Shima Yoshitaka

Shima Yoshitaka was a colleague of my ancestor Kensai Uda, a navy commander, and lord of Saga, Japan, under Nabeshima Naomasa.

After working together with Kensai to redistribute lands of the Tokugawa shogunate after the Meiji Revolution, he earned the title of the Father of Hokkaido

He basically formed Hokkaido the way it is today, including changing its name from Ezochi to Hokkaido.

He was also a former student of the great revolutionary Sonno Joi writer Toko Fujita.

Western orientalist historians have ignored Shima Yoshitaka's role as one of the very last samurai, as he and Eto Shinpei staged a rebellion against the Meiji government, which resulted in his loss and decapitation.

He is buried in Saga, Japan today.

He will always be remembered for his honorable service to Japan. And though he failed, he nearly threatened to overturn the Meiji Revolution and change the course of history.

I honor him for crossing paths with my own progenitors.

#島義勇 #宇田健斎 #藤田東湖 #北海道 #江藤新平