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Shinsengumi

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For the NHK television series, see Shinsengumi!.
Mannequins dressed in Shinsengumi outfits
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Mannequins dressed in Shinsengumi outfits

The Shinsengumi (Japanese: 新選組 or 新撰組) were a special police force of the late shogunate period.

Contents

Introduction

The Shinsengumi began as the Rōshigumi (浪士組). Later, thirteen members of the Defenders became the thirteen founding members of the Shinsengumi. The Shinsengumi was also called the Miburō (壬生狼), meaning "Wolves of Mibu", after the town where they were stationed. Originally, it meant the "ronin of Mibu"(壬生浪), but this changed as the reputation of the Shinsengumi became tarnished in its early years. Shinsengumi could be translated to "Newly Selected Corps" (Shinsen means "new chosen (ones)," while "gumi" translates to "group," "team," or "squad.")

Statue of Isami Kondō at Mibu Temple
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Statue of Isami Kondō at Mibu Temple

After Japan opened up to the West in the 1860s due to U.S. Commodore Matthew Perry's visits, sentiment towards the Tokugawa shogunate grew negative while citizens longed for the return to power of the emperor. In response, the Aizu clan, with the shogunate, hired some of the greatest swordsmen of Edo and masterless samurai in Kyoto to protect itself and counteract those who supported the emperor against the Tokugawa shogunate. They were originally composed mainly of samurai from Chōshū (now Yamaguchi Prefecture). The Shinsengumi's greatest enemies were the imperial-supporting ronin samurai of the Mori Clan of Choshu (and later, former ally Shimazu Clan of Satsuma.)

The members of the Shinsengumi were highly visible in battle due to their distinctive uniforms. Ordered by Shinsengumi captain Kamo Serizawa, the standard uniform consisted of the haori and hakama over a kimono, with a white cord called a tasuki crossed over the chest and tied in the back. The function of the tasuki is to prevent the sleeves of the kimono from interfering with moving the arms. The uniqueness of the uniform was displayed in the haori, which was colored asagiiro (浅葱色, generally light blue, but can also be light yellow). The haori sleeves were trimmed with "white mountain stripes", resulting in a very flashy outfit, quite unlike the usual browns, blacks, and greys found in warrior clothing. In the midst of a fight, the uniforms of the Shinsengumi provided not only a means of easy identification, but also a highly visible threat towards the enemy.

The original Commanders of the Shinsengumi were Kamo Serizawa, Isami Kondō, and Nishiki Niimi. The group was made of two factions with Serizawa's Mito group and Kondō Isami's Shiekan dojo members. They based themselves in the Mibu neighborhood of Kyoto. The group submitted a letter to the Aizu clan requesting permission to police Kyoto to stop the actions of revolutionaries and lawless samurai. Their request was granted, but ironically, the reckless actions of Serizawa and Niimi, done in the name of the Shinsengumi, caused the group to be feared in Kyoto when their job was to keep the peace. Their reputation improved after Niimi's forced seppuku and Serizawa's assassination, facilitated by the faction under Kondō's command.

Shinsengumi rules

Statue of Toshizō Hijikata, Hino, Tokyo
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Statue of Toshizō Hijikata, Hino, Tokyo

Popular fiction claims that the Shinsengumi law was written by Kamo Serizawa or Isami Kondō, but it's more likely to have been written by Toshizō Hijikata (since its strictness fits his personality more than the other leaders). The law has five articles, which prohibit the following:

  1. Deviating from the samurai code (Bushido)
  2. Leaving the Shinsengumi
  3. Raising money privately
  4. Taking part in others' litigation
  5. Engaging in private fights
The penalty for breaking any rule was seppuku. In addition, the Shinsengumi had these laws:
  1. If the leader of a unit is mortally wounded in a fight, all the members of the unit must fight and die on the spot.
  2. Even in a fight where the death toll is high, it is not allowed to retrieve the bodies of the dead, except the corpse of the leader of the unit.
The most prominent of which is this: "If a Shinsengumi member engages in a fight with a stranger, be it on duty or not, if he is wounded and can't kill the enemy, allowing him to run away, even in case of a wound in the back, seppuku is ordered."

Hijikata forced them to follow extremely strict rules to make the group operate in bushido (or samurai) ideals and create fear within the group to absolutely obey orders from Hijikata and Kondo. These rules are a major reason why they rose to be such a strong, feared force consisting of hundreds of expert swordsmen, each endowed with the official sanction and an unflinching propensity to kill.

