Born at Honjo in Edo, a son of the hatamoto Ono Asaemon Takatomi. His given name was Takayuki and his common name Tetsutarō. From childhood he was big and is said to have thrown himself wholeheartedly into everything. He would later be called one of the "Three Shū of the Bakumatsu," with Katsu Kaishū and Takahashi Deishū.
His father became intendant of Hida (Gifu), and the family moved to Takayama. There he studied calligraphy with Iwasa Ittei and swordsmanship with Inoue Kiyotora of the Hokushin Ittō school. His paths in the sword and the brush, in which he would later be called a master, began in these boyhood years.
After his mother, his father also died, and the young Tetsutarō brought his little brothers back to Edo. He arranged for them to be raised by relatives and threw himself even harder into sword training. He also studied at the shogunate's Kōbusho military academy and became known for his fierce practice.
He became a pupil of the spear master Yamaoka Seizan, but Seizan soon died. At the wish of Seizan's younger brother Takahashi Deishū and others, he married Seizan's younger sister Fusako and succeeded to the Yamaoka house, becoming Yamaoka Tetsutarō. He and his brother-in-law Deishū were bound by deep trust all their lives.
He became an officer of the Rōshigumi, a band of masterless samurai the shogunate gathered to guard the shogun's visit to Kyoto, and went to Kyoto with Kiyokawa Hachirō and others. Because Kiyokawa tried to use the band for the cause of revering the emperor and expelling foreigners, it was recalled to Edo, and those who stayed in Kyoto later became the Shinsengumi.
As the new government's army closed in on Edo, he received orders from Tokugawa Yoshinobu and, with the Satsuma samurai Masumitsu Kyūnosuke, passed through enemy lines to Sunpu (Shizuoka). He met the chief of staff Saigō Takamori, conveyed Yoshinobu's will to submit to the new government, and opened the way for talks to hand over Edo Castle without fighting.
Based on the terms Tesshū had worked out with Saigō, Katsu Kaishū and Saigō Takamori held their talks, and Edo Castle was handed over without fighting (the bloodless surrender of Edo). Saigō is said to have later praised men like Tesshū: "A man who wants neither life, nor fame, nor rank, nor money is hard to deal with."
On the recommendation of Saigō Takamori and others, he became a chamberlain to the young Emperor Meiji. Serving on a promise of ten years, he joined the emperor in sword and riding practice and is said at times to have admonished him frankly. Though a former shogunal retainer, he was highly valued at the new court for his sincerity.
For years he had agonized over being unable to defeat the master swordsman Asari Yoshiaki and had pursued Zen practice, until one morning, it is said, his mind cleared in meditation and he at last attained great enlightenment. With this he founded the Mutō school of swordsmanship, which faces the opponent with the mind, and trained students at his Shunpūkan hall.
To pray for those who had lost their lives in the battles of the Meiji Restoration, friend and foe alike, he built the temple Zenshōan in Yanaka, Tokyo. Tesshū was also a master calligrapher who readily took up his brush when asked, and the works he wrote in his lifetime are said to have numbered over a million.
For his services he was made a viscount. But Tesshū cared little about his own living and gave money freely to people in need, so his household is said to have always been poor. Through the sword, Zen and calligraphy, he made the training of his own heart his lifelong path.
He died of a stomach illness at his home in Tokyo. It is said that at the end he passed away quietly while seated in Zen meditation. It is also said that when his funeral procession passed the Imperial Palace, Emperor Meiji watched it go, and his sincere way of life was cherished by many.
Katsu KaishūSaigō TakamoriKiyokawa HachirōTokugawa Yoshinobu
Komatsu Tatewaki (Kiyokado)Sakamoto RyōmaAtsuhime (Tenshō-in)Matsudaira KatamoriTokugawa YoshinobuNakaoka ShintarōTakasugi ShinsakuKusaka Genzui
People of the Edo period ・ People by period
Based on facts found in textbooks and biographies. Uncertain points are marked as such.