The Shinsengumi

The Shinsengumi have long beed considered to be the most powerful group of the Bakumatsu. made up of 10 squads

lead by Kondo Isami, Serizawa Kamo, and Niimi Nishigi,
vice leaders Hijikata Toshizou, and Yamanami Keisuke.
the squad leaders were,
1st squad Okita Soushi, Kenjutsu Instructor
2nd Squad Nagakura Shinpachi, Kenjutsu Instructor
3rd Squad Saitou Hajime, Kenjutsu Instructor
4th Squad Matsubara Tadaji, Instructor of Jujitsu
5th Squad Takeda Kanryuusai, Military Strategy Instructor
6th Squad Inoue Genzaburou
7th Squad Tani Sanjyuurou, instructor in spearing skills
8th Squad Toudou Heisuke
9th Squad Suzuki Mikisaburou
10th Squad Harada Sanosuke
Yamazaki Susumu was the head of the Spies within the Shinsengumi.

they were actually gathered by the daimyo Matsudaira Katamori of Aizu. he acted as a Pro-bakufu supporter but was actually on the side of the Shishi. his plan was to gather a band or roshi in the name of the Bakufu but train them to be Ishin Shishi *...* *me no gets it either* his plan was to have them attack Yokahama and set fire to all the buildings and kill all the foreigners to try to get the favor of the Bakufu to be set as low as it could be however the Shoganate heard of this and went and killed Matsudaira Katamori. in the end Kondou and Hijikata started their small band of swordsmen to be official Shoganate Swordsmen. Kondou wanted to use the Kanji "Makoto" on their flag but Serizawa wanted "Ryu" but Kondou won out and they used the Kanji "Makoto".

There was a ton of inner turbulence however as Serizawa was a very evil man. he used an iron fan as a weapon and killed people as he pleased and very often got drunk, and frequented brothels. Kondou and Hijikata hated him for they kept fast to the ways of a Samurai. he also used the fact that he was the leader of the Shinsengumi as a way to cover his blunders. eventually the strain got to so strong that a group of assassins made up of Inoue, Yamanami, Toudou, Harada and Okita, went and killed Serizawa and other corrupted members of the Shinsengumi were killed. after that Kondou and Hijikata kept strict rules saying that a member must never do anything to stain the honor of a samurai. *note* Udoh Jineh was one such member although he never existed, his sword style did however *note end* At first the Shinsengumi were hated all through Kyoto because of Serizawa. at first they were called Roshi of Mibu *mibu-ro* after the village where they were first formed but later the were called Wolves of Mibu *mibu-ro also but the ro meant wolf not Roshi*. The "enterence exam" was a match with Shinai against one of the Shinsengumi members, if they canidate one the first match the second was usually against a more seasoned member usually Saitou. Okita was always the referee.

there job was as literally a police force. they patrolled the streets of Kyoto killing any suspicious person. if one couldnt state their name their han and a reason why they were there chance were they would be cut down without further questioning... Hijikata was feared throughout Kyoto for his merciless killings. There way of attacking one was to attack with many member against one or a small group of people. Not caring about the fairness as there job was to protect Kyoto. Since the start of the Bakumatsu many Ishins came to Kyoto setting fires to buildings of Gaijin. so they killed anyone that was suspicious.

 

hmm, very interesting. your just full of information arent you.

 

wow thats very interting thanks..i never really looked into the shisengumi...thanks!

 

heh im really into japanese history ^_^x

 

i can see that...gosh you know alot about Kenshin as well!! i think your interested in Kenshin for teh reason i am...one cause its a great anime the best in my book but also swordsmanship adn japanese history has always been a part of my life since i started my swordsmanship training....right?

 

quite. they say when you take up a sword its not to be a weapon but an extension of yourself. there fore just as you know youreself you must know your sword inside and out including history.

 

and knowing the history of your sword makes you all the wiser in battle and in life in general...

 

quite. one thing you have to understand is how a katana "flows" through the air not cutting.

 

yes and to master defense as well as offense...

 

yeah to properly parry a blow and block and switch to defense

 

and to be able to predict the opponents moves makes it all the better!

 

quite. but someswordsmen can change a strike before it hits which makes it hard to follow...

 

yes thats why having quick reflexes is the key as well

 

*laughs* yes it does ^_^

 

i went through so much training and so many bruises to build up my fast reflexes heh

 

reflexsive training is really hard. i had fairly good reflexes to begin with *found that out after someone threw a rock at my head*

 

*laughs*yes as did i but in swordsmanship and especially in teh Itto style speed is almost everything besides precision

 

speed and precision are probably the best aspects of Kenjutsu..

 

most definately! and desire as well as heart

 

without disire the is nothing...