shinsengumi

I'm so much interested in Shinsengumi, one famous squad in Japan's history. I started to get curious and wanna know more about the squad after I read my sister's manga "Kaze Hikaru" and I was like, "Man, this is awesome!" For ages I hadn't read any mangas and Kaze Hikaru is the only manga I read nowadays. The author is Taeko Watanabe. The main character is a girl named Tominaga Sei who, after her father and brother were murdered,decides to pose as a boy named Kamiya Seizaburo to join the "Mibu-Ro" (The Wolves of Mibu) later known as the Shinsengumi. Her goal was to search for the murderer. In Shinsengumi base she met Souji Okita (also known as Soujiro Seta) who later became her master.

Soooo what is Shinsengumi? Shinsengumi translates to "the group of the new chosen ones" ... "Shinsen" means "new chosen ones" while "gumi" translates to "group," "team," or "squad." The original Captains of the Shinsengumi were Kamo Serizawa, Isami Kondō, and Nishiki Niimi. The group was made of 2 sects with Serizawa's Mito group and Kondou Isami's Shiekan dojo members. They based themselves in the Mibu neighborhood of Kyoto. On March 12, 1863, 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 the seppuku of Niimi and the assassination of Serizawa by the Kondo sect within the group.

Commander: Kondō Isami , a practitioner of the Tennen Rishin Ryū
Vice Commanders: Hijikata Toshizō, Yamanami Keisuke
Military Advisor: Kashitarō Itō

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

(to be continued...)