, they grew up in Mito, so they naturally prefer young people from Mito. But what's not trivial is that the two young men said that they were going to hide here forever. This was not their own decision, but brother Yusuke asked Ah Jing to make a decision. "After getting rid of Ii, if it is discovered that the murderer was hidden beforehand, the Kusakabe mother and daughter will have to be implicated," Jizaemon thought. For the widow Ah Jing, although it was a matter of life and death, she remained calm and dressed Sano and Kurosawa in the clothes of her late husband and son, depending on the length, fat and thinness, as happy as if her son had returned.Jizaemon saw it, and was very envious, "They are just like my own family." After a while, brother Yusuke came.There are also many secular factions in the Satsuma domain, and they need to be very cautious in their actions, so the two brothers did not come together. "I didn't discuss anything special today." Sano and Kurosawa said that anyway, in a few days, Comrade Kimura Gonyuemon of the Mito clan will collect the opinions of comrades from Mito and sneak into Edo.Sano said: "We'll talk about it then." Brother Yusuke is a kind person, he bought cheap alcohol with the money he raised from running around. "Oh, this is a good thing!" Sano said while receiving the wine poured by pine nuts, but the wine was very bad. Sano is a son of a good family, and frowned when he smelled the wine, but after a while, he got drunk and started talking with witty words. "Ah, this is Mito-style talking." Jizaemon's eyes were bright, and he listened intently. really.Hearing Sano's wise words denouncing the crimes of the elder Ii Naosuke, Jizaemon was once again furious and gnashed his teeth in hatred.Indeed, there have been few tyrannical politicians like Jingyi Naobi since ancient times.He promoted spy politics, and executed more than 100 people, ranging from princes, Wushejia, relatives, daimyos, and various officials, down to ambitious people and ronin from various domains. Ii is not a politician, because the reason he launched such a coup was not for the country, nor for the open policy, nor for the people, but just to restore Tokugawa Jiawei.Jing Yiben was a conservative anti-barbarian, so this crackdown cannot be said to be aimed at anti-barbarians.While suppressing the anti-barbarians, he purged the shogunate diplomats who were recognized as open-minded, and abolished foreign-style military training, and restored the military system to the "consistent" swordsmanship since the establishment of the curtain.He's such a fervent conservative. This extreme reactionary failed to withstand the pressure of the United States and even signed a trade treaty without authorization.This "founding of the country" policy was opposed by the anti-barbarian faction to which he belonged.Jing Yi frantically suppressed them again.He has become a subject of psychopathological research. In short, Jingyi's suppression of the people is not out of any political opinions, but out of somewhat grounded fear.Nai hated and hated Mito Qizhao's political activities, and even believed that Qizhao had a big conspiracy to monopolize the shogunate politics, so he suppressed the nobles, princes, and nobles who supported Mito as participants in the conspiracy. It can be said that, Jing Yi regards the private affairs of the Tokugawa family as a major national event, and has engaged in such a big event, and it is still going on. "All he has is ignorance and stubbornness. Such a villain holds power, which is equivalent to a madman wielding a sharp sword." Sano Takenosuke said.Under Jing Yi's dictatorship, there is no power to stop this "tyrant", and there is no other way but to get rid of Jing Yi and stop this running madman. Sano said: "Mito can mobilize a thousand people in one fell swoop." He didn't say anything to the Mito people, and this move was also to avenge the feudal lord. "Satsuma too," Yusuke said weakly. Regarding the matter of Zhuiyi, the radical faction of the Satsuma clan had a grand plan at the beginning. Its leaders were Arimura Shunsai, Okubo Ichizo, Nishifen Yoshihei, Takasaki Iotaro, etc. These people were called "" The Loyalty Group".They held secret talks with people with lofty ideals in Mito several times, and planned to kill Ii. At the same time, three thousand strong men from the Satsuma domain marched into Kyoto to defend the imperial court, and ordered the shogunate to reform politics under the order of the imperial court. ", Okubo and other dozens of people with lofty ideals were determined to leave the feudal vassal, but the news leaked out and was known by the lord's father, Hisamitsu Shimadzu. Hisamitsu did not suppress them. It is said that Hisamitsu's attitude at that time laid the foundation for the unique unification of the Satsuma clan during the turmoil in the early years of the Shogunate. "Your spirit is commendable," Jiuguang said, "but with the meager strength of ronin who have left the vassal, it is impossible to accomplish great things in the world. Wait! I plan to lead the entire Satsuma vassal to engage in state affairs in the future, and make full preparations. Look for an opportunity to revolt." Then, Hisamitsu wrote this decree into an order with the words "Jingzhonggumi everyone" on it, which means that the informal political group "Jingzhonggumi" was officially recognized.Jiuguang handled this matter quite cleverly. In this way, Okubo and others calmed down, and they set up a written statement to stop the assault, "If the whole vassal respects the emperor, there is no need to separate from the vassal and take risks." They also drew blood pledges respectively. On the Edo side, the "Jingzhong Group" of the Satsuma Mansion did not know the drastic changes that had taken place in the mansion, and was still preparing for the eradication of adultery.It is said that it is the elite group, but there are actually only six comrades. They are Yumura Yusuke, Jizaemon brothers, Hori Nakazaemon, Takasaki Iotaro, Tanaka Naosumu and Yamaguchi Sansai. The Satsuma domain sent the order of the feudal lord to Edo, and first recalled Hori and Takasaki. Soon, Yamaguchi Sansai and Tanaka Naoshin were also transferred back to the domain. The only ones left are the two Youcun brothers.Not voluntarily stayed, just because they are not big shots who have to be recalled. " When Yusuke said "Satsuma too", he was weak, and that was because of the above situation. Let alone several thousand people, the Satsuma clan only has two brothers from the village. After returning to the mansion, Jizaemon said: "Brother, in a few days Mito Zhishi will come on behalf of Mr. Kimura Gonyumon, but, we are like this, Satsuma has betrayed Mito, right?" "The situation in the feudal clan is not clear, I only know that it has become the emperor of the entire feudal clan." "Is the Kyoto Uprising undertaken by the Satsuma clan going to end?" "I don't know." Edo was kept in the dark. Hori, Takasaki and others who should be recalled to the feudal clan a few days ago will inform the two brothers of the details sooner or later.However, when considering the round-trip time between Edo and Kagoshima, you know that you cannot catch up with the original scheduled uprising time.What's more, there is no way to explain to Kimura Gonnoemon, the representative of the Mito clan who will come a few days later. "Jisaemon," Yusuke said with a tragic expression, "Let's join the two brothers. Whether it's the feudal clan or the others, we can't rely on them, so let's fight with two equals! It's also considered keeping promises to Mito. " "elder brother."