📖 Shinsengumi

The Shinsengumi was an armed group established during the late Tokugawa shogunate to combat the pro-imperial and anti-shogunate forces. Led by Chief Kondo Isami, Vice Chief Hijikata Toshizo, and First Unit Captain Okita Soji, its members were all skilled swordsmen. This article will trace how the Shinsengumi, composed of farmers' sons and ronin, rose to become the strongest samurai group of the Bakumatsu period, while adhering to their beliefs and vowing to serve their lord until death. It will explore the passionate and tragic lives of the Shinsengumi warriors and the historical backdrop of the tumultuous era they lived in.

An armed organization established to protect the shogun traveling to Kyoto. They gained fame by killing several pro-imperial loyalists during the Ikedaya Incident. They assisted the shogunate forces in repelling the attack from the Choshu Domain, which attempted to forcibly reclaim Kyoto. Due to their recognized activities, they became an armed organization under the Edo shogunate. They participated in the Battle of Toba-Fushimi on the side of the old shogunate forces but were defeated by the new government army. The old shogunate forces that engaged in battle with the new government army surrendered, marking the end of the Boshin War. The Shinsengumi was disbanded.