Hattori Takeo — Two Swords at Aburanokoji

One of the two or three best fighters in the Shinsengumi was killed by the Shinsengumi. Hattori Takeo. It is his manner of dying that is recorded in unusual detail.

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Who Was Hattori Takeo?

Hattori was an inspector and fencing instructor of the Shinsengumi, and later one of the Goryō Eji.

He was born on 11 February 1833 in the Akō domain in Harima province.

He died in the Aburanokōji affair on 13 December 1867, aged thirty-four.

How Good Hattori Takeo Was

Every assessment of him says the same one thing: he could fight.

Big, immensely strong, a master of the two-sword style — and reputedly among the top one or two men in the corps at sword, jūjutsu and spear alike.

The corps divided its instructorships. Matsubara Chuji and Shinohara Tainoshin held jūjutsu, Takeda Kanryusai military science, Harada Sanosuke the spear. Hattori held fencing.

In the organisation of October 1864 he served in Ogata Shuntarō's fifth unit; in spring 1865 he became inspector and fencing instructor. That November he accompanied Kondo Isami on his mission to Chōshū, and in September 1866 he served as an overseer in the Sanjō noticeboard affair.

Of his origins, the Junnanroku-kō and other sources say he cut down a corrupt official and fled his domain, but this is not confirmed in the documentary record.

Hattori Takeo and Sakamoto Ryoma

In November 1867 Sakamoto Ryoma was killed at the Ōmiya.

Hattori wrote an elegy for him.

A man from the shogunate's own armed corps mourning an activist of the Tosa camp. It follows logically enough from his having defected to the Goryō Eji — but a former Shinsengumi fencing instructor offering verses to Ryōma is a reminder that the camps of the period did not divide as cleanly as they are drawn.

Hattori Takeo's Death at Aburanokoji

In March 1867 Hattori left the Shinsengumi with Ito Kashitaro and founded the Goryō Eji.

On 18 November by the old calendar, Ito was assassinated. The group had to go and collect the body.

Hattori argued against it as planned. He insisted that every man should go armoured, in chain mail.

He was overruled. So he wore mail anyway, secretly, alone.

It was an ambush. While Suzuki Mikisaburo, Kanō Washio, Toyama Yahei and Shinohara Tainoshin broke away, Hattori put his back to a wall and fought the assembled Shinsengumi alone to the end. Todo Heisuke was also killed there.

Why did he not run? The Goryō Eji scholar Ichii Kōichi reasons that Hattori knew mail would make flight impossible — that is, he had decided in advance to hold the enemy to let his comrades escape, and to die doing it. This is inference; there is no documentary proof.

A witness to the scene afterwards, the Kuwana retainer Koyama Masatake, left this:

"Of them all, Hattori's death was the finest sight. He had fallen spread-eagled facing the enemy, still gripping a sword in each hand. Front, back, left and right of the head, the shoulders, both arms and the belly — more than twenty wounds on his whole body, the blood streaming; and yet his face in death was as though he still lived."

Still holding both swords. Spread-eagled. More than twenty wounds.

Why Hattori Takeo Is Worth Reading About

The Shinsengumi's swordsmen are discussed as three: Okita Soji, Saito Hajime, Nagakura Shinpachi.

Hattori cannot be slotted into that ranking, because he defected. He was formidable, and he became the enemy.

And the clearest evidence of how formidable comes from a third party who saw the aftermath from the side that killed him. The record of his body is more detailed than the record of his service.

One of the Shinsengumi men who crossed blades with him that night was Shimada Kai — who lived into the Meiji era and wrote things down. Both sides of the same night reach us, by different routes.

Frequently asked questions

Who was Hattori Takeo?

An inspector and fencing instructor of the Shinsengumi, reputed to be among the very best fighters in the corps and a master of the two-sword style. He later defected with the Goryō Eji.

How did Hattori Takeo die?

In the Aburanokōji affair of 13 December 1867, holding a wall alone against the assembled Shinsengumi. He fell with more than twenty wounds, aged thirty-four.

Why was Hattori Takeo the only one wearing mail?

He had argued that the whole party should go armoured and was overruled, so he wore it in secret. He may have intended to hold the enemy so the others could escape, though that is inference.

Was Hattori Takeo really that strong?

Contemporary sources agree in placing him among the very best in the corps at sword, jūjutsu and spear, and the Kuwana retainer who saw his body described how he fought in concrete detail.

Hattori Takeo Timeline

For the man killed beside him see Todo Heisuke; for the survivors, Suzuki Mikisaburo and Shinohara Tainoshin; for the roster, the Shinsengumi members; for the corps, the Shinsengumi.