Amano Hachiro

Japanese: 天野八郎 - あまの・はちろう

Year of death: 8th November 1868 (21st December 1868)
Year of birth: Tempo 2 (1831)
A pro-Shogunate patriot and member of the Shogitai during the late Edo period. Born as the second son of a farmer in Kanra County, Kozuke Province (Tano County, Gunma Prefecture, Tomioka City), he gained fame by settling disputes between villagers. In Bunkyu 1 (1861), he went to Edo with the goal of becoming a samurai. In January 1868 (1868), following the defeat in the Battle of Toba-Fushimi, Tokugawa Yoshinobu returned to Edo, and he participated in a meeting of former Shogunate officials planning a comeback. He became vice-president under the president, Shibusawa Seiichiro. He moved his headquarters from Asakusa to Ueno, renamed the unit the Shogitai, and claimed a total of 2,000 troops. Due to internal conflicts, Shibusawa escaped, seized real power within the unit, and confronted the new government forces. On May 15, the unit was defeated by a simultaneous attack by the new government forces and fled. He was arrested and imprisoned in July, and died of illness. His remains were buried in Kozukahara, and in 1890, they were reburied at Minamisenju Entsu-ji Temple. The inscription on the monument, written by Taichi Tanabe, reads as follows: "He was a ruler, small and fat, with a piercing gaze. In lively debates, his spirit of boldness was evident between his eyebrows and eyes. A man of chivalry and righteousness, he was such a ruler. Alas, is this three-foot tomb the tear-stained remains of the men of Bando for a thousand years to come?" <References> Yamazaki Arinobu, "Bakumatsu Shitan Amano Hachiro Den"

(Inoue Isao)

Source: Asahi Japanese Historical Biography: Asahi Shimbun Publications Inc. About Asahi Japanese Historical Biography

Japanese:

没年：明治1.11.8(1868.12.21)
生年：天保2(1831)
幕末の佐幕派志士,彰義隊士。上野国甘楽郡(群馬県多野郡,富岡市)の農家の次男に生まれ,村民間の係争を解決するなどして声望を得る。文久1(1861)年武士を志して江戸へ赴く。明治1(1868)年1月鳥羽・伏見の戦に敗れ徳川慶喜が江戸帰還,再挙を図る旧幕臣の会合がありこれに参加。渋沢成一郎頭取のもと副頭取となる。本営を浅草から上野に移し,隊名を彰義隊とし,総勢2000を号した。内部対立により渋沢が脱走し,隊の実権を掌握して新政府軍と対峙。5月15日新政府軍の一斉攻撃を受け敗走。7月逮捕され下獄,病を得て没す。遺骸は小塚原に埋められ,明治23年南千住円通寺に改葬された。田辺太一の寄せた碑文に次のようにある。「君人と為り短小豊肥,眼光炯々人を射る。議論風発慷慨の気眉目の間に露はる。……侠たり義たり,惟斯君有り。嗚呼千載の下,永く阪東の男子をして涙痕を留めしむるは,此三尺の墳か」。<参考文献>山崎有信『幕末史譚天野八郎伝』

(井上勲)

出典　朝日日本歴史人物事典：（株）朝日新聞出版朝日日本歴史人物事典について　情報

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