The Four Hitokiri of the Bakumatsu (幕末四大人斬り, Bakumatsu Yondai Hitokiri) was a term given to four samurai during the Bakumatsu era in Japanese history. The four men were Kawakami Gensai, Kirino Toshiaki (also known as Nakamura Hanjirō), Tanaka Shinbei, and Okada Izō. They opposed the Tokugawa shogunate (and later, supported the Meiji Emperor). These four samurai were warrior elite and widely considered undefeatable by normal people. The word hitokiri literally means "manslayer" or "man cutter," as the kanji 人 means person, while 斬 can alternatively mean slay or cut.
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Four Hitokiri of the Bakumatsu in the context of Kawakami Gensai
Kawakami Gensai (河上 彦斎; 25 December 1834 – 13 January 1872) was a Japanese samurai of the late Edo period. A highly skilled swordsman, he was one of the four most notable assassins of the Bakumatsu period. Gensai's high-speed sword discipline allowed him to assassinate targets in broad daylight.
Four Hitokiri of the Bakumatsu in the context of Okada Izō
Okada Izō (岡田 以蔵; February 14, 1838 – May 11, 1865) was a Japanese samurai of the late Edo period, feared as one of the four most notable assassins of the Bakumatsu period. He was a member of Tosa Kinnoto (Tosa Imperialism party, a loyalist clique of Tosa) in his hometown, Tosa Domain. Izō and Tanaka Shinbei were active in Kyoto as assassins under the leadership of Takechi Hanpeita.
His personal name (imina (諱)) was Yoshifuru.
Four Hitokiri of the Bakumatsu in the context of Tanaka Shinbei
Tanaka Shinbei (田中 新兵衛; 1832 – 11 July 1863) was one of the Four Hitokiri of the Bakumatsu, elite samurai, active in Japan during the late Tokugawa shogunate in the 1860s.