was a Japanese swordsman and samurai of the late Edo period. He was the fourth generation master of Tennen Rishin-ryà « and was famed for his role as commander of the Shinsengumi.
He was born Miyagawa Katsugorà  to a farmer Miyagawa Hisajirà  and his wife Miyo in Kami-Ishihara village in Musashi Province (present city of Chà Âfu) in Western Tokyo on November 9, 1834. He had two older brothers, Otojirà  (é³次éÂÂ; later known as Otogorà  é³äºÂéÂÂ) and Kumezà  (ç²Âèµ; later known as Sà Âbei æ£堵è¡Â) and an older sister Rie (ãªã¨), who died two years before he was born. Katsugorà  began training at the Shieikan (the main dojo of the Tennen Rishin-ryà «) in 1848.
As a young man he was said to be an avid reader, and especially liked the stories of the Forty-seven rà Ânin and the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. His renown as a scholar and his fame at having defeated a group of thieves who tried to break into his family home was great, and caught the attention of Kondà  Shà «suke, the third generation master of the Tennen Rishin-ryà «. Shà «suke wasted no time in adopting the young Katsugorà  in 1849, who first took the name of Shimazaki Katsuta (島å´ÂÃ¥ÂÂ太). According to a record in the possession of the former Gozu-tennà Âsha Shrine çÂÂé Â天çÂÂ社 (now the Hino Yasaka-jinja Shrine æÂ¥éÂÂå «åÂÂç¥Â社), Katsuta is listed, with full common name and formal name, as Shimazaki Isami Fujiwara (no) Yoshitake (島å´ÂÃ¥ÂÂè¤åÂÂ義æ¦), and thus, had the name Isami (Ã¥ÂÂ) as of 1858, the document's date.
Kondà  was said to have owned a katana called "Kotetsu" (), the work of the 17th century swordsmith Nagasone Kotetsu. However, the authenticity of his "Kotetsu" is highly debatable. According to Yasu Kizu's pamphlet on the swordmaker Kotetsu, Kondà Â's sword may actually have been made by Minamoto no Kiyomaro, a swordmaker of high repute roughly contemporary to Kondà Â.
Kondà  married Matsui Tsune in 1860. This was an advantageous match for Kondà  as Otsune was the daughter of Matsui Yasogorà  (æ¾äºÂå «åÂÂäºÂéÂÂ), a retainer to the Shimizu-Tokugawa clan. On September 30, 1861, Isami became the fourth generation master (sà Âke no yondai me å®Â家åÂÂ代ç®) of Tennen Rishin-ryà «, assuming the name Kondà  Isami and taking charge of the Shieikan. A year later, his daughter Kondà  Tama (1862âÂÂ1886) was born.
Although he was never employed by the Shogunate before his Shinsengumi days, Kondà  was a candidate for a teaching position at the Kà Âbusho in 1862. The Kobusho was an exclusive military training school, primarily for the use of the shogunal retainers, set up by the Shogunate in 1855 in order to reform the military system after the arrival of Perry's Black Ships.
In 1863, the Tokugawa shogunate organized a massive group of rà Ânin for the purpose of protecting the shà Âgun Iemochi during his time in Kyoto. Kondà  joined the unit, which became known as the Rà Âshigumi, with his close friend Hijikata Toshizà Â, as well as Shieikan's members and guests Yamanami Keisuke, Okita Sà Âji, Harada Sanosuke, Nagakura Shinpachi, Tà Âdà  Heisuke, and Inoue Genzaburà Â. After the de facto commander Kiyokawa Hachirà  revealed their true purpose as being Imperial supporters, the Rà Âshigumi was disbanded and most of the members returned to Edo. Kondà Â, Hijikata, former Mito retainer Serizawa Kamo, and a handful of others remained in Kyoto and formed the Mibu Rà Âshigumi. Acting under the direct orders of the shogunate, Matsudaira Katamori of Aizu undertook supervision of these men. Under the oversight of Aizu, acting in its role as Protector of Kyoto, they worked as police in the imperial capital.
On August 18, his unit was given the name Shinsengumi. In July 1864, the Shinsengumi became well known for arresting a cell of shishi (the incident was known as the Ikedaya Jiken, or Ikedaya Affair).
Kondà  later had at least two mistresses in Kyoto, Miyuki and Oko, who were both geishas, with the latter he had an illegitimate daughter named Oyu, who would later become a geisha as well at Gion.
On July 10, 1867, Kondà  became a hatamoto, along with the rest of the Shinsengumi.
After suffering a gunshot wound at the Battle of TobaâÂÂFushimi in January 1868, Kondà  returned to Edo. There he met with the military commander Katsu Kaishà « and was promoted to the rank of wakadoshiyori (wakadoshiyori-kaku è¥年å¯Âæ ¼) in the rapidly disintegrating Tokugawa administration. Kondà  created a new unit, , based on the surviving remnants of the Shinsengumi and led them under the alias of Okubo Tsuyoshi. They departed from Edo for Kà Âfu Castle on March 24 on orders to suppress uprisings there. Upon receiving news on March 28 that Kà Âfu Castle had been taken by Imperial Court forces led by Itagaki Taisuke, they settled at a town of Katsunuma five miles east of Kà Âfu.
On March 29, 1868, Kondà  and his unit were attacked by the Imperial forces at the Battle of Kà Âshà «-Katsunuma, holding out for about two hours but ultimately losing. They narrowly escaped from the battle and retreated to Edo.
