Hijikata's Profile - Japan

His Past in Japan:

Born: May 31, 1835 (May 5, 1835 by the old lunar calendar) in Ishida Village, the Tama region of the Musashi province, close to Edo (renamed Tokyo following the Restoration), Japan.
Religion: Shinto and Buddhism. Also studied Confucianism.

Other names he’s been known by:

“Formal” Name - Yoshitoyo

Penname - Hogyoku

Alternate Name - Hayato Naito (From about March 1 until shortly after Kondo’s capture in April of 1868. On that occasion he was made a high-ranking retainer of the shogun.)

Nicknames: OniFukucho (Demon Vice-commander); Demon of Edo

Favorite Things:

Favorite Color - Red

Favorite Flower - Ume (plum blossom)

Favorite Food - Takuwan (pickled radish)

Favorite Drink(s) - Sake (rice wine); Sencha (green tea)

Favorite Game(s): Shogi (Japanese chess) or Go (a board game played with black and stones and requiring the use of strategy in a way some think resembles warfare.)

Smokes - Kiseru (Japanese pipe)

Hobby - Haiku (poetry); Fishing

Weapon:
(Long Sword) Izumi no Kami Fujiwara Kanesada, 2'8"
(Short Sword) Kunihiro Horikawa, 1'11"5
Revolver of some sort after Toba-Fushimi

Sword Skills:
Sword Style - Tennen Rishin Ryu
Teacher - Shusuke Kondo, Shieikan dojo

Rank in the Shinsengumi - Fukucho (Vice-commander)

Appearance:

Basically, he fit the Peacemaker Kurogane description of Hijikata - Long, black hair worn in a topknot (ponytail); tall; considered “handsome”; body well-toned from practicing swordsmanship; usually wore just a black kimono when not on duty. After the Battle of Toba-Fushimi, which was the start of the Boshin War, Hijikata cut his hair short and began wearing Western clothing. He also began to carry a revolver as well as his sword.

Personality :

For the most part during the Kyoto years, Hijikata behaved much like the PMK version of the character. Only those very close to him would have ever realized the “demon persona” he adopted was just a mask to hide his true feelings. He believed that for the sake of everyone, he had to bury his own humanity and “become a demon” in order to maintain discipline. Otherwise he felt that the group had no chance of surviving. Someone had to be the “bad guy” and he preferred for it to be him instead of Kondo. His determination to behave in the manner of a “true samurai” was also partly to blame for his strictness. Some may have agreed with him for the most part, but there were many old friends who grew distant from him during that time.

Hijikata was still acting as the “demon vice-commander” up until Kondo’s capture and execution during the Boshin War. Soon after, news came to him of Okita’s “death”. At that point Hijikata no longer had the heart to keep up the illusion. Those who fought with him in Ezo (renamed Hokkaido shortly after the war) thought that he became “gentle” before the end, unaware that this had been the true Hijikata all along. His men were also inspired by his courage on the battlefield, though many also suspected that he was “suicidal” and “looking for a place to die” following the deaths of his friends. It was well-known that Hijikata felt guilty for being unable to save Kondo. He also felt guilt for not being able to be with Okita when he “died”. The apparent loss of Hajime Saito in Aizu and of other Shinsengumi members throughout the course of the war had also been a heavy blow to him.

The survivors often speak of the great “sadness” that seemed to cling to him, but they also speak of his courage, dignity, and loyalty to his followers. They felt that he behaved “more samurai-like than the real samurai” and was “braver than any other man in Ezo”. One later reported that on hearing he had died in battle, everyone “cried like babes who had lost their mother”. Many who knew him in Kyoto would have been surprised on hearing these accounts later on.


His History in Tama and Kyoto:

Basically I am following the history of the real Hijikata for his past in Japan. See his profile at the Shinsengumi no Makoto website for more details. Events which involved other Shinsengumi characters will be worked out with the players should a need to mention them arise.

