I Formed the Strongest Swordsman Group-Chapter 4: The Era of Bloodshed and Turmoil

After the fat man left, the other two immediately sheathed their swords and closely followed behind him.
Before long, the three figures completely disappeared from Aoto Tachibana’s sight.
Watching these three leave, Aoto felt a huge weight lift off his shoulders and let out a long breath.
He didn’t pursue them.
Only a fool would chase after those three.
If those three had been unarmed, Aoto might have had some confidence in using his martial skills from his previous life to take them down, but the problem was they were all wielding swords.
Moreover, he had no idea about their backgrounds; recklessly chasing after them might lead to ambushes or other dangers.
The sudden attack earlier had ended peacefully—this was a stroke of luck amid misfortune.
His tense nerves finally relaxed.
Only now did Aoto realize that his clothing on his back had been slightly soaked by cold sweat at some point during the confrontation.
At this moment, an increasing number of bold onlookers gathered around. They looked at Aoto, who still held his sword, with suspicion and caution.
“Everyone, please don’t be nervous.”
As Aoto sheathed his sword, he quickly said,
“I am a constable of the North Town Magistrate’s Office — Aoto Tachibana.”
After saying this, Aoto lifted the lower right hem of his haori, revealing the jutte with a red tassel hanging at his right waist, as well as the inrō also hanging on his right side.
[Note: Inrō is a small box-like lacquerware that samurai commonly wore on their waist in the Edo period. Although mainly decorative, it was practical for holding small items like coins and keys, serving as a pocket.]
At Aoto’s right waist hung the “Official Staff Inrō” issued by the Magistrate’s Office.
The black body was adorned with golden mitsuba aoi (three-leaf hollyhock) and various decorative patterns—only samurai working at the Magistrate’s Office possessed such an inrō.
During the Edo period, Japan did not commonly use tokens; this inrō served some of the token’s functions.
When Aoto revealed the inrō, which only samurai serving inside the Magistrate’s Office would have, and the blunt weapon—the jutte—carried only by “police,” the wary and suspicious expressions on the surrounding crowd’s faces immediately eased significantly.
“Earlier, I was only attacked by some rioters; nothing serious happened,” Aoto continued. “Everyone, please don’t all gather here! Please disperse!”
Those bold enough to leave their homes were mostly just curious bystanders.
Seeing no more excitement, they immediately started to disperse in all directions.
Having successfully sent away the crowd, Aoto exhaled another breath.
—Who exactly were those three just now?
—Were they calling me a traitor who worships foreigners?
While wiping the cold sweat off his forehead, Aoto searched through the memories of “Original Aoto Tachibana.”
Within moments, he found the identities of those three men from “Original Aoto Tachibana’s” memories.
As soon as he understood who they were, Aoto’s face instantly darkened with vexation...
...
Edo, Hatchōbori—
Following the memories of “Original Aoto Tachibana,” Aoto arrived at a place called Hatchōbori.
This was a samurai residential district; nearly all officials within the Magistrate’s Office lived in this Hatchōbori neighborhood.
Though this was his first time walking this route home, because of “Original Aoto Tachibana’s” memories, Aoto strangely felt like he was navigating with ease.
After turning into two small alleys consecutively, Aoto stood in front of the door of a very ordinary small house.
Before entering, he once again scanned his surroundings cautiously.
Only after confirming no one was following him did he reach out to pull the door open.
“I’m home.”
Knock, knock, knock.
As Aoto opened the door and stepped inside, footsteps came from deep within the house.
Then, an elderly man with white hair and beard appeared from inside.
Sliding in a manner resembling a hockey slide, the man arrived in front of Aoto and knelt respectfully.
“Young master, welcome back! Please, put down your sword... Ah! Young master! What happened to your leg?!”
“Nothing,” Aoto smiled bitterly at the old man. “I was just attacked again by the Expel the Barbarians faction.”
This old man was named Kyūbei, a servant of the Tachibana household.
Servants, or “kosho,” were attendants serving samurai families.
Kyūbei was an elder among the Tachibana household retainers.
He had served Aoto’s father even before Aoto’s mother and father married.
After Aoto’s father passed away, Kyūbei started serving Aoto.
