Shinsengumi

Shinsengumi
Historical Information
Main Objective:	Serve the Tokugawa shogunate
Estimated Numbers:	200 (known by name)
Start:	1863
End:	1869
Major Figure(s):	Kondō Isami, Hijikata Toshizō, Serizawa Kamo, Yamanami Keisuke
Major Battle(s)	August 8th Coup, Ikedaya Incident, Kinmon Incident, Aburanokō Incident, Boshin War

The Shinsengumi (新選組 or 新撰組, translated as "new specially selected squad") refers to an organization which existed during the end of the Tokugawa shogunate. They are famously identified by their "truth" (誠, makoto) banners and their light capri blue (浅葱色, asagi-iro) overcoats. According to rumors, their banner was named after the place where Kondō learned swordsmanship (試衛館, Shienkan).

The Shinsengumi started as the Rōshigumi, a group of law enforcers in Kyoto who accepted anyone as members, even criminals and poor samurai. When their founder wanted to move to Edo, some members stayed in Kyoto and renamed themselves the Miburōshi. They got funding from a daimyou and western merchants and helped the shogunate during the August 8th Coup. Kondō became their leader after assassinating Serizawa and his followers. The group was renamed the Shinsengumi and allowed anyone healthy and willing to fight for the shogunate to join. Members trained in martial arts and became known as the shogunate's armed law enforcement in the capital.

When Tokugawa Yoshinobu stepped down from the capital in 1867, the Shinsengumi left peacefully with him. It wasn't long until the Shinsengumi received orders to eradicate the renewed imperial forces. Members became divided in Edo or Hakodate, many fighting until their last as they fell to European weaponry. Hijikata Toshizō's death demoralized those on the war front, causing the remaining Shinsengumi to surrender once they ran out of supplies. The Meiji government forbade the bereaved from receiving their departed loved one's possessions. A few survivors lived during the Meiji period, the most famous being Saitō Hajime.

In the past, people in the capital didn't like the Shinsengumi. During a war between different groups, they were seen as another violent gang who used their power to protect themselves. They sometimes raided people's homes without warning and treated prisoners and disobedient members very badly. People were scared when they saw their banner. Later, when Japan became more imperialistic, politicians saw them as enemies. Even now, none of the members have been given any special honors. It wasn't until after World War II that people started to see the Shinsengumi as heroes in stories. Nowadays, they are often seen as tragic figures who were loyal to a time that has passed.

Select Members

Commanders - Serizawa Kamo, Kondō Isami, Niimi Nishiki

Vice-Commanders - Hijikata Toshizō, Yamanami Keisuke, Niimi Nishiki

Unit Captains

1. Okita Sōji
2. Nagakura Shinpachi ⇒ Itō Kashitaro
3. Saitō Hajime
4. Matsubara Chūji
5. Takeda Kanryūsai ⇒ Ogata Shuntarō
6. Inoue Genzaburō
7. Tani Sanjūrō
8. Tōdō Heisuke
9. Suzuki Mikisaburō
10. Harada Sanosuke

Corporals

• Abe Jūrō
• Hashimoto Kaisuke
• Hayashi Shintarō
• Ikeda Kosaburō
• Kanno Washio
• Kawashima Katsuji
• Kazurayama Takehachirō
• Kondō Yoshisuke
• Maeno Gorō
• Memajiri Kobungo
• Naganishi Noboru
• Nakamura Kosaburō
• Okuzawa Eisuke
• Ozeki Masajirō
• Shimada Kai
• Tomiyama Yahei

Instructors

• Abe Jūrō
• Arai Tadao
• Ikeda Kosaburō
• Itō Kashitarō
• Kiyohara Kiyoshi
• Matsubara Chūji
• Mōnai Arinosuke
• Nagakura Shinpachi
• Ogata Shuntarō
• Okita Sōji
• Saitō Hajime
• Shiba Ryōsaku
• Shinohara Tainoshin
• Takeda Kanryūsai
• Tanaka Torazō
• Tani Sanjūrō
• Yanagi Sanjirō
• Yasutomo Saisuke
• Yoshimura Kanichirō

Investigators / Spies

• Yoshimura Kanichirō
• Yamazaki Suzumu
• Ōishi Kuwajirō
• Kishijima Yoshitarō
• Tani Shūhei
• Ibaraki Tsukasa

Beautiful Five - fictional name given to five handsome and effeminate officers/spies.

1. Yamano Yasohachi
2. Sasaki Aijirō
3. Magoshi Saburō
4. Mazume Ryūtarō
5. Kusunoki Kojūrō

In the Games

Koei either references or adds the famous members in select Nobunaga's Ambition titles. Samurai Warriors have three figures' names act as stat bonuses for edit characters. Famous members appear as Mitama in the Toukiden series. Hido cosplays in the bluish Shinsengumi uniform while Myoga cosplays an older Toshizō in Kiniro no Corda 3 AnotherSky feat. Amane Gakuen.

Many of the core members appear in the Ishin no Arashi series. Pro-shogunate protagonists have a fair chance of befriending them; anti-shogunate protagonists will be hunted or shunned by them. All games include the Ikedaya Incident as a historical event which occurs regardless of the protagonist's ideology. Bakumatsu Isshiden has Toshizō as a possible protagonist who can perish in the Boshin War, lead the group to become the shogunate's elite army, or convert the group to become anarchists.

Shippuu Ryoumaden dedicates the game's fictional route to them; Ryōma is dragged to their headquarters by his childhood acquaintance, Heisuke, and gradually befriends the members. This ending has the Shinsengumi present Ryōma's eight measures directly to the shogun after the land is unified for shogunate reform. The Shinsengumi are promoted to samurai and become the shogun's personal elite guard and task force.

Harukanaru Toki no Naka de 5 and its sequel focuses on the group's formation in 1864 for its parallel world. Four members are named; the rest are given generic labels. Both continuities stress that their true loyalties lie with Iemochi; they treat Amami and Yoshinobu as their enemies/rivals. Kondou and Hijikata agree to work with Yuki when her exclusive purification powers work towards their means, lending Souji to her whenever they see fit. The theatrical continuity has a group of fictional swordsmen specifically assigned to vengeful spirit and undead exterminations (殺陣衆, kateshū).

External Links

• Aizuwakamatsu City official website
• Hino City Tourist Association official website