Oume (お梅)

Oume (date of birth unknown - October 30, 1863) was a woman during the late Edo Period.

Biography
The name Oume can be seen in "Roshi (masterless samurai) Bunkyu Era Patriotism Articles" and "Shinsengumi Tenmatsuki" as a favorite concubine of Kamo SERIZAWA, who was the head of Shinsengumi. Oume's upbringing and how she met Serizawa can be found in detail in "Shinsengumi Shimatsuki" and "Shinsengumi Ibun," which are narratives written in the Showa period by a novelist, Kan SHIMOZAWA, based on his interviews with Tamesaburo YAGI (a son of the Yagi family whose residence was used as Shinsengumi headquarters).

According to Tamesaburo's testimony, it is said that Oume was born in Nishijin, Kyoto, and she stayed at an ochaya (tea house where guests are entertained by geisha) in Shimabara. Later, she became a mistress of Tahee HISHIYA, a kimono fabrics dealer. She was about 22 or 23 years old.

Serizawa shopped at Hishiya's store but he did not make any payments. Hishiya sent his clerk to the headquarters but Serizawa would not make his payment. Since he was a brute and was feared as Miburo (wolf of Mibu) by the people of Kyoto, one would not know what he would do if he was repeatedly asked to make his payment. Therefore, Hishiya sent Oume to ask for the payment, thinking that a woman might solicit a softer response.

Oume was a fine and charming woman, and she was so beautiful that the she became popular among the Shinsengumi members. Serizawa shooed her away 2 or 3 times, but one day, he took Oume, who came to ask for the payment, into a room and had a physical relationship with her. As unpredictable as a woman could be, Oume, who was reluctant at first, soon went to see Serizawa willingly. At the time, there was a power struggle between Serizawa of Mito Group and Isami KONDO of Shieikan Group within the Mibu-Roshigumi (Mibu masterless warriors group).

On October 30, 1863, Shinsengumi had a party with the geisha girls at Sumiya in Shimabara. Prior to the evening of that day, Oume came to the Yagi family's house. Soon Itozato, a geisha girl from Wachigaiya, who was acquainted with Jusuke HIRAMA of Mito Group, and Kichiei KIKYOYA, who was a friend of Goro HIRAYAMA, also came. Since Serizawa was not home Oume was chatting with her close friends, such as Kichiei and the housemaids of the Yagi family, in the kitchen.

Serizawa, Hirayama, Hirama and the vice chief, Toshizo HIJIKATA (Shieikan Group), came back at night. They invited Oume and the others and continued with the party, and Hijikata got Serizawa and others completely drunk. Serizawa, completely drunk, fell asleep with Oume in the ten tatami-mat room in the back. Setting up a paper folding screen, Hirayama also fell asleep with Kichiei. Hirama and Itozato slept in a room by the entrance. It was raining heavily that night.

Late at night, several men broke into the room where Serizawa and others were sleeping. They killed Hirayama, and as soon as Serizawa was attacked with a sword he stood up and jumped naked into the next room, where the Yagi family members were sleeping, but he was slashed to death several times on the spot. The assassins left as soon as they killed Serizawa and Hirayama.

When Tamesaburo and others came to Serizawa's room to see what was going on, there was a pool of blood inside, Hirayama's head was severed from his body, and Oume, who was sleeping with Serizawa, lay covered in blood, wearing only her yumoji and almost totally naked (it is not that she had a sexual relationship with Serizawa that night, and it is said that because Serizawa, being completely drunk, complained of being cold, so she put her dress over him and tried to warm him with her body. On the night of this incident, it had been raining since daytime, and the temperature was low). Oume's corpse was such that her head was cut off and it was barely connected to the body by a piece of skin.

Hirama, who was in a separate room, fled. Kichiei and Itozato also disappeared.

The Choshu clan was said to be responsible, but the more prominent theory says that the assassins that night were Toshizo HIJIKATA, Keisuke YAMANAMI, Soji OKITA and Sanosuke HARADA of Shieikan Group.

Shinsengumi claimed the bodies of top-ranking members, Serizawa and Hirayama, but nobody came to claim Oume's body. There was a suggestion to bury her together with Serizawa because she was a special person to him, but Kondo strongly opposed saying that he could not bury Serizawa, who was the leader, with a prostitute like Oume.

A funeral for Serizawa and Hirayama took place according to Shinto rites on November 1, and Kondo read a gracious funeral speech.

Oume's body was left at the Yagi family's house, but since it was summer it could not have been left for a long time, and even though they negotiated with Hishiya, who was Oume's host, he would not take responsibility, saying 'I gave her a leave.'
It is said that the members of the Yagi family, not knowing what else to do, made every effort to get Oume's family in Nishijin to claim her body, and it is also said that she was buried as a muen botoke (a person who died leaving nobody to look after her grave).

[Original Japanese]