Okita Rintaro
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Okita Rintarou (沖田 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.
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