Okita Rintarō

Okita Rintarō (沖田 林太郎) (born Inoue Rintarō (井上 林太郎); March 30, 1826 – February 13, 1883) was a Japanese samurai of the late Edo period who was a kumigashira (組頭, commander) of the Shinchōgumi (the Shinsengumi's counterpart in Edo).

In this Japanese name, the surname is Okita.
Okita Rintarō
Native name
沖田 林太郎
Birth nameInoue Rintarō (井上 林太郎)
Born(1826-03-30)March 30, 1826
Hino, Edo, Japan
DiedFebruary 13, 1883(1883-02-13) (aged 56)
Tokyo, Japan
AllegianceTokugawa bakufu
Shōnai Domain
Service/branchRōshigumi (former)
Shinchōgumi
Years of service1863–1869
Rankkumigashira (組頭, commander)
Commands heldShinchōgumi
Battles/warsBoshin War
Spouse(s)
​
(m. 1846⁠–⁠1883)​
Children2 sons, 2 daughters
Relations
  • Inoue Sōzō (brother)
  • Okita Katsujiro (adoptive father)
  • Okita Kin (adopted sister)
  • Okita Sōji (adopted brother/in-law)

Biography

Born Inoue Rintarō (井上 林太郎) in Hino, Edo in 1826, he was Inoue Sōzō's younger brother and related to Inoue Genzaburō's family.[1] He later became an adopted son of Okita Katsujirō (Okita Sōji's father) and changed his name to Okita Rintarō before his marriage to Katsujirō's daughter Mitsu in 1846 (Kōka 3).[2] He then served as the head of the Okita family in place of Sōji.

A licensed practitioner of the Tennen Rishin Ryu,[3] in 1863 he joined the Rōshigumi together with Okita Sōji and Inoue Genzaburō. However, not long after their arrival in Kyoto, the Rōshigumi was disbanded, he and the rest went back to Edo, leaving behind Okita Sōji, Inoue Genzaburō and few members there. While in Edo, he later became a commander of the Shinchōgumi, which was under the sponsorship of the Shōnai-han.[1] At that time, he and Mitsu moved to one of the barracks (kumi-yashiki 組屋敷) in the former Edo residence of Tanuma Okitaka[4] with their children. They lived there until the Boshin War.[5]

After the start of the Boshin War, he and Mitsu took care of a terminally ill Okita Sōji until the forces of the northern domains, as well as the soldiers of the former shogunate, retreated to the Tohoku region. Since Sōji was not fit for traveling, Rintarō and Mitsu had no choice but to leave him in Edo.[1] Joining the Shōnai daimyō Sakai Tadazumi in leaving the city, Rintarō and his family traveled to Shōnai.[3] Rintarō subsequently fought alongside the Shōnai forces during the height of the Boshin War.[3] In 1872, the family returned to Tokyo and lived in a place called Ume-yashiki (梅屋敷; "Plum Mansion") in Sumida-Mukaijima.[6] Okita Rintarō died in Tokyo, on February 13, 1883, at age 56.[6]

See also

Notes
  1. Mori Makiko 森満喜子. Okita Sōji omokage-shō 沖田総司・おもかげ抄. Tokyo: Shin Jinbutsu Oraisha, 1999.
  2. Kikuchi Akira 菊池明. Shinsengumi 101 no Nazo 新選組101の謎. (Tokyo: Shin Jinbutsu Oraisha, 2000), p. 24.
  3. (in Japanese) 清河八郎関係人物録（沖田林太郎【おきた りんたろう】）〜回天の魁士 清河八郎〜 Archived 2007-09-28 at the Wayback Machine
  4. Kikuchi, p. 25. Tanuma, also known as Tanuma Genba (the name by which Kikuchi Akira refers to him), was daimyō of Sagara han in Tōtōmi Province. For more information, see http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~me4k-skri/han/toukai/sagara.html Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine
  5. Kikuchi, p. 25.
  6. Kikuchi, p. 25

References
  • Kikuchi Akira 菊池明. Shinsengumi 101 no Nazo 新選組101の謎. Tokyo: Shin Jinbutsu Oraisha, 2000.
  • Mori Makiko 森満喜子. Okita Sōji omokage-shō 沖田総司・おもかげ抄. Tokyo: Shin Jinbutsu Oraisha, 1999.
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