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[[Image:Furutaka.jpg|right|thumb|320px|Stele marking the former site of Furutaka's residence in Kyoto, and identifying him as ''kin'ô'' (royal loyalist) and ''shishi'' (man of spirit).]]
*''Born: [[1829]]''
*''Died: [[1864]]/7/20''
*''Other Names'': 枡屋湯浅喜衛門 ''(Masuya Yuasa Kiemon)''
*''Japanese'': 古高俊太郎 ''(Furutaka Shuntarou)''
Furutaka Shuntarô was an Imperial loyalist / anti-shogunate rebel (''[[shishi]]'') active in [[Kyoto]] during the [[Bakumatsu period]].
He was born in [[Otsu|Ôtsu]] in [[1829]], in what was then [[Omi province|Ômi Province]]. His father left his village and served under the Ôtsu magistrate (''daikan'') Ishihara Kiyoemon, later becoming a retainer to a [[Bishamonten]] temple in [[Yamashina]], in [[Yamashiro province]]. Shuntarô was raised near that temple, and studied ''[[waka]]'' under the [[kuge|nobleman]] [[Karasuma Mitsutoku]], developing thereby a close relationship with the ''kuge''.
He later learned Loyalist ideology from [[Umeda Unpin]], and interacted and mingled with other Loyalists.
At the request of his fellow Loyalist [[Yuasa Gorobei|Yuasa Gorôbei]], he was adopted by [[Yuasa Kiemon]]. He changed his name to Masuya Yuasa Kiemon, established a shop called the Masuya, and started secretly amassing weapons. Shuntarô passed on communications between Loyalists, and aided them in other ways, his shop becoming a major focal point for meetings for plotting against the shogunate.
However, early in the morning of [[1864]]/6/5, he was apprehended by the [[Shinsengumi]] and subjected to harsh interrogation at the Mibu barracks. Under duress, he revealed that rebels were meeting at the Ikedaya that night. The famous [[Ikedaya Affair]] took place not long afterwards, when Shinsengumi soldiers raided the inn.
After his involvement in the [[Kinmon Rebellion]], in which a great fire was set in Kyoto, Furutaka was executed on 1864/7/20, at the Rokkaku Prison. In [[1891]], he was posthumously awarded the Fifth Rank.
==References==
*Plaques on-site at former site of Furutaka's residence in Kyoto.
==External Links==
*[https://maps.google.com/maps?q=%E6%97%A5%E6%9C%AC%E4%BA%AC%E9%83%BD%E5%BA%9C%E4%BA%AC%E9%83%BD%E5%B8%82%E4%B8%8B%E4%BA%AC%E5%8C%BA%E7%9C%9F%E7%94%BA%E5%BF%97%E3%82%8B%E5%B9%B8&hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=35.004087,135.770125&spn=0.000588,0.001321&sll=35.011636,135.768029&sspn=0.150438,0.338173&oq=%E4%BA%AC%E9%83%BD%E5%B8%82%E5%BF%97%E3%82%8B%E5%B9%B8&t=h&hq=%E5%BF%97%E3%82%8B%E5%B9%B8&hnear=Shincho,+Shimogyo+Ward,+Kyoto,+Kyoto+Prefecture,+Japan&z=20 Former site of Furutaka's residence near Gion Shijô in Kyoto]
[[Category:Samurai]]
[[Category:Merchants]]
[[Category:Bakumatsu]]