By this reckoning, Kyūbei had served the family for nearly thirty years.
“Original Aoto Tachibana” always respected this elder who had served the family faithfully for most of his life, so their master-servant relationship was very harmonious.
Aoto had no siblings and had not yet started a family.
With his parents gone and no other relatives, Kyūbei was currently Aoto’s only family member.
Upon hearing the word “Expel the Barbarians faction” from Aoto’s mouth, Kyūbei’s face immediately turned pale.
“Again, the ‘Expel the Barbarians faction’... Those people have gone too far... Young master, you merely served at the American embassy for a short time, so why do they keep attacking you like this? If they really want to expel barbarians, they should go cut down the real foreigners... Ah! Young master, please come in quickly! Let me bandage your wound!”
...
In this era of Japan, bandages as we know them didn’t exist.
People used a kind of cloth called “hemp cloth” to stop bleeding and wrap wounds.
The wound on Aoto’s leg was only minor and didn’t affect his daily activities; it would heal with some rest.
While Kyūbei clumsily wrapped Aoto’s leg wound, Aoto rubbed his furrowed brow hard.
—So what’s going on now... I’ve just transmigrated here, and I’ve already fallen into a deadly predicament where a bunch of maniacs might chop me to death at any moment?
After searching “Original Aoto Tachibana’s” memories, Aoto finally confirmed the identities of the three samurai who attacked him just now.
They were members of the “Expel the Barbarians faction”!
What is the “Expel the Barbarians faction”?
That’s a long story.
Over a thousand years ago, while the great eastern country across the sea had already entered the Sui and Tang dynasties, Japan was still stuck in a backward slave society era.
Upon witnessing the huge gap between their country and the Sui-Tang Empire across the sea, the rulers of Japan at the time resolved to fully learn from the advanced systems and culture of the Sui-Tang Empire in 645 AD.
This reform was called the “Taika Reform.”
The Taika Reform completely transformed Japan, rapidly moving it from a slave society into a feudal era.
Not long after the Taika Reform, Japan moved its capital to Nara; the period with Nara as the capital was called the “Nara Period” (710-794).
In 794, Japan moved its capital again to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto); the period with Heian-kyō as the capital was called the “Heian Period” (794-1192).
During the Nara and Heian periods, the emperor of Japan was the legitimate head of state with full power, similar to the Chinese emperor.
However, in the middle to late Heian Period, the warrior class—the samurai—began to rise.
Originally, the samurai were rough men responsible only for fighting, but toward the late Heian Period, they started banding together, rising in power and gradually controlling the court, sidelining the emperor.
The samurai gradually became a new influential class in Japan: the samurai class!
Finally, by the late 12th century, the Genji samurai completely sidelined the emperor and took control of the court.
Due to Japan’s unique national situation, it was difficult and risky to abolish the imperial family, which had lasted for hundreds of years.
Therefore, the Genji leader Minamoto no Yoritomo established the “Shogunate system.”
He requested and obtained the title of “Sei-i Taishōgun” (Commander-in-Chief of the Expeditionary Force Against the Barbarians) from the emperor, retaining the emperor and court but setting up a new government in Kamakura.
This new government was called the “Shogunate.”
Since it was based in Kamakura, it was commonly known as the “Kamakura Shogunate.”
The head of the shogunate was the Sei-i Taishōgun, a position passed down hereditarily by the Genji clan.
The nominal head of state and ruling institution remained the emperor and Kyoto court.
But the actual ruler and governing institution were the Sei-i Taishōgun and the Kamakura Shogunate.
From then on, the shogun became the de facto emperor of Japan, and the title “Sei-i Taishōgun” became the supreme honor that countless ambitious people coveted.
The Kamakura Shogunate lasted for just over 100 years (1185-1333). This period of Japanese history is called the “Kamakura Period.”
After the Kamakura Shogunate weakened, the emperor and court once tried to reclaim national power but failed; power was seized by another samurai clan, the Ashikaga.
The Ashikaga destroyed the Kamakura Shogunate and established Japan’s second shogunate in the Muromachi area: the Muromachi Shogunate. They seized the Sei-i Taishōgun title and state power from the Genji, while the emperor and court remained symbolic.
The Muromachi Shogunate ruled Japan during the “Muromachi Period” (1336-1573).
