Founding of the Shinsengumi

In February of Bunkyū 3 (1863), the Edo shogunate dispatched a corps of rōnin to Kyoto ahead of Shogun Tokugawa Iemochi's ascent to the capital. Organized at the initiative of Kiyokawa Hachirō, this corps was ostensibly charged with protecting the shogun, but when Kiyokawa's royalist and sonnō-jōi leanings came to light, the shogunate recalled the corps to Edo. However, Kondō Isami, Hijikata Toshizō, Okita Sōji, and twenty other men chose to remain in Kyoto and were placed under the command of Matsudaira Katamori, Military Protector of Kyoto. This was the direct origin of the Shinsengumi.

On March 13 of the same year (the 4th day of the 2nd lunar month), the organization was formally established as the Mibu Rōshigumi (Mibu Masterless Samurai Corps). It was subsequently renamed the Shinsengumi ("New Select Corps") and functioned as an operational unit specializing in policing Kyoto and suppressing sonnō-jōi activists.

Organization and the Code

The Shinsengumi maintained discipline through an uncompromising internal code known as the Kyokuchū Hatto. Five categories of transgression were prohibited: acting against bushidō (the way of the warrior), deserting the organization, raising funds without authorization, engaging in private quarrels, and taking part in litigation. Violators were ordered to commit seppuku (ritual suicide). While reflecting an aspiration to purify bushidō, the code also served the practical function of controlling a heterogeneous band of rōnin from disparate backgrounds.

Kondō Isami, the commander, was a master of the Tennen Rishin-ryū school of swordsmanship. A peasant's son from Tama in Musashi Province, he maintained the pride of a samurai throughout his life. Vice-Commander Hijikata Toshizō, feared as the "Demon Vice-Commander," was a strict administrator and rigorous enforcer of the code. First Unit Captain Okita Sōji was renowned as a genius swordsman; his "three-stage thrust" became legendary.

The Deep Connection to Japanese Swords

For Shinsengumi fighters, the Japanese sword was not merely a weapon but the very soul of the warrior. In the Ikedaya Incident (1864) and numerous other raids, the men fought with their swords, and skill with the blade determined who lived and who died.

The relationship with sword smiths ran deep, and senior officers carried renowned blades. The sword associated with Kondō Isami, known as the Kotetsu (by Nagasone Kotetsu Okisato), is celebrated as an outstanding combat blade of the late Edo period. Hijikata Toshizō always carried an Izumi no Kami Kanesada (by the eleventh-generation Kanesada of Aizu). This sword survives to the present day at the Hijikata Toshizō Museum in Hino, Tokyo, as a precious historical artifact.

The Bakumatsu era was the final period in which the Japanese sword played a decisive role on the battlefield even as firearms spread. Amid the intensifying social upheaval following Commodore Perry's arrival, Shinsengumi fighters devoted themselves to swordsmanship, honing the sharpness of their blades and the skill of their arms. Their activities provide rich historical documentation of the Japanese sword functioning not as craft object or symbol, but as a functional combat weapon.

The Ikedaya Incident and Its Impact

On the 5th day of the 6th lunar month of Genji 1 (1864), the Shinsengumi raided the inn "Ikedaya" on Sanjō Kiyamachi in Kyoto, where royalist-sonnō-jōi activists were in hiding. This "Ikedaya Incident" made the Shinsengumi's name resound throughout Japan. The activists numbered approximately 30 rōnin, many of them samurai who had deserted the domains of Chōshū, Tosa, and Higo.

The Shinsengumi, divided into the Kondō and Hijikata units, stormed the building and, in close-quarters blade work, killed and captured many of the activists. It is said that Okita Sōji was forced to withdraw partway through due to an attack of his chronic illness (pulmonary tuberculosis), but the remaining fighters overcame their numerical disadvantage and achieved control of the inn. The Ikedaya engagement was a pure sword duel between trained fighters in which the quality of the blade and skill of the swordsman directly determined the outcome—a rare historical case noted by both Bakumatsu historians and sword enthusiasts.

The Kinmon Incident and Alliance with Aizu Domain

In the month following the Ikedaya Incident, during the "Kinmon Incident" (7th lunar month of Genji 1), when Chōshū domain's forces advanced on the Kyoto Palace, the Shinsengumi participated in its defense in coordination with the Aizu domain forces serving as Military Protectors of Kyoto. Though this battle involved large-scale armed conflict with artillery, the Shinsengumi's core fighters remained effective as close-quarters combatants.

The close alliance with Aizu domain continued through the later Battle of Toba-Fushimi (Keiō 4, 1868) and the Boshin War, where the Shinsengumi remained an important element of the shogunate forces.

Decline and Final Battles

With the return of political power to the Emperor in Keiō 3 (1867) through the Taiseihokan and the Restoration Edict that followed, the Shinsengumi shared the fate of the shogunate forces they served. After defeat at Toba-Fushimi, they fought on through Edo, Kōshū, and the northeast. Kondō Isami surrendered at Nagareyama in April of Meiji 1 (1868) and was beheaded the same year. Hijikata Toshizō fought on to Hakodate in Hokkaido, where he was killed in action in May of Meiji 2 (1869).

With Hijikata's death the Shinsengumi effectively ceased to exist, but their story was retold as a symbol of the Bakumatsu era from the Meiji period onward. In the context of modern Japan's retrospective engagement with bushidō, loyalty, and the aesthetics of the sword, the Shinsengumi remains an indispensable point of reference.

Historical Significance in Japanese Sword Culture

The Bakumatsu period in which the Shinsengumi was active marks a pivotal epoch in the history of the Japanese sword. Throughout the Edo period, the sword had increasingly become a symbolic ornament of the samurai, but the Shinsengumi fighters continued to use the blade as a literal instrument of combat through nightly patrols and sudden raids. This practice gave rise to a practical preference for Bakumatsu-era blades that were thick, short, and easy to use—a trend that influenced the world of swordsmiths.

Moreover, because the Shinsengumi valued blades that would not break easily and would not accumulate blood, some swordsmiths and polishers reportedly performed special finishes to meet their specifications. This culture of "functional swords" stands in stark contrast to the Edo period's "display swords" and serves as a historical testament to the dual nature of the Japanese sword as both practical tool and aesthetic object.