The story of Ichimura Uzaemon XV Section 66 Le Gendre ie no hitobito sono shichi The Le Gendre dynasty part seven Translated

ated from http://9326.teacup.com/tachibanaya/bbs/t2/66 By Trevor Skingle

It should be understood that this in depth information about this situation was sourced from authenticated personal stories and handed down documents, including anecdotes and books etc as well as tacit theories along with some thoughts. Consequently this is addition, though difficult, is adjudged a necessary addition. Generally published, its historical subject is Ichimura Uzaemon XVs and his relations, Sekiya Aiko ( ) and Toshiko (). Because its difficult to grasp, accept and understand this discovery All the Le Gendre Dynasty will be kept till a later continuation. The Legend of Uzaemon came about as a result of recorded personal conversations with Sekiya Aiko, in which the documented secrets of Uzaemons birth which, after having been returned, were made public. The so called theory of Uzaemons mixed parentage has been verified from Iwanamis Biographical Dictionary of Westerners which describes the affair in detail. In Dr. Satomis definitive enquiry conclusive information was gathered about Aiko which meant that for the first time it was possible to complete the investigation. The following personal history about the aforementioned younger sister, Aiko, was written and circulated by her. In Satomi Ton it states that if it hadnt been sourced from the documented evidence it wouldnt have been substantiated and wouldnt have been made public if it wasnt supposed to. The progress of Orikuchi Shinobus Ichimura Uzaemon a studywas interrupted. It seems that Uzaemons birth was conspicuously denied in gossip by Tkys senior citizens. In the case of Aiko, Ton sans conclusive evidence of the discrepancy was obtained first hand from conversations and as such this valuable documents importance is conspicuously truthful. This, her excerpt, as such has been redrafted and summarised. According to the written testimony of Aiko Le Gendre and Itos first born daughter Ai Ai Chan contracted an illness and died prematurely three years after her birth in 1878 (11) . rd On the 23 August 1881 (14823) Aiko was born. In her own words it will always will be my true birthday regardless of any misunderstanding . It would seem that in those days the report of the death of the eldest daughter was already being ignored. Except for the first born daughter Ai the Le Gendre family graves are located in Tsurumi Sji Ji ( in Yokohama). The idea of a later child, the second daughter Aiko , was considered straight away and anxiously tried for by Le Gendre and Ito. (It would seem the family registered Aiko as Sekiya Ai Le Gendre principle residence, separate from the others, was a vast estate comprising a thousand times two mats (1,000 x 36 sq ft) in total (Sashigaya/Sasugaya-cho , now Sasugaya Shgakk in the neighbourhood of Koishikawa Botanical Gardens, Bunky-ku , Tky). There was a tea pavilion managed by an appointed garden manager Shkichi (), with his wife, Oshichi (), a female cousin (then twenty five years old). Oshichis niece was chosen as the nurse during the month of the childs birth along with two other people employed as Aikos wet nurses.

The twenty six year old appointed seamstress at the Le Gendre residence, Narukawa (), was also the babysitter, a privileged assistants post. Sometime before Le Gendre left France () for America () and subsequently married a citizen of the USA the authoress Dinah Maria Mulocks sister Miss Mulock and having only seen her became her partner. The young W. C. Le Gendre was then confirmed in service as the Deputy Manager of a bank. As it seems that the marriage had been a mistake he was promoted and left for a new promotion with the likelihood that after that he would return to his country of birth. A strange connection was made in the Far East for a foreigner to stay in Japan, with his wifes blood ties to the house of the Shgun. The eldest son (in reality his second son*) who during his early life was unhappily sent to live with another family and with whom he (Le Gendre) neglected his relationship. The first born daughter died prematurely at the age of three. At the age of fifty one Le Gendre was pleased with the third pregnancy and considerably delighted in the long term outcome. Ton san mentions that arrangements were made for a couple of wet nurses to help out and that Dr. Sat () of the nearby Juntend ( University Hospital) figured importantly, hurrying over to establish a sterilised environmentand also to protect the baby from the anticipated inclination (of the mother) to stab the child.
*Note: Le Gendres first son, also called William C Le Gendre, worked at 59 Wall Street and whose house, at Mount Kisco, burnt down destroying his fathers Order of the Rising Sun, memoirs and political papers. A sword given to him by Saigo Takamori, which was also in the house when it was destroyed, was never found. NY Times, Dec 10, 1902. http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=FB0B1FF935591B728DDDA90994DA415B828CF1D3

Though the baby wasnt delivered in the maternity room on the 23 August (823) Aiko was born safely as the result of a wish to deliver the baby quickly . Just afterwards, looking at the baby it was remarked that I was the spitting image of my younger sister Le Gendres didnt express his delight, something a gentlemen doesnt do, though I guess that there was great happiness. On the evening of the third day, as is the custom, a three day horoscopewas drawn up. The maternity room was a long way away from Le Gendres three ken long sitting room where there were Japanese lanterns and the flags of all nations and the grand banquet with champagne (), which was decorated with flowers, became quite unruly with a crowd of close acquaintances making loud and glorious congratulations. Aiko, safely delivered, was signed into the Ikeda () family register and at the time as the daughter and heir of the house of Le Gendre to the extent that ones daughter will be brought up like a princessand reality feels like trying to wait for a Flower Festivalcertainly the necessary time was spent making childhood into a such a blessing. However over the course of two winters, as happened in those days, life threatening diphtheria ( ) and croup ( bahif) struck and the doctor again directed the efforts on behalf of the family. At Le Gendres house medication was administered and health restored. The two physicians, Doctors Sat and Yasoshima () from Juntend, who alternated their attendance in a room outside the family residence where hospitalisation had taken place, left when the powerful medication resulted in improved health. Though this time the just adequate effect was not understood Aikos health remained delicate. Mother Itos artistic accomplishments were good and should have been as a result of four seasons of dancing when she learned Nagauta ( long song), koto and others, though she wasnt very fond of them and thought of them as a fruitless consequence of being required to regularly attend the neighbouring Atomi Womens University (). Six years at the University were affected by a weak constitution. With the nine year olds agreement about two years later arrangements were made for a visit and which result in a conversation between father and daughter. (You (there), youve composed a thirty one character poem (tanka) havent you? Yes, I have trained, sitting with teacher san . In those days everyone tried to get to go to the established school for girls of Madame Atomi Kakei ( ). Please continue to recite the poetry of a youthful intellect for your mother and me every time

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and on each occasion. Thank you for your childlike trust and accepting the prayers and the carving. Please try to continue to think about and recite youthful intellectual poetry Whiter than white and also because of being somehow overly serious instead in time this was given up. The disgrace wasnt cared about but the childs health was, which was apparently very weak. As a result of this understanding the parents affections were predictably melancholy, an understanding that was broached in discussions. With restrained sadness the older brother Uzaemon was regretfully handed over completely into someone elses care. It was said that in bringing her up, Aiko was all that they had left to love. According to subsequent recollections both parents lived under one roof of the so called Camelia Palace Tsubaki Goten. A rough sketch of which Ton san developed from Aikos recollections, the story from which Kimura Shachi () made a decent reproduction. According to the The Legend of Uzaemon () from near the old front gates entrance of the Taish period () residence one could easily view the upstairs where they were gratefully allowed to live for one year together with Shizue ( - ?) in two rooms.

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