On April 11, 1868, Kondà Â, Hijikata and their unit departed Edo again and set up temporary headquarters at the Kaneko family estate, northeast of Edo. Kondà  later changed his alias from Okubo Tsuyoshi to Okubo Yamato.
Later on April 25, 1868, they moved to a new headquarters in Nagareyama.
While training at Nagareyama on April 26, 1868, Kondo and his unit were caught by surprise by Imperial forces. The vice-chief of staff Arima Tota of Satsuma Domain suspected that "Okubo Yamato" was Kondà  himself, and ordered him brought back to the Imperial forces camp at Koshigaya. Kondà  was then taken to Itabashi on April 27, 1868, for questioning. On the same day Hijikata went to Edo to see Katsu Kaishà « and asked for his help in getting a pardon for Kondà Â. The following day, April 28, a messenger arrived at Itabashi with a letter seemingly written by Katsu requesting that Kondà Â's life be spared. However, the messenger was arrested and the request was denied.
Kondà  was put on trial on April 30, 1868, and declared guilty. As a result, Kondà  was beheaded by the executioner Yokokura Kisoji at the Itabashi execution grounds on May 17, 1868. Among the crowd witnessing his execution was his nephew Miyagawa Yà «gorà Â. Kondà Â's head was put on a pike for public display.
Three days later on May 20, 1868, Kondà Â's body was claimed by his nephew to be taken back to Osawa, Edo to be buried, while his head was salted and moved to Kyoto, where it was displayed on a pike on Sanjà  à Âhashi.
While on display on the bridge, Kondà Â's head was taken away by Saità  Hajime, who would later ask the priest Sonku Giten to hold a memorial service for him. The head was taken by the priest when he moved to Okazaki, Aichi Prefecture, and buried in a small mound behind the Hozoji temple.
According to Tani Tateki (1837âÂÂ1911) of the Tosa Domain, Kondà  was arrested and executed by the new government (formed mostly by samurai from Chà Âshà « han and Satsuma han) as a direct result of being accused of the assassination of Sakamoto Ryà Âma. Tani continued to insist that Kondà  was responsible for the killing even after former Mimawarigumi member Imai Nobuo confessed in 1870.
Kondà  has at least four grave sites; it is believed that the first of them was the grave erected at Ten'nei-ji Temple (天寧寺) in Aizu by Hijikata Toshizà Â. Hijikata, was convalescing nearby from an injury sustained at the Battle of Utsunomiya, brought Kondà Â's hair there and was said to have personally supervised the preparation and construction of the site. Kondà Â's funerary name, Kanten'inden'junchà «seigi-daikà Âji (貫天é¢殿ç´Â忠誠義大屠士) is believed to have been granted by Matsudaira Katamori.
Another grave site is located at Ryugenji Temple in Osawa, Mitaka, Tokyo where his body was brought by his nephew and buried with his family.
A grave mound containing Kondà Â's head is located behind the Hozoji temple in Okazaki, Aichi Prefecture, Japan.
Another grave is located on the memorial known as Grave of Shinsengumi, in front of Itabashi Station near the location of former Itabashi execution grounds. It was erected in 1875 by Nagakura Shinpachi, with the help of Matsumoto Ryà Âjun and several surviving former Shinsengumi members including Saità  Hajime. It memorializes Kondà  and Hijikata Toshizà Â.
In 1876, Kondà Â's 14-year-old daughter Kondà  Tama married his nephew Miyagawa Yà «gorà Â, who succeed him as a fifth generation master of Tennen Rishin-ryà « and took the name of Kondà  Yà «gorà Â. Kondà  Yà «gorà  established his own dojo, Hatsuunkan, in Kami-ishihara (present day Chà Âfu, Tokyo). Tama and Yà «gorà Â's only child, a son named Kondà  Hisatarà Â, was born in 1883. Kondà  Tama died three years later in 1886 and Yà «gorà  later remarried at least twice.
In 1905, Kondà  Hisatarà  was killed in action in the Russo-Japanese War at the age of 22. This marked the end of the Kondà  Isami bloodline.
Kondà  Isami is often depicted in fiction, across different media, including television, film, books, anime, and manga.
The NHK Taiga drama Shinsengumi! depicted the life of Kondà Â.
Kondà  Isao from Gintama is roughly based on him. He also appears in the video-game-turned-anime series Hakuouki Shinsengumi Kitan. Kondà  also makes appearances in the series Kaze Hikaru and Peacemaker Kurogane, among others. Kondà  is briefly mentioned in the anime series Soar High! Isami by the main characters' ancestors who are also members of the Shinsengumi. The female protagonist of the series, Isami Hanaoka, is named after and based on him. He is briefly shown in the anime Golden Kamuy. Kondà  is portrayed by and modelled after Eiichiro Funakoshi in the video game Ryu ga Gotoku Ishin!, serving as a major character in the plot of the game. In the remake, ', he is instead voiced by Akio Otsuka and has the likeness of Koichi Adachi, a character from '.
Kondà  Isami appeared in ' in 2021. He was portrayed by Takahiro Fujimoto.
Kondà  Isami appeared in Record of Ragnarok: Season 2. Kondà  is depicted as one of humanity's greatest warriors; sent to fight the mythological Gods for the fate of humanity.
Kondà  Isami appeared in the 2024 drama "With You I Bloom: The Shinsengumi Youth Chronicle" based on the 1963 Shinsengumi manga by Osamu Tezuka. He was portrayed by Akira Takano.