Well, the photo quality is very low, yet I couldn't help noticing that deadly glare of guy sitting second from right.
Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce Sugano Kakubei (1842-1893), officer of Kaientai, a trading and shipping company and private navy, considered to be the first corporation in modern Japan.
He was follower of Sakamoto Ryōma (third from left on the first photo), very prominent person in history of Japan, and also his brother-in-law (though Sakamoto was killed before Sugano married his younger sister). In a nutshell this man was fighting while Bakumatsu, serving at the navy and working on modernizing Japan.
Not knowing Japanese I only have some weirdly auto-translated information, like [It is said that he was a person with a strong spirit, as if he drew a picture of Tosa . The figure is sometimes described as "a violent man in the (Kaientai) corps, of a madcap," etc.]
I’ve talked about the man behind Gintoki’s main plot. One of the most beloved Japanese historical figures, Ryōma Sakamoto, the man who paved the way towards the establishment of the modern Meiji government. I’ve talked about how Sorachi had Sakamoto Tatsuma’s role more offscreen most likely because he models Ryōma’s trading business ventures, while Gintoki carries Ryōma’s more personal history. Although Sakata Gintoki references the Japanese legend of Kintaro; after certain events he became a samurai under the name Sakata Kintoki; in question corners, Sorachi explains this & doesn't intend on making Gintoki a descendent of Kintaro. Like GinTama’s Sakamoto, Oryo (Otae’s friend and coworker), has mentioned, and rejected numerous advances from ronin man Sakamoto Tatsuma. It’s a spoof on the historical figures Sakamoto & Narasaki.
Both characters don’t appear as much as we would like but their story together have been shared and passed onto Gintoki and Otae. I wanted to talk about the woman beside the man. The woman who captured Sakamoto’s heart. I want to talk about Narasaki Ryo, a woman who pushed back against sexual exploitation and violence, and Sakamoto Ryōma, the man who fell in love with her for her strength.
This is a story so well-known in Japan it's become a just-so-story to explain the origin of honeymoons in Japan. One day in 1866, historical superstar ronin Sakamoto Ryoma is hanging out in his room at the Teradaya in Fushimi, a town just outside Kyoto. Some local guards show up hunting Sakamoto, but are overheard by a maid in the inn's bath. The maid runs upstairs to warn Sakamoto. Some versions are happy to emphasise she does this naked. He draws his Smith and Wesson pistol, and has a shoot-out with his attackers, then escapes into the night, wounded but alive. The next day he marries the woman who saved his life. They then leave the city, and sail off to Satsuma in Southern Japan, where they relax at hot springs, hike up mountains, and enjoy the first honeymoon in Japanese history.
And basically, that’s all true. Minus the honeymoon bit, which is a romantic 20th century rationalization of their escape and respite. It’s a great story, but it usually starts at the wrong place, the bit where a woman saves a man, and seems to be rewarded with marriage.
Narasaki Ryō and Sakamoto Ryōma
We know the details of Oryo’s early life from her husband’s letters to his older sister. She was the daughter of a Kyoto Imperial court physician. Oryo was the oldest of five surviving children, three girls and two boys. She had a privileged, comfortable childhood. She had the education of a cultured young lady: “trained in flower arrangement, perfume, the tea ceremony, and so on” as her somewhat less refined husband later described it. She played the koto (a stringed harp-like instrument) , wrote and read , and learned fine needlework. As the oldest sister, she took care of her younger siblings from a very young age. She would have expected her family to arrange a marriage to a young man of similar status, and to live an ordinary, refined life.
However, when Oryo was still a teenager, her father was caught up in the turbulent politics and plots surrounding the Imperial Court. He was a “Loyalist”, who wanted the Emperor to be “restored” to power in Japan. In a shogunate crackdown on these loyalists, Oryo’s father lost his position as court physician. Furthermore, many of his friends and colleagues were executed, imprisoned or also lost their jobs. The Narasaki family not only lost its income, but its network of reliable friends. A few years later, in 1862, Oryo’s father died, leaving his wife and children destitute.
