Yamakawa Hiroshi Baron was a " samurai " of late Edo period Japan who went on to become a noted general in the early Meiji period Imperial Japanese Army . An Aizu retainer famous for his ingenious strategies against the early Meiji government during the Boshin War to overthrow the Tokugawa bakufu , he was of the first people from Aizu to write a history of the years leading up to the war , together with his brother Yamakawa Kenjirō . Early life . Yamakawa Hiroshi , or , as he was first known , Yōshichirō ( 与七郎 ) , was born in Aizu - Wakamatsu ( present day Fukushima Prefecture , in 1845 . His father , Yamakawa Shigekata ( 山川重固 ) , was a " karō " ( senior retainer ) of the Aizu clan , and his mother , Tōi ( 唐衣 ) , was the daughter of another " karō " family , the Saigō . At age 15 , Yōshichirō ' s father died , so he succeeded to the family headship . The " Kyōto Shugoshoku " Years . In 1862 , Yōshichirō , now known as Shigeyoshi ( 重栄 ) or more commonly , Ōkura ( 大蔵 ) , followed the Aizu daimyō Matsudaira Katamori to Kyōto when the latter was appointed to the post of " Kyoto Shugoshoku " . After serving with distinction through the heat of the conflicts of 1863 - 65 , in 1866 Yamakawa was allowed to accompany the Shogunate ' s Foreign Affairs Magistrate Koide Hidezane to Russia , where he assisted in negotiations concerning the drawing of international borders in Karafuto . Returning to Japan , he was present as a commander of the domain forces at the Battle of Toba - Fushimi in the Boshin War , which he survived , and escaped to Edo . Early Stages of the Boshin War . In the early months of 1868 , Yamakawa was involved in the Aizu domain ' s restructuring of its military . He was made commander of the reorganized artillery corps ( the " Hōheitai " 砲兵隊 ) , replacing the veteran Hayashi Gonsuke , who had died from wounds sustained at Battle of Toba - Fushimi . Upon his return to the domain , he was appointed a " wakadoshiyori " ( junior councilor ) in charge of military finances . In order to shore up the domain ' s financial situation ( which had been in dire straits for over a decade ) , he brought the skilled engravers Katō Munechika and Akichika , as well as others , to Aizu , and built a smelter inside Tsuruga Castle , casting the three denominations of 1 " bun " , 2 " bun " , and 1 " ryō " coins . Joining with the Shogunate infantry under Infantry Magistrate Otori Keisuke , Yamakawa fought the Tosa forces under Itagaki Taisuke with great effectiveness , and his renown was even to reach the ears of Tani Tateki . Lion Dance . On the 24th , Yamakawa was called back to Wakamatsu from his position at Nikkōguchi - Tajima , but he realized that even if he were to rush back at top speed , by the time he got there the siege would be so tight he would not be able to get through . Therefore , he devised a plan to move his soldiers through the enemy lines . Putting together a “ lion dance troupe ” from the nearby Komatsu village , he set up a “ tōri - hayashi ” ( Japanese “ marching band ” ) , and got every single one of his soldiers into the castle safely , passing right in front of the besieging army . The commanders in the castle were awestruck at the miraculous entrance , and it greatly improved morale . Matsudaira Katamori himself was moved to tears and greatly praised Yamakawa ' s ability . Thus Yamakawa was put in command of defense after he entered the castle . While the defenders were reinforced for a slightly longer period of time , it was to be for naught , and the castle fell in the fall of 1868 . Exile . After the fall of Aizu , Yamakawa was taken to a prisoner - of - war camp in Tokyo with other Aizu men . He was placed in charge of the domain ' s first postwar liaison office in Tokyo , and when the government issued a pardon , he supervised the move to the new landholding at Tonami ( now part of Aomori Prefecture ) , and assisted as vice - governor of Tonami , undertaking the hard work of management . After the abolishment of the domains he served in Aomori Prefecture for a time , but in 1871 he resigned and at the recommendation of army Major General Tani Tateki , he got a job in the Military Court . Army career . In 1873 , Yamakawa was commissioned as an army major and served at Kumamoto . In 1874 , he fought for the imperial side at the Saga Rebellion and was wounded . Promoted to lieutenant colonel , he served in the Satsuma Rebellion as a staff officer of the “ 2nd Independent Brigade , ” and was trapped in Kumamoto Castle by the Satsuma forces , where he saved the life of Tani Tateki . For his actions there he was promoted to colonel in 1880 , and soon after , to major general . Later life . After his time in the army , Yamakawa went into education , becoming school president of the Tokyo Women ' s Normal School , replacing fellow Aizu native Takamine Hideo . He was also made a member of the House of Peers . In his later years he devoted himself to writing , and put together the text " Kyoto Shugoshoku Shimatsu " , which was one of the first texts that gave a view of the Aizu domain ' s actions that was not part of the Meiji oligarchs ' triumphalist narrative . Yamakawa was elevated to the peerage with the title of " danshaku " under the " kazoku " system . He died in Tokyo in 1898 , and was buried there .