Info
Rurouni Kenshin a.k.a. Samurai X
After the arrival of Commodore Perry, Japan was thrown into chaos and fear. Many samurais, especially those of lower ranks, began to doubt the power of the Shogunate in defending the country against foreign powers, especially when they had seen the armed blackships. The slogan "Sonno-Joi" (Rever the emperor, dispel the barbarians) was winning more and more support, such that samurais desert their lands to come to Kyoto to join the revolutionary movements. (In those days deserting your land can be one of the most condemned sins - once you desert, you can never return to it, on pain of death.)
Such roshis (masterless samurais, but not ronins and definitely not rurounis:)) increased in Kyoto, causing more and more disturbances at the capital. In those early days of unsatisfied feelings, most of the roshis still did not have a clear idea of what movement or who they should follow. All they knew was that they were impatient and eager to do something to defend Japan. There were myriads of schools of thought - Sonno-joi, open up the country to learn from the gaijin and in turn attact them using the same technologies, support the Bakufu - as Watsuki once remarked, it was an era where 100 people may hold 100 different arguments and you can't say who's wrong. It's one factor which makes this era as tumultuous and interesting as it is. The Bakufu decided that it would be to their advantage if they took such roshis without any stand yet into their service, rather than letting them roam about the capital. Hence, Roshi-tais (bands of wave samurais) were formed and roshis enlisted under respective Bakufu samurais, where the "entry requirements" were one's sword skills (kenjutsu matches, something like an exam, were held.) This happened in 1863 or 3rd Year of Bunkyuu, one year after Kaoru's birth.
(Right, shift the scenes for a while...) Now in the district of Tama near Edo, there was a kenjutsu dojo, the Shieikan, practising the Tennen Rishin Ryuu. The master was one Kondou Isami, and among the students are Hijikata Toshizou, Okita Souji and Inoue Genzaburou. These four were like brothers, with Okita as the youngest and also the strongest. There were also many frequenters at the dojo who take their meals there (like Sano frequenting the Kamiya Dojo), among them Yamanami Seisuke, Harada Sanosuke and Nagakura Shinpachi. When Kondou and Hijikata heard of the formation of Roshitais in Kyoto and being the patriotic hunks that they were, they went to Kyoto with a few other disciples of Tennen Rishin Ryuu (including all of the above named), leaving the dojo in the care of Hijikata's elder brother.
In Kyoto, they were enlisted under Kiyokawa Hachirou, after passing the "entry requirement exams". 13 roshis, including Kondou and Co, were appointed "Kyoto Defenders" by Matsudaira Katamori, the Daimyo of Aizu.
Now, although Kiyokawa acted in public like a pro-Bakufu, he was actually on the other side. What he wanted to do was to gather a troupe of roshis in the name of the Bakufu, BUT to train these roshis to be Ishin Shishis - ironic, isn't it? He had planned with the other Shishis to attack the gaijin settlement at Yokohama, setting fire to the buildings and killing the foreigners, so that the Bakufu's foreign diplomacy, as well as their image, would plummet as low as it could get. The Shogunate had news of this, however, and they sent assassins to elimainate Kiyokawa on 13/4, 3rd year of Bunkyuu, before their plan could be carried out. After that, Kondou and co. insisted on supporting the Shogunate, and they set up the Shinsengumi, with 13 members. (Actually there are other developments before this happened, but then it was so complicated that I've given up trying to figure it out. Help, anyone?) It was then that the kanji "Makoto" was chosen as the group flag. There were some arguments on this: Kondou insisted on "Makoto", while Serizawa on "Ryu" (Dragon). (from one historical novel) The first committee was as follows:
Joint Captains: Serizawa Kamo(character model for Shishio), Kondou Isami, Niimi Nishigi
Vice Captains: Hijikata Toshizo (character model for Aoshi), Yamanami Keisuke
At this point, several new members joined in, including Saitou Hajime.
First Internal Turbulence
You may have noticed by now that the Shinsengumi now comprises mainly of Kondou's men. Needless to say, they were the souls of the Shinsengumi from the start to the end - 'cos they are the more powerful. ("This is a world where the strong survive and the weak perish...") Anyway, Serizawa Kamo wasn't quite an impressive piece of goods. He was famous for wielding an iron fan as a weapon and frequented brothels, killed people at whims, got drunk and got all the more impertinent, while using his power as "Captain of the Shinsengumi" to cover up his wrongs all the time. This caused the birth of the nickname, Mibu Wolf: the troupe first gathered at a village called Mibu, so Roshis of Mibu -> Mibu-ro but this became Wolves of Mibu -> Mibu-ro. The troupe was despised throughout Kyoto. It was the last straw for Kondou and Hijikata when Serizawa summoned a prostitue to the hostels of the Shinsengumi - they were men of high morale and held fast to the codes of samurais.