Ryoma wrote to his sister of the family's state when he first met Oryo:
They have nothing to eat and no one to look to. Sometimes they have been so hard up that they had to borrow household implements and return them after using them. They sold first their house, then their belongings, and then the oldest girl began selling her clothes so that her mother and younger sisters wouldn't have to do the same thing.
Oryo was then 22. She had one teenage brother, sisters who were 15 and 12, and a four year old brother. An impoverished family with two young girls, and no adult male protector was an easy mark for a predator.
Ryoma writes her story: But then the youngest girl, who is unusually beautiful, was duped by some scoundrel and sold into the Shimabara as a maiko; the same villain, without saying anything to the mother, took the girl who is 16 and sold her to an Osaka brothel. The five-year old boy entered a Shibataguchi temple as an acolyte.
Note: these ages are by the Japanese reckoning, by which children are born aged one, and add a year at New Year's Day. By our count, they would be at least a year younger.
(This segment reminds me of another lesson where Otae offers her help to her young-like coworker Hanako who was duped by a swindler).
Several things have been changed & roles of Gin Shinpachi & Tae were moved around for the story.
When the eldest sister realized this, she sold her last good kimono, headed for Osaka, and confronted the villains there. She didn't care if they killed her, and she carried a dagger. When they saw how determined she was, the scoundrel showed her the tattoo on his arm and shouted threats at her. But she had come prepared to die, and so she flew at him, grabbing his clothing, striking him in the face, and exclaimed that if he didn't return the younger sister he had brought to Osaka with him she would stab him. The wretch shouted, "Look out, woman, or I'll kill you!" They went at each other with shouts of "Kill!" and "Do you worst!" After all, through, he couldn't very well murder the woman who had come to Osaka, and so she was able to get her younger sister back and take her to Kyoto with her again. Isn't that a story? The youngest daughter in the Shimabara is in no danger immediately, so she has left her there for now.
It was this story which won Ryoma's love and admiration. “I must say, she has more strength than I do," he closed this letter to his sister Otome. He explains in this letter that he's helping to get her siblings places, and he's entrusted Oryo to the care of the landlady of the Teredaya, Otose. You see, he was already planning to marry Oryo, simply because he was in love with this strong awesome woman. Ryoma had been brought up by strong women. He was an immensely talented swordsman who had been first taught to fight by his older sister Otome. He would later joke that people who knew them believed Otome would win in a fight.
The story of how Narasaki Ryo fought for her family, and then was loved for her fighting spirit, is a much greater and truer story than the first one.
(Saigo, Otose & Otae)
There's a sad ending. Sakamoto Ryoma was assassinated in 1867, and Oryo faded into obscurity. Most of the men in Ryoma's life, including his own family, didn't care about supporting her. The exception, Satsuma leader Saigo Takamori was killed leading the Satsuma Rebellion. Oryo managed an ordinary life in Tokyo, marrying a merchant, adopting a child, divorcing, and living in modest circumstances till 1905. At times in her later life she received some attention from the press for saving her husband's life back in the Meiji Restoration. People said she was an alcoholic in her later years, lost in dreams of her romantic early life. Perhaps, and who could blame her? But I also know that the Meiji era became more and more judgmental of women's drinking. Many late Edo Period women could put away a lot of sake, and that didn't sit well with Meiji arbiters of proper womanly behaviour. Meanwhile, in my opinion, many of male heroes of the Restoration were functional alcoholics, who slowly were slipping into dysfunction. Let Oryo have her sake, without making that the emphasis of her life. She lived a long life, survived, and won a better life for her family.
All the quotes from Sakamoto Ryoma's letter can be found in Marius Jansen’s ‘Ryoma Sakamoto’s and Meiji Restoration’ p. 225-226.
It is a legendary creature, and since there are many legends about it, I will mention one this time.