Quite a few members were forced to commit seppuku for breaking the rules or were killed for being spies.

The Ikedaya Affair of 1864, in which they prevented the burning of Kyoto, made the Shinsengumi famous overnight and they had a surge of recruits. At its peak, the Shinsengumi had about 300 members. They were the first samurai group ever to allow those from non-samurai classes like farmers and merchants to join because Japan had always had a strict class hierarchy system. Many joined the group for the desire to become samurai and be involved in political affairs. However, it is a misconception that most of the Shinsengumi members were from non-samurai classes. Out of 106 Shinsengumi members (among a total of 302 members at the time), there were eighty seven samurai, eight farmers, three merchants, three medical doctors, three priests, and two craftsmen. Quite a few leaders such as Yamanami, Okita, Nagakura, and Harada were born samurai.

Post-Ikedaya Shinsengumi hierarchy

Commander: Kondō Isami, fourth master of the Tennen Rishin Ryū
General Secretary: Yamanami Keisuke
Vice Commanders: Hijikata Toshizō
Military Advisor: Ito Kashitarō

Troop Captains:

  1. Okita Sōji
  2. Nagakura Shinpachi
  3. Saitō Hajime
  4. Matsubara Chūji
  5. Takeda Kanryūsai
  6. Inoue Genzaburō
  7. Tani Sanjūrō
  8. Tōdō Heisuke
  9. Suzuki Mikisaburō
  10. Harada Sanosuke
Spies: Shimada Kai, Yamazaki Susumu

End of the Shinsengumi

The Shinsengumi remained loyal to the Tokugawa bakufu, and as the latter collapsed, they were driven out of Kyoto. They fought to the very end.

Isami Kondō was captured and beheaded by the Meiji government. Generally, the death of Toshizō Hijikata on June 20 (lunar calendar May 11), 1869 marks the end of the Shinsengumi.

There were a few core members, such as Shinpachi Nagakura and Hajime Saitō who survived the demise of the group.

Depictions in Media

In 2004, Japanese television broadcaster NHK began a made year-long television drama series following the history of the Shinsengumi, called [新選組!] (Shinsengumi!), which airs on Sunday evenings. Actors include Kōji Yamamoto, Tatsuya Fujiwara, Joe Odagiri, and Katori Shingo of the pop idol group SMAP. It was written by Japanese director and playwright, Mitani Koki. Many other series and specials have featured the history and fiction surrounding this group.

In 2003, a Japanese samurai drama, When the last sword is drawn [link], depicts the end of shinsengumi, focusing on various historical figures such as Saito Hajime.

In the historical fiction manga Kaze Hikaru, a girl named Tominaga Sei and disguises herself as a boy named Kamiya Seizaburo to join the Mibu-Roshigumi (later known as Shinsengumi) in order to avenge her murdered father and older brother.

The historical fiction anime Peacemaker Kurogane chronicles a dramatization of the events leading up to the Ikedaya Affair. The manga it was based on continues the story.

Another popular historical fiction manga, Rurouni Kenshin, which also became an anime, includes Hajime Saitō in his post-Shinsengumi job in the Meiji's police department, as Gorō Fujita. Saito is also featured in Rurouni Kenshin's OVA, Samurai X. Both the OVA and manga show scenes of the Shinsengumi around the time of the Ikedaya Affair.

The 1999 film Gohatto depicts the Shinsengumi after the Ikedaya Affair.

The 2004 Super Sentai Series Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger episode 18 "Samurai Go West" featured Rangers dressed as Shinsengumi members to outsmart an Alienizer forced to go back to his native planet after 200 years he left Kyoto. Ban dressed as a fictional Shinsengumi member Akaza Bannoshin, Houji as Hijikata Toshizo, Sen-chan as Kondo Isami, and Jasmine as Okita Souji.

The anime series Kidō Shinsengumi: Moeyo Ken depicts Yuuko Kondo, Toshie Hijikata, and Kaoru Okita (respectively the daughters of Isami Kondo, Toshizo Hijikata, and Souji Okita) as magical girls defending a Meiji-era Kyoto against evil or violent spiritual threats.

The SNK Playmore video game series The Last Blade features two fictional Shinsengumi members: Washizuka Keiichiro and Sanada Kojiro.

The Shinsengumi was made into anime girls in the eroge Kyosatsu♥Shinsengumi, and also in Line-Kill Spirits.

External links

 

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