Sakuma Shōzan, teacher of Katsu Kaishū, Sakamoto Ryōma, Yoshida Shōin, and others, was one of the most important figures in Bakumatsu history. He was assassinated in Kyoto in the summer of 1864. His journal of the last four months of his life, Kōmu Nikki, most of which was spent in Kyoto, is important reading for students of the era. It is published in Shōzan Zenshū (photo below), available in Japan’s National Diet Library’s digital collection.
I wrote about Sakuma Shōzan, including his relationship with Katsu Kaishū, “the shogun’s last samurai,” in Samurai Revolution. Sakuma, who also had a brief interaction with the Shinsengumi, including its two leaders, Kondō Isami and Hijikata Toshizō, is also featured in Samurai Swordsmen: The Definitive History of the Shinsengumi (1863–1869) (to be published in fall 2026).