The Han Feizi says:
The dragon is docile and can be tamed and ridden. However, if one touches the inverted scale about a foot long on the throat, the dragon will surely kill that person. (Chapter XII. Difficulties in the Way of Persuation)
The scale is called 逆鱗[Gekirin](Scale that grows upside down,) and the act of incurring the intense wrath of a superior is called 逆鱗に触れる[Gekirin ni fureru]. 触れる means to touch.
I find it hard to believe that Miyazaki Hayao does not know that. He must have known that and drew the following scene. I mean, that is what it is.
Ryō is Han reading and correct pronunciation, and Ryū is Wu-dynasty reading and popularly accepted pronunciation. Since it is generally pronounced Ryū, this one is notated first in the heading.
In Kanji,
Sakamoto Ryōma is written as 坂本 龍馬,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sakamoto_Ryōma
Sakamoto Ryūichi is written as 坂本 龍一.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTtCXTry0DU
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qing_dynasty
Anything related to Fate Grand Order would be listed here. Like always, If there is character not mentioned here you can always request for them.
Note: Some characters are based on historical figures. So when writing for them, I write for the character themselves not their real life counterpart.
Characters in bold means I am mostly invested in them, but that doesn’t mean I won’t write for the others.
If there is any character not listed below, you can request for them and I'll add them (There is like 300+ servants, so I'm bound to forget some ^^’)
Also, you can request for Crypters as well. Seeing I had finished playing the lostbelts.
Mashu Kyrielight
Artoria Pendragon
Artoria Pendragon (Alter)
Nero Claudius
Siegfried
Altera
Chevalier d’Eon
Okita Soji
Mordred
Ryōgi Shiki
Rama
Lancelot
Gawain
Bedivere
Elizabeth Bàthory
Miyamoto Musashi
Arthur Pendragon (Prototype)
Suzuka Gozen
Frankenstein
Sigurd
Queen Medb
Diarmuid Ua Duibhne
Lanling Wang
Lakshmibai
Jason
Astolfo
Dioscuri
Tomoe Gozen
Saitō Hajime
Watanabe no Tsuna
Ibuki Dōji
Karna
Senji Muramasa
Barghest
Charlemagne
Roland
EMIYA
Gilgamesh(Archer + Caster)
Robin Hood
Atalanta
Euryale
Arash
David
Nikola Tesla
Arjuna
Tristan
Tawara Tōta
Chloe von Einzbern
Ishtar
James Moriarty (Archer / Ruler)
EMIYA (Alter)
Asagami Fujino
Chiron
Napoléon
Aśvatthāman
Osakabehime
Calamity Jane
Nightingale
Super Orion
Sei Shōnagon
Baobhan Sith
Anastasia
Jeanne D’ Arc (Ruler)
Zenobia
Minamoto no Tametomo
Cú Chulainn(Lancer + Caster)
Musashibō Benkei
Leonidas I
Romulus
Hector
Scáthach
Fionn mac Cumhail
Tamamo no Mae (Caster / Lancer / Berserker)
Kiyohime
Vlad III
Jeanne d'Arc (Alter)
Enkidu
Medusa
Minamoto no Raikō
Parvati
Nezha
Ereshkigal
Valkyrie
Qin Liangyu
Bradamante
Nagao Kagetora
Mysterious Alter Ego Λ
Caenis
Romulus-Quirinus
Utsumi Erice
Consort Yu
Vritra
Percival
Sakamoto Ryōma
Medusa
Georgios
Boudica
Ushiwakamaru
Martha
Francis Drake
Iskandar
Sakata Kintoki
Ozymandias
Quetzalcoatl
Ivan the terrible
Achilles
Leonardo Da Vinci
Carmilla
Mandricardo
Europa
Odysseus
Tai Gong Wang
Dobrynya Nikitich
Constantine XI
Kyokutei Bakin
Medea
Zhuge Liang (Lord El-Melloi II aka reliable waver )
There are few good dishes such as tuna tataki in sesame crust, a simple and quick to prepare dish, but that is easy to make mistakes if you do not follow certain tricks.
