Bushidoboutique

True name: Okuda Sadaemon Yukitaka (奥田 貞右衛門 行高)

Age: unknown

Katana mei: not documented

Wakizashi mei: not documented

The tale of the text – with a little twist

Tokuda Yukitaka was the squad’s resident aquatic expert — basically the Michael Phelps of the Forty‑Seven Rōnin. If there was water nearby, he was ready to dive in and solve problems.

As the group marched triumphantly with Moronao’s head toward Sengakuji, a messenger came sprinting up at Ryōgoku Bridge with the worst possible news: “Hey, uh… the Uesumi clan might be coming to kill you.”

Instantly, the group made a tactical decision: send the three guys most likely to survive a sudden river disaster — Yukitaka, Kataoka Dengoemon, and Senzaki Yagorō — ahead in a small boat. Yukitaka probably thought, “Finally, something involving water.”

Meanwhile, the rest of the band stood outside Nekoin Temple like action heroes waiting for a dramatic showdown. They were fully prepared to die gloriously… but the enemy never showed up. Not even a single annoyed foot soldier.

After a while, they collectively realized they were standing around for nothing, dusted themselves off, and marched through Tsukiji toward Sengakuji, probably feeling a bit awkward about the whole “ready to die” moment.

Yukitaka, of course, had already glided ahead by boat, doing exactly what he was born to do: swim his way into samurai history.

For an accurate translation of the print text, I would encourage you to get the book: Kuniyoshi -The faithful samurai by David R Weinberg.