Shinsengumi

====== Japan's forced opening to the west in 1854, which required it to open its shores for trade or face military conflict, exacerbated internal political instability. One long-standing line of political opinion was (meaning, "revere the emperor, expel the barbarians"). Loyalists (particularly in Chōshū Domain) in Kyoto began to rebel. In response, the Tokugawa shogunate formed the on October 19, 1862. The was a squad of 234 (samurai without masters) drawn from the sword schools of Edo. There had not been such a meeting since the third of the Tokugawa , Tokugawa Iemitsu, had visited Kyoto in the 17th century. Tokugawa Iemochi, the head of the military government, the , had been invited to discuss how Japan should enact the recent imperial edict calling for the expulsion of foreigners. Although the was funded by the Tokugawa , the leader Kiyokawa Hachirō and others had strong loyalties to the emperor and planned to gather other in Kyoto to police the city from insurgents. On March 26 (lunar calendar February 8), 1863, Kiyokawa led the out of Edo as the vanguard of Iemochi's procession to Kyoto, which they arrived on April 10 (lunar calendar February 23), 1863. ====== When Kiyokawa's scheme was revealed in Kyoto, he immediately commanded the to return to Edo. The members were disbanded and then returned to Edo where they would later form the under the patronage of Shōnai Domain. However, nineteen members, mainly from the Mito clan, remained and formed the . Founding members Serizawa's faction: • Serizawa Kamo • Niimi Nishiki • Hirayama Gorō • Hirama Jūsuke • Noguchi Kenji • Araya Shingorō • Saeki Matasaburō Kondō's faction: • Kondō Isami • Hijikata Toshizō • Inoue Genzaburō • Okita Sōji • Nagakura Shinpachi • Saitō Hajime • Harada Sanosuke • Tōdō Heisuke • Yamanami Keisuke Tonouchi's faction: • Tonouchi Yoshio • Iesato Tsuguo The new name may have been coined by Matsudaira Katamori (the of the Aizu clan) around this time. The opposition forces included the Mori clan of the Chōshū and the Shimazu clan of Satsuma. The were led by Serizawa Kamo ( 1830, Mino Province), Niimi Nishiki, and Kondō Isami ( 1834, Musashi Province – he came from a small dojo in Edo called ). The submitted a letter to the Aizu clan, another powerful group who supported the Tokugawa regime, requesting permission to police Kyoto. The request was granted. Saeki Matasaburō, having killed Araya Shingorō, is believed to have been killed by a Chōshū samurai Kusaka Genzui on September 22, 1863. On September 30, 1863 (lunar calendar August 18), the Chōshū (anti-Tokugawa) clan were forced from the imperial court by the Tokugawa, Aizu and Satsuma clans. The were sent to aid the Aizu and guard the gates of the imperial court. The opposition forces included the Mori clan of the Chōshū and the Shimazu clan of Satsuma. Serizawa's erratic and disruptive behavior in Kyoto eventually led to Matsudaira Katamori of Aizu giving the an order to assassinate Serizawa and his group. On October 19, 1863, Niimi Nishiki, a member of the Serizawa faction was forced by Yamanami Keisuke and Hijikata Toshizō to commit seppuku for breaking regulations. On October 30 (or October 28), a few selected members led by Hijikata went into the Yagi Gennojō's house and assassinated Serizawa, his lover Oume, and Hirayama Goro, with Hirama Jūsuke being the only survivor who fled that night. All this infighting left Kondō as leader. Three months later, Noguchi Kenji was ordered to commit for an unknown reason. On July 8, 1864, in an incident at the Ikedaya Inn in Kyoto, thirty suppressed a cell of twenty Chōshū revolutionaries, possibly preventing the burning of Kyoto. The incident made the squad more famous and led to soldiers enlisting in the squad. Squad hierarchy after Ikedaya • : Kondō Isami, fourth master of the Tennen Rishin-ryū • : Yamanami Keisuke • : Hijikata Toshizō • : Itō Kashitarō • Spies: Shimada Kai and Yamazaki Susumu. : • Okita Sōji (instructor in Kenjutsu). • Nagakura Shinpachi (instructor in Kenjutsu). • Saitō Hajime (instructor in Kenjutsu). • Matsubara Chūji (instructor in Jujutsu). • Takeda Kanryūsai (instructor in military strategies). • Inoue Genzaburō • Tani Sanjūrō (instructor in spearing skills). • Tōdō Heisuke • Suzuki Mikisaburō • Harada Sanosuke Members of the group 's quarters at Nagareyama, Chiba Prefecture, Japan. One of the former headquarters At its peak, the had about 300 members. They were the first samurai group of the Tokugawa era to allow those from non-samurai classes (farmers and merchants, for example) to join. Many joined the group out of a desire to become samurai and be involved in political affairs. However, it is a misconception that most of the members were from non-samurai classes. Out of 106 members (among a total of 302 members at the time), there were 87 samurai, eight farmers, three merchants, three medical doctors, three priests, and two craftsmen. Several of the leaders, such as Sannan, Okita, Saitō, Nagakura, and Harada, were born samurai. regulations The code of the , famously created by Hijikata Toshizō, included five articles, prohibiting deviation from the samurai code (), leaving the , raising money privately, taking part in others' litigation, and engaging in private fights. The penalty for breaking any rule was . In addition, if the leader of a unit was mortally wounded in a fight, all the members of the unit must fight and die on the spot and, even in a fight where the death toll was high, the unit was not allowed to retrieve the bodies of the dead, except the corpse of the leader of the unit. Uniform The members of the were highly visible in battle due to their distinctive uniforms. Following the orders of the commander Serizawa Kamo, the standard uniform consisted of the and over a kimono, with a white cord called a crossed over the chest and tied in the back. The function of the was to prevent the sleeves of the kimono from interfering with movement of the arms. The wore a light chainmail suit beneath their robes and a light helmet made of iron. The uniform was best defined by the , which was colored . In the old days of Japan, during the ritual, the samurai committing would wear an . Thus the colour, in the samurai's eyes, characterized an honourable death. ==Boshin War==