The tataki is a typical Japanese recipe and consists of cooking very quickly a plate of fish or meat to the plate (or pan) and then seasoning it with soy sauce and ginger, which is crushed, chopped until it reaches the consistency of a dough. The word tataki た た き (minced) indeed, refers to ginger reduced to dough and not to cooking.
It is said that the tataki was invented in 1800 by a rambling samurai, Sakamoto Ryōma, inspired by a group of Europeans who roasted grilled fish: the meeting of Japanese cuisine with the European grill, in the face of globalization.
History aside, the key to preparing a perfect tuna fillet is the sesame crust. Toast the sesame first with the soy sauce and brush the tuna with mustard to make the sesame stick better. The cooking of the fillet is just a seared, the final touch to seal the crust. But let's go to the recipe, here's how to turn a simple tuna fillet into a delicious dish.
Saigo Takamori is Japanese samurai and statesman who is considered to be on the Three Great Nobles of Japan. He was at the forefront of the Meiji Restoration. The Meiji Restoration helped to topple/end the reign of the Tokugawa shogunate and restore power to the Imperial family in the Meiji era.
Vocab beneath the break:
勝海舟 かつかいしゅう Katsu Kaishū (Japanse statesman and naval engineer)
西洋 せいよう the West; Western countries; the Occident
対等 たいとう equality (esp. of status); equal footing; equal terms
Ōishi Kuwajirō (大石鍬次郎), lived from Tenpō 9 (天保, 1838) to the 10th day of the 10th month of Meiji 3 (明治, 1870). Shinsengumi member (role of troop inspector) of the Bakumatsu era. Official first name Morichika (守親). From the Genji clan (lineage of Seiwa-Genji Yoshinaka, 清和源氏義仲).
Born in Tenpō 9 (天保, 1838) as eldest son of Ōishi Sutejirō (大石捨次郎) who was a close guard of the renowned Hitotsubashi (一橋) family, one of the three branches of the Tokugawa clans. His initial first name was Kinnosuke (金之助).
Due to a conflict (it is assumed it was about an issue with a women), he left his family and lived with a carpenter from Hino (日野) in Musashi province. This carpenter was an acquaintance of the village head Satō Hikogorō (佐藤彦五郎, 1827-1902) and it was through this connection that Ōishi was able to train at Hikogorō’s fencing dōjō.
Ōishi joined the Shinsengumi when Kondō Isami (近藤勇, 1834-1868) was recruiting in Edo from the 9th to 10th month of Genji 1 (元治, 1864) after the Ikedaya Incident had taken place earlier in the 6th month of that year. As he was mainly carrying out assassinations, he was feared as “Ōishi the Assassin”. Ōishi was practicing the Ono-ha Ittō-ryū (小野派一刀流) of swordsmanship but also studied the Tennen Rishin-ryū (天然理心流) that was followed by Kondō Isami. The Shidankai Sokki Roku (史談会速記録), a Taishō-era (大正, 1912-1926) record of statements from then aging contemporary witnesses, mentions on several occasions Ōishi being an as apt swordsman as the famous Okita Sōji (沖田総司, 1842-1868).
According to the Torishirabe Nikki (取調日記), records of Shinsengumi member Yamazaki Susumu’s (山﨑丞, 1833-1868), Ōishi was a member of the first unit of the Shinsengumi lead by Okita Sōji at least by the 5th month of Keiō 1 (慶応, 1865).
In the 9th month of Keiō 2 (1866), Ōishi was deployed as commander of a unit of ten to a conflict which became known as the Sanjō Seisatsu Incident. When the Shinsengumi became assimilated into the Bakufu troops in the 6th month of Keiō 3 (1867), Ōishi became troop inspector. In the 11th month of that year, Ōishi assassinated Itō Kashitarō (伊東甲子太郎, 1835-1867) in the Aburanokōji Incident. In the 12th month, Ōishi, Saitō Hajime (斎藤一, 1844- 1915) and others were ordered to protect the Kishū samurai Miura Kyūtarō (三浦休太郎, 1829- 1910) in the Tenmaya Incident.
