Okita Rintarō

Okita Rintarō (沖田 林太郎, 1826 – February 13, 1883) was a Japanese samurai of the late Edo period who was a commander (kumigashira 組頭) of the Shinchōgumi (the Shinsengumi's counterpart in Edo).

Born Inoue Rintarō in Hino in 1826, he was Inoue Sōzō's younger brother and related to Inoue Genzaburō's family. He later became an adopted son of Okita Katsujirō (Okita Sōji's father) and changed his name to Okita Rintarō before his marriage to Katsujirō's daughter Mitsu in 1846 (Kōka 3). He then served as the head of the Okita family in place of Sōji.

A licensed practitioner of the Tennen Rishin Ryu, he joined the Rōshigumi together with Okita Sōji. However, not long after their arrival in Kyoto, he went back to Edo and became a commander of the Shinchōgumi, which was under the sponsorship of the Shōnai-han. At that time, he and Mitsu moved to one of the barracks (kumi-yashiki 組屋敷) in the former Edo residence of Tanuma Okitaka with their children. They lived there until the Boshin War.

After the start of the Boshin War, he and Mitsu took care of a terminally ill Okita Sōji until the forces of the northern domains, as well as the soldiers of the former shogunate, retreated to the Tohoku region. Since Sōji was not fit for traveling, Rintarō and Mitsu had no choice but to leave him in Edo. Joining the Shōnai daimyo Sakai Tadazumi in leaving the city, Rintarō and his family traveled to Shōnai. Rintarō subsequently fought alongside the Shōnai forces during the height of the Boshin War. In 1872, the family returned to Tokyo and lived in a place called Ume-yashiki (梅屋敷; "Plum Mansion") in Sumida-Mukaijima. Rintarō died in Tokyo, on February 13, 1883, at age 58.