Golden Kamuy is fictional. Very fictional – I think that should be pretty obvious. Yet for all its absurdities, it’s a story written with a very clear grounding in Japanese history. Noda-sensei – like his pal Yukimura Makoto – is a mangaka obsessed with research. He’s lucky in that he didn’t have to travel nearly as far to do his. In fact he comes from Hokkaido, so the events he depicts in GK are very close to his heart. Much like Hyouge Mono, this is a series which (absurdly) depicts never-was history in a way that makes you think “You know, that makes a lot of sense. I could almost see that being true.” Those are two series so singular it’s hard to say anything much reminds you of them, but they do have a certain amount in common.

Hijikata being alive at all is a conceit, of course. But if you stipulate to it, this guy is a walking history lesson himself. The real Shinsengumi vice-captain was indeed at Goryokaku, and his description of why star forts were built (they were common across Europe as well as colonial America) was spot-on. It’s still a bit of a pipe dream to think they could hold off the Seventh even with Sofia’s guerrillas to help them., but Sugimoto is right – if they’re to have a chance they need trenches, and fast. Never mind actually finding the gold, which is why they came in the first place.

In fact the old samurai has a good idea where to dig – thanks to own tattoo, with “Kami” on it. Sugimoto has every right to be pissed that Hijikata is still withholding information from him but they do strike paydirt. Not gold, but evidence of its power. At this point one might easily assume I was right in my spitballing last week – that the gold wouldn’t be there after all, and Noda would pull off one last giant troll. What they find in that “Kami” storehouse is a deed book – proof of a treaty signed between Enomoto Takeaki and the Seven Ainu. One which granted land rights to large chunks of Hokkaido in exchange for the gold. But only half of it.

This site isn’t about history lessons, but the context of Enomoto is important. The Ezo Republic was the last gasp of the old Shogunate forces, the die-hards who refused to submit to the Satsuma-Choshu warlords who overthrew it. It  lasted mere months and its Sousai (president, more or less) Enomoto was imprisoned for three years. But the Meiji government leader Kuroda Kiyotaka argued that his skills were too valuable to waste away in a cell, and eventually Enomoto was released and managed to work his way higher up the Meiji power grid than any other former Tokugawa loyalist, all of whom were hated and distrusted by the Satsuma and Choshu forces.

What Enomoto didn’t do – at least it’s never been suggested by historians – is sign any land deal with the Ainu. He did in fact wind up being a progressive on Ainu affairs, and it’s true that a mystery exists over where the Meiji government got all the money it splashed on development in the 1870s. Here, he effectively trades half of Hokkaido to the Ainu for half the gold, and has the deal witnessed by six foreign ambassadors to make it harder for the government to abrogate it later.

This book is most precious to Asirpa of course, as the only Ainu present when it’s found and Wilk’s daughter. But even here, Hijikata challenges her view of what the land deed would have meant to Wilk. You can see the seeds of strife taking root, but before they can flower a barrage of cannon fire resets everyone’s priorities. Tsurumi has outsmarted the enemy by arriving in Hakodate by destroyer – albeit with barely sixty of his men, but with four ships’ worth of big guns to train on Goryokaku. Nagakura jumps in the moat and swims across, appearing to surrender to Tsurumi’s men. And it appears that Hijikata didn’t see that coming.

Nagakura is stalling for time, of course. And Tsurumi is too good a liar to be fooled by another one. But Nagakura is a swordsman, even at his age, and he manages to make his escape after planting a seed of doubt in Tsurumi’s mind to prevent him from flattening the entire fort. Hijikata sends Kadokura, Kirawus, and Mansur off on a mission they’d planned in advance. It finds them reuniting with Nagakura while Hijikata redirects the search for the gold. He’s realized that only half of it was traded to the Ezo Republic, and that 37, 125 KG are still out there somewhere. And the copy of Kadokura’s tattoo – “a very lucky man” – that blows in gives him an inspiration as to where.

To the observer (this one at least) this situation still looks pretty bleak. Hijikata speaks of a path to victory, but what is it? But the fact is that this is a truly momentous moment – the gold has finally been found (half of it at least). After 59 episodes, countless twists and turns, limitless GAR and gore and slapstick and manservice, here we are. I don’t trust Hijikata where Sugimoto and Asirpa are concerned – and especially with Shiraishi now down that well with them, I could see this turning ugly even before Tsurumi shows up. But if there’s one thing I know, it’s that Sugimoto really only cares about one thing, and it’s not the gold. For all the political ramifications and personal betrayals, he’s not going to let Asirpa’s journey end here.