When the Bakufu retreated from the Battle of Toba-Fushimi in the 1st month of Keiō 4 (1868), the Shinsengumi withdrew to Edo where Kondō formed a troop called Kōyō Chinbutai to follow the Bakufu’s order to assist pacifying the Kai province. The troop of which Ōishi was a member was sent to Kai where it was defeated in the 3rd month of that year and disbanded. After that, Ōishi was hiding in Edo with his wife and children but was captured in the 12th month being betrayed by a friend and former Shinsengumi member, Mitsui Ushinosuke (三井丑之助). According to an anecdote, Ōishi, troubled with life, approached former Shinsengumi member Kanō Washio (加納鷲雄, 1839-1902) who had become a member of the government forces under the Itō Faction and begged him to let him go, but without success. However, there is no historic record which would back this anecdote and it’s contradicted by the later testimony of Kanō’s comrade Abe Jūrō (阿部十郎, 1837-1907).
Ōishi was accused of Sakamoto Ryōma’s (坂本龍馬, 1836-1867) assassination in the Ōmiya Incident and confessed even if there had not been a thorough investigation. Later, however, he retracted his confession and said the job was carried out by the Tokugawa special forces Mimawarigumi. In any case, Ōishi was beheaded on the 10th day of the 10th month of Meiji 3 (明治, 1870) (November 3, 1870, in the Western calender) for the assassination of Itō Kashitarō, He was 32 years old at that time.
Due to fear of interrogation, Ōishi’s son and heir Raitarō (雷太郎) changed his name to Honma Utakichi (本間歌吉) and it is said that he later ran a shop for tortoise shell produces in the Inarichō (稲荷町) neighborhood of the Shitaya district of Tōkyō.
Grave of Oishi Kuwajiro’s son Honma Utakichi. Honma is his maternal maiden name. He used to call himself Oishi, but changed his name after Kuwajiro was decapitated. Possibly... Kuwajiro could be laid to rest here as well. (source: Twitter)
🌸Hakuouki: Fantasy of the Shinsengumi Discord RP Server 👺
Join Link: 🌸 https://discord.gg/sUDe5HjyBr 🌸
🌸 Step into the fascinating world of Hakuouki in our Discord RP Server! Experience the struggles of the Shinsengumi, with the flair of the fantastic running alongside in this Historical fantasy🌸
🦊 Edo Period Japan, Kyoto 🌸 Otome, Samurai, Yokai + Oni 👹
🌸Nerd out over Japanese history, myth and fearless (hot) Samurai boys
👹 Play one of our carefully built yokai races, designed to enrich the world and our story! 👺
🌸Roleplay alongside the Shinsengumi during their struggles!
🌸Play a canon character, or create someone of your own!
🌸Options for all, 1x1 & group roleplay available all fit nicely into a steady narrative! (Ocs Encouraged!)
🌸Based on IF's Hakuouki series and storyline <------
Come, join us with our best boys during the Bakumatsu Era (the ending of the Edo Period) Japan. Meet people who share similar passions and interests, but with unique views that might just teach you something new!
Looking for passionate, quality writers to join our team!
- Recruiting for CCs: Sanan Keisuke, Kondō Isami, Harada Sanosuke, Shiranui Kyo, Iba Hachirō, Sakamoto Ryōma & more!
🌸 Come on and drop in, we're a small friendly group looking to expand and make new friends. We don't bite, but we can be a little zany or sassy!
🌸Hakuouki: Fantasy of the Shinsengumi Discord RP Server 🦊
Join Link: 🌸 https://discord.gg/sUDe5HjyBr 🌸
🌸 Step into the fascinating world of Hakuouki in our Discord RP Server! Experience the struggles of the Shinsengumi, with the flair of the fantastic running alongside in this Historical fantasy🌸
👺 Edo Period Japan, Kyoto 🌸 Otome, Samurai, Yokai + Oni 👹
🌸Nerd out over Japanese history, myth and fearless (hot) Samurai boys
👹 Play one of our carefully built yokai races, designed to enrich the world and our story! 👺
🌸Roleplay alongside the Shinsengumi during their struggles!
