two sides. After that, he turned to military affairs such as increasing the ranks of the Shinsengumi. In September he accompanied Kondō to Edo as his secretary; in November, he went to Nagato as a military adviser. He outranked military adviser Itō Kashitaro at the time. However, the Shinsengumi were beginning to adopt more Western military techniques based on the French army by the time of Itō Kashitaro's enlistment, which rendered Takeda's Koushuu style obsolete. However, a clever appeal to Kondō earned Takeda the position of fifth Unit Captain in 1865. He also taught strategy and tactics. But Itō Kashitaro's excellence in academics and martial arts was not ignored by Kondō, no matter how fond he was of his sycophant, Takeda. Takeda was left off an 1866 business trip to Hiroshima in favor of the other military adviser. In desperation, he sought whatever allies he could. Death Takeda approached Itō about forming a separate party within the Shinsengumi, but Ito refused only to do exactly that in 1867. Even without Itō's support, Takeda ambitiously planned to leave the Shinsengumi, contact Satsuma and start a new movement to overthrow the shōgun. Although he had previously been loyal to Kondō, it is said that he was offered a large sum of money to leave. He obtained permission to leave the Shinsengumi and return to Izumo – however, the Shinsengumi's extensive network of informants discovered his secret communications with Satsuma. There are conflicting accounts of how and when Takeda was killed. The first is that he was assassinated on the 28th day, ninth month, of the year Keiō 2 (November 5, 1866), on his way back from Izumo. He was making his way across the Zenitori Bridge of the Taketa Highway in Fushimi when he was confronted by Saitō Hajime and Shinohara Tainoshin. Saitō Hajime is often credited with the kill, although Shinohara is said to be the true assassin. The other story is that he was not murdered until the 22nd day, sixth month, in the year Keiō 3 (July 23, 1867), on his way home along that highway from a farewell party organised by Kondō. He had obtained permission to leave, but the Shinsengumi secretly plotted against him. He may have also attempted to join Itō's group at this time, but was turned down. He then intended to join Satsuma. Saitō, and sometimes Shinohara, are usually credited in this version of