Due to the political system, toward the late Muromachi Period, various warlords rose and rebelled, plunging Japan into an unprecedented era of warfare: the Sengoku Period (1467-1603).
This was a chaotic time of constant fighting among rival lords for national supremacy.
Ultimately, the Tokugawa clan emerged victorious.
A samurai named Tokugawa Ieyasu succeeded in unifying the country in 1603, then established Japan’s third shogunate in Edo (modern Tokyo): the Edo Shogunate.
The Sei-i Taishōgun title thus passed to the Tokugawa clan.
This is also the era in which Aoto currently lives—the Edo Period, ruled by the Edo Shogunate.
By Aoto’s time, the shogunate system had been perfected to near perfection.
Heian-kyō had long since been renamed Kyoto. The emperor and court still resided in Kyoto but had become mere figureheads with no real power.
Simply put—modern Japan had two governments: the Kyoto court and the Edo Shogunate.
The Kyoto court’s nominal head was the emperor, while the Edo Shogunate’s head was the Sei-i Taishōgun, hereditary from the Tokugawa family.
The former was a figurehead and nominal head of state, while the latter was the actual ruler, the real “emperor” of Japan.
Aoto didn’t know Japanese history or the exact year but estimated from “Original Aoto Tachibana’s” memories that it was roughly the mid to late 19th century.
Because seven years ago, American steam-powered warships opened Japan’s national gates.
Since there were steamships and imperialist powers from Europe and America invading, the time was likely mid to late 19th century.
Shortly after the Edo Shogunate’s establishment, to maintain stability, the shogunate issued the isolation order, placing Japan in a state of national seclusion, only maintaining contact with China, Korea, and the Netherlands.
Under this isolation order, Japan enjoyed over 200 years of peace.
Until seven years ago, in the sixth year of Kaei (1853), American Navy Commodore Perry arrived with his fleet and forced Japan’s doors open.
Because Perry’s fleet had black steam-powered warships, this event was called the “Black Ships Incident.”
Japan, still an ancient society, was no match for industrialized America.
Under pressure from America, Japan was forced to accept the Treaty of Amity and Commerce.
Japan’s gates were thrown wide open.
The “Black Ships Incident” shocked both the shogunate and the public.
Some saw Japan’s vast gap with the Western powers and proposed reforms to learn advanced Western systems and technologies to strengthen the country.
However, those who thought Japan should learn from the West were few and far between.
Nearly 250 years of the isolation order had made everyone in Japan—from nobles to commoners—narrow-minded and arrogant.
Facing the Western powers’ arrival, the most popular public sentiment was that all these foreigners were savage barbarians who should be completely expelled!
Fight! Fight! Fight!!
Those advocating expelling Western powers rallied under the slogan “Expel the Barbarians,” and were collectively called the “Expel the Barbarians faction.”
“Expel the Barbarians” ideology was the mainstream thought, without exception.
The “Expel the Barbarians faction,” those who demanded expulsion of foreigners, were the undeniable majority, while those who advocated peaceful coexistence and learning from foreign powers were the minority.
Although all “Expel the Barbarians” supporters were called the “Expel the Barbarians faction,” there were many different ideological subgroups within it.
Some were moderate, advocating peaceful means to expel the Westerners.
However, the vast majority advocated forceful expulsion of the Western powers, especially Americans.
In these seven years, as more foreigners stepped onto Japanese soil, the forceful faction grew increasingly radical and extreme.
To this day, within the “Expel the Barbarians faction,” an even more extreme voice emerged: those who admired Western culture, thought Western things were good, or worked for Westerners were considered traitors who worshiped barbarians—and they should be killed!
Such absurd and extreme ideas gradually spread and gained followers.
The three samurai who attempted to assassinate Aoto were members of this radical “Expel the Barbarians faction.”
Why did the radical faction target Aoto?
Because “Original Aoto Tachibana” had worked for seven days at the American embassy just over a month ago.
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The Japanese reading of protagonist Aoto Tachibana’s name is: たちばなあおと.
The romanization is: tachibana aoto.
Though Aoto’s full name looks short, only three kanji, the pronunciation is quite long, with seven syllables. Even the surname “Tachibana” has four syllables.