🌸Play a canon character, or create someone of your own!
🌸Options for all, 1x1 & group roleplay available all fit nicely into a steady narrative! (Ocs Encouraged!)
🌸Based on IF's Hakuouki series and storyline <------
Come, join us with our best boys during the Bakumatsu Era (the ending of the Edo Period) Japan. Meet people who share similar passions and interests, but with unique views that might just teach you something new!
Looking for passionate, quality writers to join our team!
- Recruiting for CCs: Sannan Keisuke, Kondō Isami, Harada Sanosuke, Shiranui Kyo, Iba Hachirō, Sakamoto Ryōma & more!
🌸 Come on and drop in, we're a small friendly group looking to expand and make new friends. We don't bite, but we can be a little zany or sassy!
Otose (around 1829 - September 7, 1877) was a landlady of the Teradaya Inn, who lived during the end of the Edo Period, the last days of the Tokugawa shogunate.
Plaque of her at the Ryoma museum in Kochi.
Otose was born as a second girl to Jubei OMOTO who run a Japanese-style hotel in Otsu. Although Otose got married to Inosuke TERADAYA, the sixth landlord of the Teradaya Inn (an inn for sailors in Fushimi, Kyoto), Inosuke deteriorated his business for being debauched and even died young for excessive drinking. Therefore, she had taken charge of running the Inn since then. As Otose originally liked taking care of people, she voluntarily protected soldiers who had the thought of Sonno Joi (reverence for the Emperor and the expulsion of foreigners) such as Ryoma SAKAMOTO from the bakufu (Japanese feudal government headed by a shogun), although the bakufu wanted to expel them. Therefore, Otose was once regarded as a dangerous person by the bakufu and had a narrow escape from being imprisoned.
In 1863, after feudal retainers of the Satsuma Domain killed each other in the Teradaya Inn (the Teradaya Incident), Otose ordered her servants to replace battered tatami (mats) and fusuma (sliding doors) immediately to prepare for resuming a business. It is said that she continued to hide Ryoma and other soldiers of Sonno Joi sometimes even after the Incident. Otose died in 1877.
Sakamoto Ryōma - man modeled after Sakamoto Tatsuma and the person who Gintoki is based on [I’d really appreciate if you could check out my other posts after this, if you haven’t already].
In most of the letters written by Ryoma to Otose, Ryoma described some personal requests or his frustrations associated with his work to Otose.
Terada Anayo (Otose) from Gintama
Mistress of the Teradaya boathouse in Fushimi from Bunsei 12 (1829) to Meiji 10 (1877). Died at age 49. Born in Outsu, Oumi Province (Present day Outsu City, Shiga Prefecture).
Married to the sixth Teradaya (proprietor) Isuke, she succeeded her husband, who had a weak constitution, in the family business of serving food. She was dedicated to assisting people.
Isuke died in Genji 1 (1864) but she protected the Teradaya by not remarrying. Because Ryoma was in and out consulting with Satsuma-han in the summer of Keiou 1 (1865), he entrusted Oryo, who he also met in this period, to Otose.
Otose teasing on the Oryo and Ryōma roles [srsly see my other posts pls]
Later, on January 23, Keiou 2, Ryoma was attacked there by the police, subordinates of the Fushimi Magistrate, and seriously injured.
Ryoma, indebted to the proprietress, still missed her. We think she sat to be photographed but the bench is erased and she appears to be floating in space. As might be expected from a celebrated heroine, the fighting spirit she showed protecting the inn after the death of her husband was in the air. While Otose was caring for Ryoma, Ryoma probably carried quite a warm friendliness towards her.
I wanted to post this in honor of mother figures everywhere for Mother’s Day. I hope everyone had a great one with theirs.🕊