everything was worsened.

Thursday, 18 October 2012

study abroad

"Satsuma has not given up its intention to form an alliance with Choshu."

The Choshu clan believed his words and decided to send the two men、who had returned from studying in England、to Nagasaki to purchase weapons in the name of the Satsuma clan (at that time、the Shogunate strictly prohibited the Choshu clan from negotiating directly with Western countries).

The idea behind this plan was Sakamoto、and the company he established in Nagasaki acted as a direct intermediary between the Choshu clan and Western merchants.

With the support of them and the Satsuma clan、Ito and another person、Inoue Monta、succeeded in infiltrating Nagasaki City in secret.

At that time、an English merchant named "Thomas Blake Glover" lived near Oura Cathedral (Currently、his home is called "Gurabā Tei-House" and is a famous tourist spot in Nagasaki City).

Of course、the area around his house was probably under strict surveillance by the Tokugawa shogunate (the shogunate also had the excuse of being the "guard" of Oura Cathedral).

※The Tokugawa shogunate was probably strictly "guarding" both.

I don't think that this is just my imagination、maybe(lol).

I don't remember what I based this on.※

However、they were able to receive great support from the Satsuma clan、a dear friend of the shogunate.

They negotiated with Glover and succeeded in purchasing a large amount of weapons.

However、one incident occurred here.

Sakamoto's comrade and company member、the Tosa ronin "Kondo Chojiro"、primarily mediated this negotiation.

(Sakamoto was absent due to activities aimed at realizing the alliance).

He went to Choshu with the steamship he had purchased、and received words of great gratitude from the lord of Choshu.

"There's nothing to worry about.

Last time、Tokugawa was fooled by Choshu's superficial obedience.

However、this time the Tokugawa would completely destroy Choshu.

And this mayhem will end."

※There is absolutely no basis for this、but (lol).※

Maybe he thought so too.

He decided to take advantage of the special reward given to him by the lord of Choshu for this work and study abroad in England.

※However、it was unclear whether this special reward was given only to him or to the company.

He was originally a man who aspired to study in order to know the truth about the world、then the opportunity to study abroad in England came.

But of course this was a secret from his colleagues at the company (including Sakamoto).

This study abroad plan was carried out in secret.

Kondo finally boarded a ship bound for England at Nagasaki Port、but at that time、a storm hit Nagasaki.

The sailing was canceled and Kondo was forced to return to Nagasaki.

There he was discovered by his companions who learned of his plan and committed harakiri as a traitor.

※"Harakiri" is also called "Seppuku (this is more common in Japanese)".

Of course、both literal translation is a "cut off the belly".

This was the way of executing the samurai class.

But actually、it is said that the moment he placed a fan on his stomach、the executioner cut off his head from behind (it is for doesn't prolong the suffering).

Of course I think that it was a case by case (for example、the mastermind behind the Tosa clan coup d'état regime who was executed was said to have cut himself in the shape of a cross on his abdomen)、

in the case of Kondo、according to the story I read、in the middle of the night、he was left alone in a room of a private house with a small dagger (sword might be his sword - of course、he probably also carried a slightly shorter Japanese sword called a "wakizashi"、but in this case、it should was a long sword of fashion at that time).

When his "former" companions checked on him the next morning、they found him dead in agony、with blood all over the room.

※(As a samurai？) the basic execution method for people of low status was decapitation.

His head was then displayed at the execution site as an example.

Therefore、seppuku was an execution method that guaranteed honor as a samurai (※general theory/lol/2023102420:03/japantime).

In that case、his head was generally not displayed.※

Friday, 19 October 2012

success in life

If Kondo had been born a little later in Japan、he would have been able to study in England without any problems.

Even in this era、if Kondo had been born to a samurai from the Tokugawa shogunate or Satsuma、he would have been able to study in England.

He was certainly a good enough person to deserve it.

※At this time、only about 10 years had passed since Japan ended its national isolation policy、which had lasted for more than 200 years. 2023102914:57(japan time).

However、he was born as a child of an ordinary townsman in Tosa during this period.

Sakamoto、who is a little older than him、has known him since childhood、and it was kind of inevitable that he would be in Sakamoto's group.

By the way、many of the "ronin" at this time were not originally from the samurai class.

Of course they wore samurai swords and had their own last name.

However、this was technically a violation of national law、as it was a right reserved only for samurai (although people who wanted to change this old-fashioned world became "ronin"- simply written ).

However Kondo’s "Kondo" was not a self-proclaimed.

He was recognized his talent to the lord of Tosa.

"From now on、you can wear a Japanese sword."

"From now on、you may have a last name."

After this、he was granted permission for these two things by the lord.

Incidentally、these two things.

”As long as one generation (it seems that there were rare cases where it was "permanently").

It seems that the lords allowed it as a special reward for the achievements of the people under his rule.

※The circumstances of the 300 feudal lords of the Tokugawa shogunate probably differed from each other、so I can't generalize, but for example、I think there were special rewards such as "you can build a front door for your house". Although it seems ridiculous in today's common sense、this "beauty of order" probably helped the feudal era survive. 2023102519:12(japan time).

※However、it seems that there were many people who actually kept their family's last name hidden、simply because it was not possible under national law to use that name publicly.

※Regarding this too、I can't generalize because everyone is different、but basically、I think there were many families with family legends that said "they were samurai until the Battle of Sekigahara". 2023102519:26(japan time).

※However、I think it was only after the Toyotomi government ended the Sengoku period that these two things were strictly prohibited. 2023102519:31(japan time).

Therefore、Kondo may have had different feelings towards the Tosa lord than his comrades.

(Although this lord was already legally retired、he was the de facto lord.)

※I'm writing something that is difficult to understand、but I don't know whether this retirement was still the lord of Tosa when Kondo entered the Naval Academy in Kobe.

※I'm writing from my memory only、but I think he sided with the opposition to Ii Naosuke when deciding who would be the 14th Tokugawa shogun、and as a result he was defeated and forced into retirement. 2023102622:38(japan time).

Above all、although they were in Kobe and kept a little distance from them、the group to which he belonged held the initiative in the Tosa clan administration.

And at that time、the Tosa clan、along with the Choshu clan、played a central role in the politics of Kyoto.

Although it was only "on the surface"、there was still no conflict with the Tokugawa shogunate.

He officially became a samurai and also became a student at the Tokugawa Shogunate's government school.

"Success in life.”

Maybe he had such a dream.

※I think it is natural.

Political change.

The stage turned dark.