OTHER SITES
Grave of Sasaki Tadasaburō (Aizuwakamatsu)
When Aizu is mentioned, people often think of the Byakkotai, Niijima Yae, or Nakano Takeko. Yet within the pro-shogunate camp, there was another figure of critical importance, Sasaki Tadasaburō, a warrior who took part in two assassinations that shaped the political landscape of the late Bakumatsu period.
Sasaki Tadasaburō was born into a samurai family of the Aizu-han. From a young age, he trained in Shindō Munen-ryū and became renowned as ‘Japan’s finest kodachi practitioner’. Beyond his martial prowess, he was known for his calm and decisive demeanor, earning the full trust of the Tokugawa shogunate. He was offered a teaching position at the Kōbusho.
On 13 April 1863, acting on orders from the Aizu-han, Sasaki Tadasaburō assassinated Kiyokawa Hachirō, leader of the Rōshigumi, at Azabu. He was highly praised, and was subsequently appointed head of the newly established Mimawarigumi.
He later participated in planning and execution of the infamous Omiya Incident. On 15 November 1867, Sakai Tadasaburō was involved in the assassination of Sakamoto Ryōma and Nakaoka Shintarō. Both Kiyokawa Hachirō and Sakamoto Ryōma coincidentally were practitioners of Hokushin Ittō-ryū, a fact that further heightened attention on Sasaki’s own swordsmanship.
In January 1868, during the Battle of Toba-Fushimi, Sasaki Tadasaburō was shot and critically wounded at Kuzuha. He retreated to Kimiidera Temple in Wakayama, where he later died at the age of thirty-six.
His graves are located at Kimiidera in Wakayama and Aidu Bukeyashiki in Aizuwakamatsu. The attached photo was taken at the Aidu Bukeyashiki.
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