Miyagawa Nobukichi (宮川信吉)
Nobukichi MIYAGAWA (1843 - January 1, 1868) was a member of Shinsengumi (a group who guarded Kyoto during the end of Tokugawa Shogunate) from Tama district, Musashi Province. Tennenrishin school. He was a cousin of Isami KONOD, Head of Shinsengumi. His imina (personal name) was Yoriatsu. According to some documents, his name is read Nobuyoshi or Shinkichi.
He was born as the second son of Yagoro Miyagawa in Osawa village, Tama district, Bushu. His mother Rino was the aunt of Isami Kondo (younger sister of Kondo's father Kyujiro MIYAGAWA).
He became a disciple of Shieikan training hall, Tennenrishin school to learn swordplay, and he also learned Calligraphy.
He joined Shinsengumi in May 1865, when Toshizo HIJIKATA, Kashitaro ITO, Hajime SAITO, and Heisuke TODO recruited members in Edo. When he went up to Kyoto, he served as a secretary of Hijikata.
At the time when Shinsengumi was employed as mercenaries by the Tokugawa bakufu in July, 1867, he was recorded as a Hira-doshi (a fellow troop with no title). It is said that he was involved in murder of ITO with Kuwajiro OISHI and two others in Abura-no-koji Incident (discourse by Juro ABE in "Shidankaisokkiroku") and he died in Tenmanya Incident in January, 1868. He died at 25. His gravestones are in Koen-ji Temple, Mibu, Kyoto and Ryugen-ji Temple in Mitaka City, Tokyo, and according to the family register of deaths of Koen-ji Temple, the date of death is January 2, the next day of Tenmanya Incident. According to the gravestone in Ryugen-ji Temple, the date of death is the day of the Incident and his Kaimyo (posthumous Buddhist name) is 良忠院義栄道輝居士. Jingoro YOKOKURA also wrote 'He died on the battle field in Kyoto' and his name is also on the tomb of Shinsengumi.