Ok, well, maybe we need a topic change or continuation on topic. I certainly wasn't intending anyone to feel uncomfortable here. So, I'll just vomit a wall of text I've been putting together.
@Perun @LooseCannon Here's a few things I find pretty cool, and maybe you will too. I did some checking with my relatives.
As I mentioned, I have Aizu predecessors who were recognized as having fought honorably in the Bakumatsu on the side of the Shogunate. And with note in the Battle of Aizu, the siege of Tsurugajo Castle in Aizu-wakamatsu, and the establishment and defense of the Ezo Republic.
We have 2 major heirlooms. One is a tanto (dagger) that was said to have been given to my great great great (cant remember how many 'greats') grandfather by one of the Matsudaira clan under Nobunori (we think one of his brothers) for his loyalty and service to the clan. It was a personal item, and bears the crest and decorative aspects of the Aizu and Matsudaira clan. He was one of the lucky ones that survived, and lived on into the Meiji.
Apparently we had 11 family members that left Yokohama with the Bakufu and French renegades for Ezo after Tsurugajo fell. We don't know if they were on the same ships as the military, or if they travelled discreetly by land or other vessels for the main part of the journey. As they were direct family of a dedicated military officer though, its plausible they travelled with them or in fake fishing boats since preservation of clans and remaining family members was a priority and worry for all the soldiers at this point in time. And that officer with them was said grandfather of many 'greats'. He held a rank similar to an English army captain.
Though there would be an amnesty publicly declared, many families and retainers known to be loyal to the Shogun were being executed at this time, and serveral of my ancestors are believed to have awaited this fate had they not joined the expedition. The Imperial Army as a whole during the Bakumatsu wasnt exactly known for its decency by the civil population. Fortunately, things began to cool off after this with the Imperial Army having seized all of mainland Japan. Laws of conduct were reinstituted and more enforced. And even though the Ezo Republic fell in the same year it was created, the newly established Meiji Imperial government practiced its amnesty this time. And my clan, and many others, were spared a grim fate. Many of them still reside in what is now Hokkaido, and some went south after the Boshin War to settle in Osaka as well. A few returned to Aizu-wakamatsu.
Anyways, this said grandfather (sorry, but I'm not revealling one of my family names online) living through all this is half the reason I'm here today
He became a martial arts instructor after the war, and married and had four kids. (Half, as my mother is English, Polish and Czech)
The second heirloom is an old French Minie' 1853 Enfield rifled musket that was said to have been used by said grandfather's brother during the siege of Tsurugajo. He died in the battle, and family legend goes that to aid a wounded friend, he took over his position and fell 10 enemy warriors with the rifle before falling himself from Imperial rifle and cannon fire. The rifle has dents in the wood and a few small burns. I got goosebumps the first time I heard this story and saw this.
We're a bit lucky in some ways, as my great grandparents generation were the first to move to Europe. Were not sure what month, but it was in late 1936 around the time the Imperial Japanese government were gearing up to be arseholes in what would become WWII. Thank god with hindsight, they immigrated to a rural area of Switzerland, and therefore avoided most of the war. Though areas near them were bombed by the Allies a couple of times which gave them quite the fright.
There were actually many Japanese that fled around this time to avoid mandatory recuritment and service. If your family was called, the males over the age of 14 were basically being called to die. It was just a question if you wanted it to happen on a battlefield or not. They saw which way the wind was blowing, and didn't like it, so they left while they could. (We're still pretty anti-imperialist I guess. I was certainly taught that way) So, they were thankfully able to avoid the aftermath when the Americans pillaged everyone's personal property and valuables.
While immigrating, the tanto was easy to hide, but theres an interesting story and family legend on how my ancestors got this rifle out of Japan as that was quite a bit more difficult.
We have some other small relics from the time, but I wouldn't call them direct heirlooms just because we can't historically verify the origins or find convincing evidence. Still, I always believed my family's passed down history. Much of it is done that way, especially with the women as they were rarely properly documented, and especially in combat. There were a great number of brave women from the time who died in battle and fought, to protect their family and homes as the Imperial Army gained ground. And in conventional battles as independent units of their own volition, not just the few who often recieve all the credit.
It's cool to note that the Aizu under the Matsudaira clan, and later Ezo Republic were incredibly progressive for the time they existed, and had better laws and social customs regarding women than Japan as a whole had seen for hundreds of years. I wouldn't call it 'woke' at all by any modern standards, but for its day, and what Japan had been like for quite a while, it was really special.
Edit: I finally heard back from my uncle, the caretaker of the rifle and I got the model wrong. Corrected
I'm not very knowledgable with firearms, apologies.