Isami Kondo · Shinsengumi
Person
Commander of the Shinsengumi and head of the Tennen Rishin-ryu school, executed at Itabashi. Rising from farmer to shogunate retainer, he carried the pride and tragedy of the Shinsengumi into defeat.
Translation
I will not bend elsewhere. To take righteousness and abandon life is what I honor; I gladly receive the sword and repay my lord with death.
Reading
Among Kondo's death poems, this one stands out for its hardness as it faces the moment of beheading. It can draw the Shinsengumi commander in a straight, severe line. Read together with Isami Kondo, the poem is not only a matter of literal meaning; it shows a scene where beauty and violence rise together. With the figure in mind, what remains after reading is resolve, solitude, and the beauty that often belongs to the defeated side.
Background
Passed down as a Chinese death poem of Kondo Isami. Behind it lies the defeat of the Koyo Chinbutai, his surrender at Nagareyama, and execution at Itabashi. Commander of the Shinsengumi and head of the Tennen Rishin-ryu school, executed at Itabashi. The words carry the inner pressure of someone caught in Bakumatsu politics, war, execution, exile, or the losses that followed the Restoration. Even where the transmission is uncertain, they quietly preserve the pain of the age.
Source / Transmission Wording and readings may differ by transmission; this page treats the text as one circulated form.
