White Tigers

While I was in Aizu, we visited the Byakkotai (White Tiger Company) shrine on Limori Hill.

Near the end of the Boshin war (1868), a unit of 305 samurai were assembled into a unit called the Byakkotai – named after the Chinese god of the West. Most of the unit was comprised of young Japanese men around the ages 16-17. In the wake of the Battle of Tonoguchihara, a group of about 20 samurai were separated as they retreated into the hills, which overlooked the Tsurugajo castle.
From their vantage point, they saw flames and smoke engulfing the castle and believing that their lord and families had been killed, they all committed seppuku – a warrior’s ritual suicide, which is also referred to as harakiri. The tragedy of the story is that it was only the outer parts of the castle that were burning – the inside was fulling intact and the people were still alive.

A Taishi, Ghisabro Shinoda recited his favorite lyric by Bun Ten Sho aus So (China). Wasuke Ishida, who was seriously injured, recited the last verse together. And then, Ishida said "Forgive me, I’d like to kill myself first, because I’m injured." He began Harakiri according to the method he'd studied, then his comrade executed him, this final blow being the coup de grâce' (The young samurai studied the art of Harakiri at the school, Nisshinkan, and it was an honour, to execute him.). Following this, Ghisaburo Shinoda cut his own windpipe. Yuji Nagase and Yasoji Hayashi stabbed each other ( Nagase was too injured to do it himself.) Hayayhi asked Komashiro Nomura to execuse him. Then, all the young samurai committed harakiri on Iimori Hill. The exact spot where they did this was on a narrow slope. It is important to note that since there was no one else to aid them in their Harakiri. They all died a slow, agonizing death. (http://www.ne.jp/asahi/minako/watanabe/byakkoeng.htm)

One Byakkotai actually failed in his attempt at seppuku. Iinuma Sadakichi was found by a local peasant and nursed back to health. He eventually moved to Sendai where he lived until his death.

I spoke with a few teachers at school about the Byakkotai memorial. It is quite well known among people in Fukushima-ken as they are taught the story from a very young age. It is important that we recognize the sense of duty and devotion to their lord amongst the young samurai.

There is also a stone placed in the shrine that bears the last line of the lyric recited by the samurai before their deaths:

"No matter how many people wash the stones with their tears, these names will never vanish from the world."