some more info on Souji was added on the shinsengumi website!!!
also known as Souzi, Soushi or Soji
Born in Tenpou 13 (1844) (some say Tenpou15), died
Meiji 1 (1868), May 30 (Unsure of the converted date;
may be July19).
Hometown: Shirakawa
Style: Tennen Rishin Ryuu
Swords: Kikuichimonji Norimune (might be unlikely
because it had the status of a national treasure),
Kaga Kiyomitsu (both katana)
Originalname: Okita (some say Harumasa)Soujirou
Soujirou was born into a samurai family in Shirakawa, the oldest son of OkitaKatsujirou (or Shuujirou?the translator is unclear). His parents having died when he was little, he was raised by his older sister (Omitsu) and her husband (Rintaro). Rintaro was originally from the Inoue family (related to Inoue Genzaburou), and was adopted into the Okita family upon his marriage.
At nine years of age, Okita began kenjutsuat Shieikan. There, he was close friends with Kondou, Hijikata, and Inoue (and later Harada, Toudou, Yamanami,and Nagakura). It is said that they were almost like brothers.
It was also discovered that he had a great talent for kenjutsu (a prodigy). By his teens, he had mastered all the techniques of Tennen Rishin Ryuu,and in Bunkyuu 1 at age eighteen, he began teachingit himself. Equally skilled with he shinai, bokken/bokutou, and katana, he
attained MenkyoKaiden status at a young age. It is said that heloved children a lot, and rumor has it that he was very good-looking (perhaps this is according to the standards of the time, or perhaps due to popular fiction).
In Bunkyuu 3 (1863), he left for Kyoto with Kondou and the others to join the Roushitai. After its disbanding, he became the captain of the first unit of the
Roushigumi (later Shinsengumi) and Fukuchou Jokin (Vice-Commander's Assistant). He was said to be one of the top three swordsmen of the group, together with Saitou Hajime and Nagakura Shinpachi. Others argue that he was the best. His signature attack was the
Sandanzuki ("three-piece thrust"), an attack derived from an invention of Hijikata's (the Hirazuki).
Okita later contracted tuberculosis (some say he did during the early days of the group, but others say it must have been later). His illness was discovered during the Ikedaya affair when he coughed up blood (coughing up blood is a sign of very advanced stages of TB it would be unlikely he survived this long after Ikedaya, perhaps this was added later for dramatic purposes).
Kondou and Hijikata elected to keep Okita'sillness a secret from the troops, in order to keep their morale up. Doctor Matsumoto Ryoujun treated him, and he did use Ishida Sanyaku (Hijikata family medicine) and the Sato family medecine to ease his illness. By Keiou 3, his condition had become so bad that he had to be left behind in Edo.There, he spent the rest of his days in
a hospital. He inquired after Kondou constantly, since he was never told of his execution. It is also said that Okita tried to kill a black cat. He died May 30 (converted date?), Meiji 1 (1868), without witness.
*There is also something on Okita's page at
http://toshizo.com/name that mentionssomeone confessed
love to him in Bunkyuu 2, and hedeclined saying
"Because I am still in training." This may be anerror
from the translating software, but it could also be
true.
Everytime i read about souji and how he died makes me so sad. It sucks that he died alone but practically everyone else was dead or either off somewhere fighting...Hijikata was busy traveling to kyoto to bury kondou's head (also rumored was his hair) *sigh* so sad...
i'm going to have to go to that site and see what i can translate. Just learning more about souji just gives me a rush lol!