Ōtori Keisuke

Baron Ōtori Keisuke (大鳥 圭介, 14 April 1833 – 15 June 1911) was a Japanese military leader and diplomat. Perez, Louis G. (2013). "Ōtori Keisuke" in Japan at War: An Encyclopedia, p. 304. He was a remarkable figure during the late Edo period and the Meiji era, serving in various roles such as Infantry magistrate, Chief of Bakufu Training Corps, Army magistrate, doctor, Dutch scholar, military scholar, engineer, philosopher, and inventor. In the Meiji era, he also made significant contributions as an educator, holding positions such as the principal of the School of Fine Arts at the Ministry of Engineering, the principal of the Imperial College of Engineering, the third president of the Gakushuin, and the principal of a prestigious girls' school for the nobility. Additionally, he ventured into politics, diplomacy, and government administration. He attained high ranks and honors, reaching the position of Second Rank with the title of Baron.
As shown in the Hakuōki franchise, was a gifted politician who lacked actual battle experience and relied on more skilled swordsmen like Hijikata Toshizō.
==Background==
Ōtori Keisuke was born in Akamatsu Village, located in the Akō domain of Harima Province (modern-day Hyōgo). His father, Kobayashi Naosuke, was a physician. During his early years, Ōtori enrolled in the Shizutani school in Bizen, where he studied Chinese subjects.日本近代化のパイオニア 大鳥圭介｜お知らせ｜兵庫県上郡町ホームページ In the second year of the Kaei era (1849), he returned to Kamigōri and became an assistant to the Dutch physician Nakajima Ian (at this time, he changed his name to Keisuke). On May 2nd, in the fifth year of Kaei (1852), he went up to Kamizaka and studied Dutch and Western medicine at Ogata Kōan's Tekijuku. In the first year of Ansei (1854), along with his fellow students from Tekijuku, he went to Edo. He gained the favor of the Satsuma Domain and assisted in translation work. Later, he became the head of the Tsuboi School, where his interests shifted towards military studies and engineering. During this time, he also studied Western-style military science and photography,“大鳥圭介関連年表”. 大鳥圭介と伝習隊. 2020年4月29日時点のオリジナルよりアーカイブ。2023年3月25日閲覧 and it was around the same period that he gained the acquaintance of Katsu Kaishū.
To expand his knowledge, Ōtori traveled to Edo, where he attended the school of Tsuboi Tadamasu, a renowned instructor known for teaching Dutch translation and studies. During his time in Edo, he also received education in military strategy from Egawa Tarōzaemon and studied English with Nakahama Manjirō, giving him an exceptional understanding of Western culture for that era. Recognizing his expertise, the Tokugawa Bakufu appointed him as an instructor at the Kaiseijo institute in 1859, which eventually led Ōtori to join the Bakufu army.“大鳥圭介関連年表”. 大鳥圭介と伝習隊. 2020年4月29日時点のオリジナルよりアーカイブ。2023年3月25日閲覧。
==Time in the Tokugawa Army==
Upon joining the Tokugawa army, Ōtori demonstrated exceptional abilities and quickly rose to the position of senior instructor in infantry tactics. Seeking further knowledge, he became a student of Jules Brunet in Yokohama, where he specialized in French infantry tactics. This expertise led to his promotion as the Infantry Magistrate (歩兵奉行, Hohei bugyō), a rank equivalent to that of a four-star general in a modern Western army.
Capitalizing on his reputation as a respected scholar of Western studies, Ōtori took an unexpected path by offering suggestions for governmental reforms to the Shōgun. In 1864, he presented a petition advocating the advantages of a bicameral legislature to the government. Utilizing his military position, Ōtori established an elite brigade called the Denshūtai, following the advice provided by strategists from the 1867–68 French military mission to Japan. The Denshūtai consisted of 800 men, selected based on their capabilities rather than their backgrounds. This was of particular importance to Ōtori, who remained mindful of his own modest origins.
==Boshin War==
Following the defeat at the Battle of Toba–Fushimi in early 1868, Shōgun Tokugawa Yoshinobu returned to Edo and contemplated pledging allegiance to the new Meiji government. However, Ōtori and Oguri Tadamasa were determined to continue the war and refused to lay down their arms. Despite their intentions, they were compelled to surrender when Edo Castle fell. Ōtori then gathered 500 soldiers of the Bakufu Army at Hō'on-ji Temple in Asakusa and departed from Edo. In Ichikawa, he joined forces with Hijikata Toshizō from the Shinsengumi, Akizuki Tōnosuke from Aizu, Tatsumi Naofumi from Kuwana, and others, bolstering his troop to 2,000 men. He divided the infantry into three groups and ordered them to engage in combat. One unit advanced towards Nikkō, defeating an Imperial Army detachment in Shimotsuke Province at Koyama along the way. Meanwhile, the unit under Hijikata also triumphed over an Imperial army force at Utsunomiya Castle and proceeded to enter the castle through Koyama. However, Ōtori Keisuke did not achieve further military success.
As his forces reached the domain seat of Wakamatsu, Ōtori's troops engaged in a strategic retreat while defending the western approaches to Aizu. In search of reinforcements, Ōtori unsuccessfully appealed to Matsudaira Katamori to gather peasants from nearby villages. Although he remained in the vicinity of Wakamatsu for some time, he eventually had to retreat in the face of an advancing Imperial Army. He made his way to Sendai, where he encountered Enomoto Takeaki, who had arrived in Matsushima Bay with six warships from the former Bakufu. Boarding these ships, they set sail for Hakodate in Hokkaidō.
Soon after, the Republic of Ezo was established, and democratic elections were held. Ōtori was elected as the Minister of the Army. However, while he possessed theoretical knowledge, his actual battlefield experience was limited. His subordinate, Hijikata Toshizō, was far more experienced in combat, and Ōtori's awkwardness and tendency to laugh and admit defeat gave him a negative reputation among his men.
During the Battle of Hakodate, when the Imperial Army surrounded the Goryōkaku fortress, Enomoto Takeaki initially wanted to fight to the death. However, it was Ōtori who advocated for a peaceful surrender and persuaded Enomoto to change his mind, saying, "If you truly desire death, you can do it at any time."
Ōtori was subsequently captured and transferred to a prison in Tokyo, ironically a building that he had constructed himself as the Ōdaira-mae Infantry Barracks.
==Notes==
==References==
* Bennett, Terry. Early Japanese Images (Rutland, Vermont: Charles E. Tuttle Company, 1996), 54–56.
* Himeno, Junichi. "Encounters With Foreign Photographers: The Introduction and Spread of Photography in Kyushu". In Reflecting Truth: Japanese Photography in the Nineteenth Century, ed. Nicole Coolidge Rousmaniere, Mikiko Hirayama. (Amsterdam: Hotei Publishing, 2004), pp. 21–22.
* 星亮一『大鳥圭介』p.25-31
* 中川由香. 真摯 (しんし) の人. 上郡町の偉人 大鳥圭介. 上郡町 2017年12月23日閲覧。.
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Category:Historical counterparts