talesofedo - Tumblr blog

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Teacher and student.

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This Kaze Hikaru postcard set came with book #45 (the last book in the series). There's actually 12 cards in the set, but tumblr limits posts to only 10.

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I finished the modern!AU image from this request and will now return you to your regularly scheduled Edo period programming.

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Hello. I hope your health is generally good now. It's great that the dojo is closer now. You also said that... you could try to offer something. I'm... to be honest, I'm very unsure. When you released the softrber, I was very touched by it. A sad ending for Okita. А... could I ask you to draw it in a modern-day setting? A kind of AU, perhaps? When he's not dying slowly alone in a house, but in a hospital, recovering. Waiting to be discharged and eating the sweets Saito brought him.

Thank you for your kind note. 🥰 My health is... well, not great, but also not awful. It's alright, I guess.

I'm glad you enjoyed the Comfortember story, even though it had a sad ending. I've always said I don't do modern AUs, but when I thought about your request, the picture of Soji with a longcat pillow came to mind, and once I have an idea, it can be hard to let go of it. 💦

So I've made a sketch. I will probably finish it but there's so much going on in the background here that it's going to take some time.

Soji is based on Yamada Ryosuke, who plays Soji in Moeyo Ken, and Saito is based on Odagiri Jo, who plays Saito in the NHK Shinsengumi! series.

By the way, M1koo on AO3 (@sayitcanonlybeme here on Tumblr) is writing an isekai story where Soji and Hijikata end up in modern day and Soji gets to recover. It's only a chapter so far, but you can find it here.

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From what I read about Shinbei, he was from Kagoshima, so it’s assumed that he studied Jigen Ryu. It’s a koryu that specializes kesagiri from a jodan stance aiming to kill an opponent with a single stroke. However there are two one being Yakumaru and the main Jigen Ryu Hyoho. Which one did he train in? It’s rumored he trained under this school but it is not specified which of one

Unfortunately, we don't know with any kind of certainty which sword style Tanaka Shinbei trained in, or which fencing hall or teacher he was a student of.

It's all guesswork.

It's generally assumed that he trained in the Jigen-ryu style, for two reasons: one, he grew up in the Kagoshima castle town where the Jigen-ryu style originated, and two, Jigen-ryu is Satsuma's most famous sword style, so people naturally try to link it to Shinbei.

The Jigen-ryu school in Kagoshima city still exists today. It's now under the 13th generation, Togo Shigekata. I really wish their website had more information about the school's history because currently there's a large historical blank between 1643 and the period following the Meiji restoration.

However, according to the website, it seems the style wasn't taught to "outsiders" at all until after the Meiji restoration. Even female family members of the Togo family weren't allowed into the dojo.

I wonder a bit how likely Shinbei would have been to train there, considering he did not even come from a samurai background.

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Transparent version under the cut.

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🙇

I haven't been posting much lately because a new dojo recently opened nearby, and while it's a style I've never done before (Ryukyu Kempo Karate), I'm just excited to have a local option that isn't Brazilian jiu-jitsu. (Absolutely nothing against BJJ, but it's not what I'm looking for.)

Since moving to this area, I've sadly been on my own with swordsmanship practice as there's nothing closer than a 3 hour drive, which just isn't feasible in terms of time or money or safety (especially during our long, snowy winters).

Wanting to continue some kind of formal martial arts training, I took a few years of Taekwondo until, sadly, the instructor moved away, which was definitely frustrating. (Him moving, not me taking Taekwondo. 😅)

After that, I had cancer, and then had to deal with all of the assorted post-cancer health stuff caused by chemotherapy, which made (and often still makes) even simple exercise a challenge, so for a bit, I did very little even to continue practice on my own when it came to martial arts.

Anyway, the new dojo is only 20 minutes from my work and it's a beautiful, big space. It's also a proper dojo, rather than a school gym or a fire hall, so the training space and hours aren't shared with random people, which is a definite bonus for everyone.

This particular style and school are focused on self-improvement and self-defense. The instructors are also aware of and willing to work with my ongoing health stuff, so that I'm feeling both welcome and safe training there.

I'm really excited to have that back in my life.

However, several nights at the dojo after work and then having to get up again early the next morning for work hasn't left me with as much time to create art and write about the Edo period as I'd like, and I haven't found the correct balance in my time quite yet.

I just want you all to know that I'm not going to stop posting, but that it will take me a little while to create a new routine and start posting regularly again.

So please bear with me.

If you have any suggestions for what you'd like me to write or draw about more in the future, please let me know in the comments or via PM. I also have some asks still that I'll eventually get to, I promise!

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Edo, Kyoto, and Osaka are all on that list.

Cities with over hundred thousand inhabitants in 1700

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... in which a somewhat drunk, young Okada Izo winds up in Takechi Hanpeita's bed after staying late at the dojo because it was pouring rain outside and the teacher invited him to stay over.

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Soji would have a fantastic time rolling in puppies until they start biting at his toes and ears and tugging on his kimono sleeves. Once they're all asleep, he'll lay very, very still to keep from waking them again, and he'll fall asleep with warm, soft puppies curled up against him.

Izo is afraid of dogs and would be very, very hesitant to put himself into a position where small puppies with pointy needle teeth might sink those into his body. He would be okay if the puppies are asleep, but still really uncomfortable.

Imagine your favourite historical figure covered in many puppies

[talesofedo]

💕Art indexes updated.

This is a post to help me figure out where I left off so I don’t get confused when I update them next time. Please ignore this post.

To see the full art and story index, please click here.

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Cat plushie for Okita Soji.

Imagine your favorite historical figure, cuddling a big, fluffy, adorable plushie animal!