What I know I am going to adopt from other sources:

-Hijikata barely remembers his mother. He sometimes has nightmares about the day she passed away of tuberculosis.

-Up until his engagement to Okoto, Hijikata was always in trouble with women. Someone was always after him... He also seemed to get into a great many fights as a youth. “Festival brawls” were his “specialty”.

-As a youth he used to tie his hair up with a “fancy red string”. He stopped this practice soon after arriving in Kyoto.


His History in Hakodate:

After the fall of Aizu, Hijikata joined Takeaki Enomoto and other Tokugawa supporters on the northern island of Ezo to make one last stand against the new Meiji government. They took the western-style fort of Goryokaku, which protected the port of Hakodate, as their headquarters and soon declared themselves to be the “Republic of Ezo” with Enomoto as president. Matsudaira Taro was the vice-president and Keisuke Otori was commander of the army. This had all been decided by an election among the defenders, the first ever in Japan. To the post of vice-commander of the army they elected Hijikata.

Hijikata had some initial successes in Ezo. He managed to capture Matsumae castle and successfully held off the imperial army for a while. Yet he had known even before leaving Sendai that it was only a matter of time. His purpose in going, he had told an acquaintance, was not to try to win, but “to fight the best battle of my life to die for the country”. He had felt it would be a “shame” if no one was willing to fall with the Tokugawa shogunate, which had lasted over 200 years. He had already been aware of what their downfall would be: They had no means of getting fresh supplies or manpower. Their enemies had plenty of both. Eventually they were pushed all the way back to Hakodate.

On the morning of June 20, 1869 (May 11, 1869 by the Lunar calendar), the Meiji government began its final assault on the holdouts in Hakodate. Enomoto was determined to hold onto fort Goryokaku. However his decision meant abandoning the men stationed at another fort, Benten Daiba. Hijikata opposed this, since the remaining Shinsengumi members were among the defenders, but Enomoto told him to be silent. Instead of dropping the matter, Hijikata took a few men and attempted to make his way to the fort.

He was unaware that the imperial army had already taken possession of the barrier along the route to Benten Daiba. (The Tokugawa shogunate had a series of barriers or “checkpoints” along most roads to prevent the free movement of large bodies of armed men.) As the Meiji soldiers fired on him and his men, he made one last desperate attempt to break through the barrier alone and was struck by a stray bullet, knocking him from his horse.

His men tried to get to their leader despite the danger and his aide, Yasutomi, was able to make a brief check of the body. Unable to find any sign of life, he announced Hijikata was dead. Still under heavy fire from their foes, they were forced to leave the corpse lying on the field as they retreated. Word soon spread throughout the ranks of the both sides that the vice-commander of the Ezo army had been killed in battle.

When the Meiji government later went back to the site, they could find no sign of his corpse. It was believed that some of his men must have returned after the battle and retrieved it so that their leader’s body would not be “shamed” in any way by his foes. Despite intense questioning, they were never able to discover the location of his grave. The Hijikata family later made their own inquiries into the matter, but had no better luck. Either those who knew were not talking or they had been killed. Hijikata’s final resting place remained a mystery in Japan.




Family Relationships:

Father - Yoshiatsu (Hayato) Hijikata - Died only a few months before he was born of tuberculosis. Everyone who knew him tells Hijikata that his dad was a “good man” and that he very much resembles him.

Mother - Etsu Hijikata - She died when Hijikata was six and he has only a vague recollection of her.

Tamejiro Hijikata (1812 - still alive in 1884) - The eldest son in the family. However he was not allowed to inherit anything because he was born blind. Like many so affected, he became a musician, singing and playing the samisen. He gave Hijikata some lessons on how to play this instrument. He also encouraged his younger brother to follow his dreams, much to the annoyance of their other brother, Kiroku.

Kiroku Hijikata (1819 - 1860) - As the eldest son after Tamejiro, he became the head of the family and was responsible for his younger siblings. Because Hijikata ran away at age eleven from a job Kiroku had gone through much trouble to secure for him, the two brothers had a very strained relationship. The elder Hijikata also did not approve of his sibling’s aspirations to be a samurai, saying that he didn’t know his place and that it would get him into serious trouble eventually. He died before ever seeing Hijikata become a success.

