Shōgitai

The Shōgitai (彰義隊, "Manifest Righteousness Regiment") was an elite samurai shock infantry formation of the Tokugawa shogunate military formed in 1868 by the hatamoto Amano Hachirō [ja] and Hitotsubashi Gosankyō retainer Shibusawa Seiichirō [ja] in Zōshigaya, Edo (now Tokyo). The Shōgitai took a large part in the battles of the Boshin War, especially at the Battle of Toba–Fushimi, and, after being assigned the defence of Kan'ei-ji temple, the Battle of Ueno, where they were nearly annihilated.^[1][2]

Amano Hachirō, founder of the Shōgitai

Duel between a Shōgitai (left) and a Shaguma-wearing Jinshotai (迅衝隊) (right) in the Battle of Ueno

Funeral monument to the Shōgitai in Ueno Park, erected by former Shōgitai warrior Ogawa Okisato in 1874

After the Battle of Ueno, some surviving Shōgitai fled north, eventually joining the rebels of the Ezo Republic. Following the defeat of Ezo, most of the few remaining former Shōgitai settled in Hokkaido.^[3] Among the survivors was Toyohara Chikanobu, who later achieved fame as a master nishiki-e artist.

Notes

1. Japan J. J. Rein p.360
2. The last samurai Mark Ravina p.157
3. Shimozawa Kan (2006). Ame no oto ― Shimozawa Kan Bakumatsu Ishin shōsetsu-shū. Chūōkōron-shinsha. ISBN 9784122047006.