Ishihara Shiko'o

His father was Ishihara Unshirō (石原 運四郎) (1841-1876), a former samurai retainer of the Kumamoto Domain and staff officer attached to the 2nd Regiment of the Keishintō (敬神党), an anti-foreign organization established by students of the kokugaku leader Hayashi Ōen.

[3] Although he escaped the castle alive, Unshirō chose to commit seppuku alongside a friend after the uprising's defeat by forces under Kodama Gentarō.

[4] Ishihara was distraught that the Keishintō would be forgotten while still branded rebels, and devoted his life to gathering historical materials and testimony from surviving relatives of the men involved and investigating the truth of the uprising.

[5] Manuscripts collected by Ishihara included the Sorrowful Draft from Prison (獄の憂草, Goku no Yūsō), a brief account of the rebellion's planning and execution by the captured participant Ogata Kotarō.

Ishihara's work was expounded upon by Hasuda Zenmei, one of the last kokugaku students and an early influence on the author Yukio Mishima.