What is Kōga Gengo?
'''Kōga Gengo''' (February 16, 1839 - May 6, 1869) was a Japanese [[samurai]] from the [[Kakegawa Domain]] and a [[Bakushin]], meaning a samurai who served under direct rule lord of the [[Shogun]]. He was a boarding captain during the [[Boshin War]] and commanded the [[paddle]] [[corvette]] ''[[SMS Danzig (1851)|Kaiten]]'' where he was killed during the [[Battle of Miyako Bay]]. [[File:Kouga gengo.jpg|thumb]] == Life == Born on February 16, 1839 in the [[Kakegawa Domain]], he was the fourth child of Hidetaka Koga, leader of the Kakegawa Clan in [[Tōtōmi Province|Totomi]]. In 1855, Gengo traveled to [[Edo]] and studied [[Rangaku]] with [[daimyo]] of the [[Sakura Domain]], Guntaro Kimura. He returned to his province two years later in 1857, but in 1858, Gengo was inspired to study [[navigation]] and went back to Edo under the guidance of [[Kō Yatabori]], who was the professor at the [[Gunkan Office]] in [[Tsukiji]]. In 1855, the 2nd Dutch Navy Training Mission, led by [[Willem Huyssen van Kattendijke]], came to [[Nagasaki]] to set up a naval training center. Gengo's older brother, Gunnosuke Gengo, along with [[Katsu Kaishu]] and Yadabori, was the only Kakegawa feudal lord to receive the first Nagasaki Dutch Navy training. However, by the time of the second period, even though he had not accepted any new people other than the [[Bakushin]], the fact that Gengo went to Nagasaki meant that he had an informal tour of the training as a subordinate of Yadabori. Gengo studied advanced [[mathematics]] in [[Dutch language|Dutch]] with two of his [[Mentorship|mentors]] Yadabori and [[Arai Ikunosuke]] , and published a book about [[Navy|naval]] [[Tactic|tactics]]. He also learned both [[English language|English]] and [[French language|French]]. In 1859, he became a [[vassal]] of the Shogunate and was appointed as a [[warship]] training assistant. The following year, Gengo also served as a guardsman in [[Yokohama]]. In 1861, Gengo became [[professor]] of naval training. == Life in the Shogunate Navy == He was latter appoin