 Last additions - Iimoriyama Hill (Byakkotai) 飯盛山 |
Byakkotai souvenirsDec 06, 2007
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SazaedoDec 06, 2007
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SazaedoDec 06, 2007
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Painting depicting Byakkotai suicide on Iimoriyama HillDec 06, 2007
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SazaedoDec 06, 2007
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Dec 06, 2007
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Byakkotai enshrined in Uga ShrineDec 06, 2007
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Sazaedo, a unique wooden, hexagonal structure which you will see when coming down from Iimoriyama.Dec 06, 2007
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Byakkotai statue outside the Byakkotai Memorial MuseumDec 06, 2007
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Uga Shrine 宇賀神社Dec 06, 2007
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Opened in 1956, the Byakkotai Memorial Museum has numerous artifacts related to the Byakkotai as well as the Shinsengumi. Photography inside is not allowed. Admission 400 yen.Dec 06, 2007
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Dec 06, 2007
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Another monumentDec 06, 2007
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About the monument from Rome.Dec 06, 2007
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Monument from a German, Hasso von Etzdorf (1900 - 1989).Dec 06, 2007
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Monument message in Italian. After WWII, the US Occupation authorities wanted this monument removed. But all they did was remove the engraved message (later restored).Dec 06, 2007
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Monument from Rome, Italy, given in 1928 by Mussolini. The column is from the ruins of a palace in Pompeii.Dec 06, 2007
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Byakko Kannon statueDec 06, 2007
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Statue faces Tsuruga-jo Castle which can be seen in the distance.Dec 06, 2007
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Arrow points to Tsuruga-jo Castle.Dec 06, 2007
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Statue of a teenage samurai looking at Wakamatsu Castle.Dec 06, 2007
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A recent addition is this statue of a teenage samurai looking at Wakamatsu Castle.Dec 06, 2007
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Site where they committed seppuku (hara-kiri). 自刃の地Dec 06, 2007
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Grave of Iinuma Sadakichi, the only Byakkotai warrior who survived and told the story of this valiant teenage group.Dec 06, 2007
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Grave of Iinuma Sadakichi (Sadao) (1854-1931). His grave was built here in 1957 for the 90th anniversary of the Byakkotai's demise. 飯沼貞吉Dec 06, 2007
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Dec 06, 2007
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Slope where they committed seppuku (hara-kiri). 自刃の地Dec 06, 2007
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Monument for teenage samurai who died in battle.Dec 06, 2007
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Names of Byakkotai members, all 14 to 17 years old.Dec 06, 2007
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About Iinuma Sadakichi (later changed his first name to Sadao)Dec 06, 2007
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A short walk away is the grave of Iinuma Sadakichi, the only Byakkotai survivor who had slit himself, but was rescued by a villager passing by when everyone else had killed themselves.Dec 06, 2007
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On the left of the gravestones, there is a monument for a poem composed by Lord Matsudaira Katamori, the last Aizu lord and whom the Byakkotai died for. 幾人の 涙は石にそそぐとも その名は世々に 朽じとぞ思う幾人の 涙は石にそそぐとも その名は世々に 朽じとぞ思う
Ikutari no namida wa ishi ni sosogu tomo sono na wa yoyo ni kuji to zo omou
"No matter how many people pour their tears on these stones, these names will never fade from the world."Dec 06, 2007
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Tombs of those Byakkotai who died in action.Dec 06, 2007
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Tombs of those Byakkotai who died in action.Dec 06, 2007
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Their names, age, and "senshi" 戦死 (died in battle) are engraved on the stones.Dec 06, 2007
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On the right side are more gravestones. These are 31 Byakkotai members who died in battle. 戦死Dec 06, 2007
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This has become a national shrine, almost as important as Sengakuji where the 47 masterless samurai are buried.Dec 06, 2007
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Byakkotai gravestones. Each one shows the name, age, and method of death called "jijin" (died with one's own sword 自刃).Dec 06, 2007
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Dec 06, 2007
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Byakkotai GravesDec 06, 2007
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Byakkotai GravesDec 06, 2007
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Graves of the 19 teenage Byakkotai warriors who killed themselves with their own swords.Dec 06, 2007
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Approach to the Byakkotai gravesite.Dec 06, 2007
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Byakkotai Gravesite. It is on a flat area which also has several other Byakkotai monuments including those from other countries.Dec 06, 2007
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In despair, the boys decided to kill themselves rather than die in the hands of the enemy. Photo: Escalator to go up Iimoriyama Hill.Dec 06, 2007
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The Byakkotai were outnumbered and forced to retreat. Twenty of them escaped to Iimoriyama Hill where they saw what looked liked a burning Tsurugajo Castle. Photo: Pay a small fee to take the escalator up the hill. Or climb up the steps for free.Dec 06, 2007
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Escalator to go up Iimoriyama Hill. Their tombstones are on this hill near where they killed themselves. Their story has become legend.Dec 06, 2007
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Entrance to Iimoriyama Hill, site of the Byakkotai "White Tiger" Battalion gravesite. In 1868, a unit of teenage warriors called Byakkotai (White Tiger Battalion) fought against the Emperor-backed Imperial forces encroaching their domain of AizuDec 06, 2007
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