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This chapter examines depictions of the Senzaimaru in fiction and films. The story of the Senzaimaru is framed as a chapter in the evolution of Takasugi Shinsaku's intellectual and emotional development; Takasugi is the most famous member of the Japanese delegation who went to Shanghai. The chapter first considers two novels by Shiba Ryōtarō, Yo ni sumu hibi (Days of my life in the world) and Kashin (God of the blooming flower), the latter of which was broadcast by the Japanese education television station NHK in 1977. It then reviews the movie Noroshi wa Shanhai ni agaru (Signal fires over Shanghai).

This chapter explores Nomura Bōtō's life in Chōshū. It starts with a narrative of her rescue from Himeshima by Fuji Shirō and Takasugi Shinsaku. Bōtō took care of Takasugi following his illness. Debates rose whether the poetry monument in Shimonoseki was written by Bōtō or Takasugi. The Bōshū Diary shows her life after exile in Chōshū and Yamaguchi. The chapter discusses how Bōtō passed away after being consumed by her illness. She spent her last twelve days alive writing poetry. Prior to her death, Bōtō had heard from Sumikawa Senzō that overthrowing the bakufu was halted after the individual died of natural causes.

This chapter traces the origins of military insubordination in Japan during the period 1858–1868. It first provides a background on the samurai during the Tokugawa period before discussing the ideology of the shishi, a term associated with fugitive samurai who used violence against foreigners, Shogunate officials, and pro-Bakufu elements in the various domains. It then considers the organizational structures of the shishi, with particular emphasis on the mixed gangs and their rise and fall. It also examines the heyday of the militarized gangs, focusing on Takasugi Shinsaku, a middle-ranking samurai, and the Chōshū Wars. Finally, it describes the birth of the final pattern of shishi organization, the interdomainal alliance and how the shishi became cultural heroes and role models for intellectuals, patriotic organizations, nationalistic societies, and military groups in Japan over the years.

This chapter analyzes the significance of the Katoku-maru incident in the history of the “restoration” of the young Meiji emperor in 1868. The incident identifies a network of Chōshū men—operating at the level below that of better-known leaders such as Kido Takayoshi and Takasugi Shinsaku—who supported and contributed to the Meiji Restoration. This is important because it is possible to consider the Meiji Restoration as an event that simply “came” to the Japanese people from on high, driven by court cliques and a small number of samurai. The Katoku-maru incident suggests that the revolution did not just come to the villages; rather, it was campaigned by certain elite households, through their encouragement of radical ideology, their offer of covert lodging and money, and their service as soldiers of the revolution.