Serizawa Kamo - Tenguto Period

Tenguto Period

Kamo was the priest for a Shinto temple under the Kimura family. He married the daughter of the Kimura family, so his name was changed to Kimura Keiji. In 1860, he took part in an extremist anti-foreigner group "Tengu-to" (alternative name is Tamazukurisei) which assassinated Tairo Ii Naosuke. He made a name for himself as he joined the higher ranks of the group. What is little known that he was originally supposed to participate in the famous Tairo assassination, but he was not able to make it in time. In early 1861, he found out that three of the younger members in the group had broken the rules, causing him to lose his temper; he made them sit in a line and beheaded them all at once. He was jailed within the Tengu-to group for executing them without any permission. When political power shifted to the pro-Tokugawa government, those in the Tengu-to were jailed for their involvement on the assassination of Ii. There, he wrote this famous poem written on his ripped piece of clothing with his own blood from biting his pinky finger:

｢ 雪霜 に 色 よく 花 の 魁て 散り ても 後に 匂ほう 梅が 香｣

Yukishimo ni

Iroyoku hana no

Sakigakete

Chiritemo nochi ni

Niou ume ga ka

This roughly translates as:

In the snow and frost,

The color remains,

And still giving off its scent after the scattering of the petals;

Such ume is the perfume.

Many were surprised at Kamo's never-before-demonstrated poetic talent. Serizawa was released in late 1862 when the government started to weaken and political power shifted back to the anti-foreigners. Then, he changed his name from Kimura Keiji to "Serizawa Kamo" after his release. He later joined Kiyokawa Hachirou's Roushigumi.