Yamanami Keisuke


Yamanami Keisuke was a Japanese samurai. He was the General Commander of the Shinsengumi, a special police force in Kyoto during the late Edo period.

Background

Though the details of his origin are unclear, he was thought to be the son of a kenjutsu instructor originated from the Sendai domain.
Yamanami was trained under Chiba Shusaku Narimasa, the founder of the Hokushin Itto-ryu, and attained Menkyo Kaiden sometime before 1860.
In 1860 after Yamanami was defeated by Kondō Isami in a match, he was enrolled at the Tennen Rishin-ryū's Shieikan dojo in Edo Yamanami was particularly educated in literary and military arts, with a gentle personality and a kind heart. He was very much admired by the Head Instructor at the Shieikan, Okita Sōjirō, who called him a big brother. In 1863, Yamanami, Kondo, and other members of the Shieikan joined the Rōshigumi, the military unit being sent to Kyoto by the Tokugawa Shogunate.

Shinsengumi Period

In Kyoto, Kondō and his "faction" remained in Kyoto while the rest of the Rōshigumi returned to Edo. Soon, the Mibu Rōshigumi was formed. Yamanami served as a vice-commander, alongside Hijikata Toshizō after Niimi Nishiki was demoted for instigating a vicious street brawl with sumo wrestlers in Kyoto.
Yamanami was said to be one of the Shieikan members involved in the Serizawa Kamo assassination in 1863. After the purge of the Serizawa faction, Yamanami became one of two vice-commanders.
Yamanami did not take part in the famed Ikedaya incident in 1864, instead he guarded the group's headquarters.

Death

Some time after the Zenzaiya incident he tried to escape the Shinsengumi, despite the regulation against deserters. As a result, he committed seppuku with Okita as his kaishakunin on March 20, 1865. There are several speculations on Yamanami's reason to escape, including a theory that Yamanami committed suicide without ever leaving the Shinsengumi. Another theory is Yamanami lost hope about Shogunate's future and was disillusioned about the political decisions of Tokugawa Yoshinobu, but when forced to choose between his friends and justice, he decided to commit an honorable suicide and escape scandal.
In Shinsengumi: The Shogun's Last Samurai Corps by Romulus Hillsborough, reference is made to the possibility of Yamanami having escaped:
This is the most accepted theory in regard of Yamanami's reason to leave the Shinsengumi, though his true reasons remain a mystery. In addition, Hillsborough's theorizing of a rivalry between Yamanami and Hijikata in Shimosawa Kan's Shinsengumi Shimatsuki is categorized as historical fiction.
Yamanami fled to Otsu, and Kondo sent Okita to retrieve him. After Yamanami returned to Mibu, he was ordered to commit seppuku. He asked Okita to serve as his second, or kaishakunin. There is also a theory that Kondo asked Okita to serve as Yamanami's second out of respect for Yamanami. Yamanami saw Okita as family, and the two shared a strong bond till the very end of Yamanami's life.
Yamanami was buried at the Kōen Temple in Kyoto.
Before his death, Yamanami was the second-in-command of the Shinsengumi.