Okita Rintaro
Okita Rintarou (沖" 林太郎) (
1826 -
1883) was a commander of the Shinchogumi (the
Shinsengumi's brother league in
Edo) during the
late shogunate period. He was
Okita Soji's brother-in-law.
Born Inoue Rintaro in
Hino in 1826, he was Inoue Sozo's younder brother related to
Inoue Genzaburō's family. He later became an adopted son of Okita Katsujiro (Okita Soji's father) and changed his name to
Okita Rintaro Fujiwara no Kanemasa before his marriage to Okita Mitsu (Okita Soji's older sister) in 1846 (
Koka 3). He then served as the head of the Okita family in place of the young heir, Okita Soji (the then
Okita Soujirou Fujiwara no Harumasa.)
Also a practitioner of the
Tennen Rishin Ryu, he joined the
Roshigumi together with Okita Soji. However, not long after their arrival in Kyoto, he went back to Edo and became a commander of the Shinchougumi, which was under the sponsorship of the Shonai-
han. At that time, he and Mitsu moved to a mansion of Tanuma Harushige with their children. They lived there until the
Boshin War.
During the Boshin War, he and Mitsu took care of a terminally ill Okita Soji until the shogunate forces (including the Shinsengumi and the Shinchougumi) retreated to the
Tohoku region. Since Okita Soji was not fit for traveling, Okita Rintarou and Mitsu had no choice but to leave him in Edo. In 1872 (
Meiji 5), they returned to
Tokyo snd lived in a place called "Plum Mansion" in Sumida-Mukaijima. Okita Rintarou died in Tokyo in 1883 (Meiji 16).
[*Kikuchi, Akira. Shinsengumi 101 no Nazo. Tokyo: Shin Jinbutsu Oraisha, 2000.][*Mori, Makiko. Okita Soji Feature. Tokyo: Shin Jinbutsu Oraisha, 1999.]