Shuu Hijikata (1823 - 1838) - The eldest sister of the family died when she was only sixteen. As Hijikata was only three at the time, he only knows that everyone thought she was a “sweet girl”.

Daisaku Hijikata (1828 - 1877) - Another brother, he was adopted out to a family of doctors and studied medicine himself. He changed his name to Ryojun Kasuya. He taught Hijikata calligraphy. He was also the doctor who cared for him in 1861 when he almost died of an unknown illness. After new came to them of Hijikata’s “death” in Ezo, Daisaku put much effort into trying to find out exactly what had happened to him. However he died at age 50 without ever learning the truth.

Nobu (Hijikata) Sato (1831 - 1877) - Hijikata’s elder sister, who took him in after he ran away from the shop in Edo where Kiroku had apprenticed him. She was married to the head of Hino village, Hikogoro Sato. She died the same year as Daisaku.

Hikogoro Sato - This brother-in-law is still alive and continues the search for the truth about Hijikata’s death. For fear that the Meiji government will harm his family, Hijikata refuses to contact him. Hiko-san was the one who helped Hijikata set up his “medicine peddling” business, selling Ishida Sanyaku - the Hijikata family medicine. He also built a dojo in his home and invited Shusuke Kondo to teach Tennen Rishin Ryu. It was in this manner that Hijikata first met his good friend, Isami Kondo, who was Shusuke’s adopted son.


Shinsengumi Associates:

Since there is a possibility some of these people may join the game later on, not much about Hijikata’s “relationship” with the others will be revealed at this time. You can check Shinsengumi no Makoto for more details about other Shinsengumi members, but the players may chose to go in another direction with the characters. At this point, any mention of them will usually be in a very general manner. The exact nature of his past relationships with Okita and Saito will be revealed as the game progresses.


Who from Japan would know this information:
-Any Shinsengumi member who was at the Shieikan with Hijikata would know of this, excepting the part about his pretending to be a demon. Even very close associates were sometimes fooled by his actions in Kyoto and may be unaware of his “true nature”. It’s up to the other player to decide if their character realized the “truth” or not.
-All Shinsengumi members would be aware of most everything except for his formal name or any information concerning his parents’ or Shuu’s illness. (Tuberculosis was an “impurity” and this would not have been spoken of to outsiders).
-People associated with the group and any enemies who would have had reason to check into Hijikata’s past, excepting the same info about formal name and family.
-Most anyone from Japan would have heard at least rumors (not always true) about the Shinsengumi and the “demon vice-commander”.

Hijikata’s London Associates, members of his gentlemen’s club, and his servants would be aware of this information:
-Where he was from and his birthdate.
-Very limited info on the Shinsengumi - why they fought, what his rank was, who the commander he served under was, some of the names of the captains or other important members. They would not know about such things as Yamanami’s seppuku or Serizawa’s assassination. Anything that could be perceived as “embarrassing” would not have been spoken about.
-Some slight info on his family. Certainly nothing about his parents or sister having tuberculosis. (He probably would not mention that Okita had suffered from this either.)
-Not much of anything about his youth in Tama.
-They would know that he was enrolled in a dojo called the “Shieikan” and that he studied Tennen Rishin Ryu. They would know who he associated with there as well.

Other Londoners may have heard rumors about his past, such as he was a “samurai” and that he was a “retainer of the Tokugawa shogun” before his fall. They might have also heard that he was “in command” of some force or another during the Boshin War. Among them, there would be some confusion about whether he was from Edo, Ezo, or Kyoto. There might be some whispers that he was known to be “bloodthirsty” and “cruel”. Some might even know that he was called the “Demon of Edo” in his native land. It’s unlikely that anyone would have dug deeply enough to know about the Shinsengumi.