* Image is for illustrative purposes only.Sannan Keisuke
山南敬助
Shinsengumi Sōchō — Intellectual Hokushin Ittō-ryū Swordsman, Fukuchō and Sōchō, Tragic Officer Given Kaishaku by Okita Sōji for Desertion
Description
Sannan Keisuke, a Swordsman of Intellect
Sannan Keisuke, said to have been born in Tenpō 7 (1836), was a man of intellect who mastered the Hokushin Ittō-ryū. He is said to have come from a samurai family of the Sendai domain, and his learning and refined bearing set him apart from the members of the Shiei-kan group, many of whom came from farming or lower-samurai backgrounds. The Hokushin Ittō-ryū was founded by Chiba Shūsaku and was the greatest school of the late Edo period. Sannan joined the Shiei-kan group as an accomplished practitioner of this school.
The Post of Shinsengumi Sōchō
In Bunkyū 3 (1863), Sannan took part in the Rōshigumi's journey to Kyōto. He stayed in Kyōto with Kondō Isami and others to form the Mibu Rōshigumi (later the Shinsengumi), and he took the post of fukuchō together with Hijikata Toshizō. In the group's later reorganization, he became the newly established sōchō, a rank ranking next after kyokuchō Kondō Isami and fukuchō Hijikata Toshizō.
Arm Injury and a Changing Position
In Bunkyū 3 (1863), when Sannan and Hijikata and others drove off lawless masterless samurai who had broken into Iwaki Masuya, a kimono dealer in Ōsaka, he reportedly suffered an injury to his left arm. After becoming sōchō, Sannan's name disappears from the Shinsengumi's activity records, and he did not take part in the Ikedaya Incident of the 6th month of Genji 1 (1864). It is also said that he grew increasingly at odds with Kondō and Hijikata over the relocation of the headquarters to Nishi Honganji.
The Beloved Blade Sekishin Okimitsu
The blade passed down as Sannan's beloved sword is Sekishin Okimitsu. It bears the inscription 'Sesshū jūnin Sekishin Okimitsu saku' and has a blade length of 2 shaku 8 sun 5 bu (approximately 86 centimeters). In the fight at Iwaki Masuya, the blade was badly chipped and broke 1 shaku 1 sun from the tip. Hijikata sent its oshigata (rubbing) to Kojima Shikanosuke, and it is still preserved at the Kojima Shiryōkan (the displayed item is a copy).
Desertion and a Tragic End
In the 2nd month of Genji 2 (1865), Sannan deserted the Shinsengumi, leaving a note saying he was 'going to Edo.' Okita Sōji caught up with him at Ōtsu in Ōmi Province and brought him back to the headquarters. The Shinsengumi's Kyokuchū hatto strictly forbade desertion, and Sannan was ordered to commit seppuku. At Sannan's request, Okita Sōji served as kaishaku. Sannan died at the age of thirty. The tragedy of Sannan Keisuke, who combined intellect and swordsmanship and whose life was ended by the discipline of the Shinsengumi, is still told today as an episode that symbolizes the harshness of the age in which the swordsmen of the late Edo period lived.
Notable Swords
- Sekishin Okimitsu — a blade passed down as the beloved sword of Sannan Keisuke. It bears the inscription 'Sesshū jūnin Sekishin Okimitsu saku' and has a blade length of 2 shaku 8 sun 5 bu. It broke in the fight at Iwaki Masuya in Bunkyū 3 (1863), and its oshigata is preserved at the Kojima Shiryōkan