Iba Hachirō (伊庭 八郎, 1844 - 24 June, 1869) was a Japanese samurai serving the Tokugawa Shogunate during the Bakumatsu Period, most crucially as a member of the Yūgekitai. Hachirō would see action in all battles of the Boshin War, including Toba-Fushimi, Ueno and Hakodate, which would prove to be his last.
In a clash with Imperial soldiers at the Sanmai Bridge, along the Haya River, Hachirō's hand was cut off by another samurai, Totaro Takahashi. He would eventually require the arm to be amputated at the elbow, this becoming his most distinguishing feature. He would eventually perish via morphine overdose just three days before the surrender of Goryōkaku which ended the Boshin War.
History[]
Early Life[]
Iba Hachirō was born in Edo, the son of Iba Gunbei via his second wife, Maki. Gunbei was master of the Shingyōtō-ryū sword-school, founded by his ancestor Iba Hideaki, which was one of the largest in the capital at the time. As the eldest son, Hachirō was expected to inherit and eventually become master of the school. However, Hachirō was a sickly child, to the point where Gunbei appointed his adopted son, Hidetoshi, to become the successor to the dōjō, clearly fearing the death of Hachirō. Rather than practising with the sword, Hachirō instead focused upon classical Chinese literature and the new works coming from Western traders following the end of Sakoku.
He would not start training at the dōjō until he was in his teens, however, he would prove a natural talent with a sword. In 1864, at the young age of 20, he was inducted into the shōgun's guard alongside 50 other swordsmen. He would accompany the incumbent shōgun, Tokugawa Iemochi, to Kyoto following the Imperial summons. Iemochi was the first shōgun in 230 years to visit Kyoto, the last being Iemitsu. Hachirō would remain in Kyoto for the duration of Iemochi's stay, and would even write a diary recording various local sites and foods he tried.
Boshin War[]
Conté of Iba Hachirō
The death of Iemochi in August, 1866 lead to the shōgun's guard being reconstructed into the Yūgekitai (遊撃隊, "Guerilla Corps" or "Mobile Attack Corps") on 22 October. This new group would serve alongside others such as the Shōgitai and Shinsengumi during the Boshin War. After the defeat at Toba-Fushimi in Kyoto, Shogunate forces retreated towards first Osaka and then Edo. In the summer of 1868, Hachirō was leading a group of some 130 Yūgekitai soldiers along the Haya River in Yumoto, Hakone when they encountered a much larger Imperial force. As the skirmishing continued into the evening, the forces converged onto Sanmai Bridge, a small wooden crossing on the river. During this clash, Hachirō would be shot in the waist. Whilst the wound was neither fatal, nor untreatable, it distracted him allowing another samurai, Totaro Takahashi of Odawara Domain to catch him off guard.
Hachirō instinctively raised his left arm to protect himself, believing his Kote (armoured sleeves) would shield him, and lunged forward managing to stab and kill Takahashi. But Takahashi's sword had already done its work and nearly severed Hachirō's hand at the wrist. His Juusha ("attendant"), Kamakichi recalled that the hand was only left connected to the arm by a few pieces of skin, with two inches of bone exposed from the forearm. Hachirō was very likely in shock at this point, and is said to have been picking at the wound with his Tantō and stating it did not hurt.
Kamakichi carried him to a nearby inn, where his hand was removed and the wound bandaged by the doctor of Hayashi Tadataka, daimyō of Jōzai Domain. He was then taken aboard the Asahi Maru, a vessel belonging to Enomoto Takeaki. Takeaki had refused to follow suit with many of the samurai of Edo who had surrendered to the Imperial forces. Instead, he seized his ships and fled north to Hokkaidō. The Asahi Maru was at that time serving as a hospital ship and so Hachirō was treated by a "Dr. Shinohara". During the surgery, which was intended to amputate Hachirō's arm at the elbow to prevent the spread of infection, the samurai refused anesthetic claiming "How can I sleep when someone is cutting my bones!".
Refusing to accept the loss of his left arm as a setback, Hachirō immediately started training himself to use a rifle with one hand, resting the butt of the gun on what remained of his left arm. The main force of the Yūgekitai had already disembarked for Ōshū but due to his injury, Hachirō and his surviving troops did not leave until October. However, their vessel the Mikaho Maru, was run aground by storms near Cape Inubō, Choshi. 13 Yūgekitai were killed and many survivors were captured en-route to either Edo or Tsuchiura (a mid-way point between Edo and Mito).
For unknown reasons, Hachirō attempted seppuku but was convinced to stop by the essayist Nakane Kōtei who was at the time an Infantry officer. He was hidden from Imperialist forces by Seki Shinpachi, another Shogunate Rangaku scholar and finally he was boarded upon an American vessel and sent north to Hakodate. Here, he fought as part of the battle of Hakodate, leading an assault upon Imperial forces on the road through Kikonai. However, he would be shot in the chest and rushed to a hospital in Hakodate. The doctors were unable to treat his wounds, but he was nonetheless transported to Goryōkaku, the star-fort of Hakodate City. Finally, realising that the Ezo Republic had all but fallen, Enomoto Takeaki offered Hachirō morphine to end his life on 24 June, 1869. Hachirō was aged 25.[1]
Gallery[]
- ↑ All primary research is from this post - https://talesofedo.tumblr.com/post/645837455908569088/i-promised-in-my-previous-post-where-i-was-going