Four-Character Idiom · Conviction & Will · Kyojuro Rengoku
Meaning
To erase the private self entirely and devote one's full strength to the public — to the organisation, to others, to the larger cause.
私欲を完全に捨て去り、公（組織や他者）のために全力を尽くすこと。
The Kyojuro Rengoku line
Verbatim from the source article
「俺は俺の責務を全うする！！ ここにいる者は誰も死なせない！！」
"I WILL FULFILL MY DUTY! I WON'T LET ANYONE HERE DIE!"
Why it fits Kyojuro Rengoku
Rengoku's declaration is messhi-hōkō in a single sentence. The "duty" (責務) is the Corps' mission, the "I" being fulfilled is one consumed by that duty — the private and the public collapse into the same body.
Cultural note
Origin in classical / Buddhist / Confucian tradition
A core Edo-period samurai virtue, repurposed in the Meiji and Shōwa eras for civil and military service. Sometimes used critically today; in Rengoku's context it is sincere.
Sources
- デジタル大辞泉 — 滅私奉公 (dictionary)
- 精選版 日本国語大辞典 — 滅私奉公 (dictionary)