This sad story was told that through Nagakura's kind offices, Sannan's old friend, Tenjin (upper rank prostitute) Akesato in Shimabara, who came to see Sannan and bade him a last farewell (but there was no description of Akesato in Nagakura's journal 'Shinsengumi Tenmatsuki' and 'Roshi Bunkyu Era Patriotism Articles,' so it was highly likely that this was created by Kan SHIMOZAWA).
永倉の配慮によって、山南が馴染みにしていた島原の天神明里が死の間際の山南の元に駆けつけ今生の別れを告げたという哀話が伝わっている（その永倉の手記「新撰組顛末記」や「浪士文久報国記事」などには明里についての記述はなく、子母沢寛の創作という可能性が高いとされている）