On the other hand, Niimi wasn't much better off. As the troupe was travelling to Kyoto, a fire broke out at the inn that they were staying, and Kondou had taken all the blame for negligence. He was further mocked by Niimi and Serizawa. A few weeks later, however, Hijikata and the others uncovered the truth: Niimi and Serizawa were demanding some discount (or some other luxurious services) from a certain shop-tender, who declined to obey them as their demands were just too ridiculou. Angered, the two of them fired a cannon - which travelled with the troupe and was being kept in the inn's store - at the shop. They blundered somewhere, however, and the inn was plundered in fire. Hijikata managed to uncover enough evidence to convict Niimi only, however, and he ruled Niimi to commit seppuku. After which the hostility between Serizawa and Kondou became more intense. Finally, on 18/9/1863, Serizawa and other corrupted members were assasinated by a special killer group, comprising of Inoue, Yamanami, Toudou, Harada and Okita. (Refer to RK chapter on Udou Jine - he was supposed to be one of the corrupted members, but of course he doesn't really exist. His sword skills do, though.)
Well, members came and went, usually by decapitations and commiting seppuku. After the Serizawa affair, Kondou and Hijikata were determined to keep up the qualities of their members, so not only was the "entry exams" made more difficult (more notes on this later), any members found guilty of doing something which stain the "way of samurais" was decapitated, assasinated or ordered to commit suicide. (Refer to Saitou's quote when fighting Kenshin in Kamiya Dojo: "The first rule of Shinsengumi - never do anything that stain the way of samurais!")
I got this from a historical novel: Roshis who wish to join the Shinsengumi would have to fight other candidates in the same "intake", fighting the matches using shinais (bamboo swords). The stronger ones would usually be required to fight some of the more accomplished Shinsengumi members, usually Saitou (who joined the Shinsengumi later), Nagakura or Toudou. The referee for these matches would usually be Okita. Actual selections of new members were done by Hijikata and Yamanami.
Their Job
Essentially, the Shinsengumi was a police troop, patrolling the streets of Kyoto and keeping the peace. They vowed to protect Kyoto with their swords. In the heat of the Ishin movements, Shishis flowed over to Kyoto to plot the downfall of the Shogunate. Add the radical actions of the Shishis, such as setting fires to the gaijin's abodes (this was done by Takasugi Shinsaku, Katsura Kogorou/Kido Koin. Takasugi is the guy who set up the Kiheitai, and in RK, the guy who first introduced Kenshin to Katsura.), and it made roshis other than Shinsengumi, especially those who'd deserted their hans, very suspicious and dangerous persons in Kyoto. So if you cannot produce a satisfactory identity, i.e. your name and your han when questioned by the Shinsengumi members, chances are that you'd be cut down at once. To quote Kenshin, in the Bakumatsu times, Kyoto was a hell where people died and blood flowed every single day. This made the Shinsengumi feared by many indeed, especially Hijikata, for he was strict and merciless, both when it comes to punishments and cutting down suspicious persons.
Their favourite combat style was many-against-one(or a few), and this became more evident as the size of the Shinsengumi increased. If the first layer of Shinsengumi members surrounding suspicious persons got cut down, further layers of members will converge on them, until they are totally exhausted and cut down. Quoting Kaoru and Kenshin, "but isn't that a coward's way, to have many on one?" Well, their main aim was to ensure the peace of Kyoto, so the method's not so important to them."
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The Ikeda-ya Affair
(June 1864, First Year of Genji)
Finally. This is the turning point of the career of the Shinsengumi. The essentials of what happened are covered in RK #93 and in one of the Flashbacks in the current chapter(and in the Samurai X OVAS), if I'm not mistaken. (I've seen only the translations and not the mangas.) I'm just adding that most of the killed Shishis are from Choshu and Tosa. It was after this affair that the Shinsengumi became national heroes overnight. However, the affair costed Okita a heavier price than anyone bargained for... (see section on Okita for more info)
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A More Organized Structure
As the group's name struck admiration nationwide, it's size increased so rapidly and large (300 strong at its peak) that a more thorough, detailed committee was called for. Following is a list, though I don't know how to translate some of the posts properly... please help anyone who has any idea!!
Captain (Commisioner? I don't know what to call him): Kondou Isami
Vice Captain: Hijikata Toshizo *char. model for Shinomori Aoshi
Military/Strategems Advisor: Itou Kashitarou (head of literatures/records(?)
Captains of the 10 battle/patrol troops:
1st: Okita Souji (instructor in Kenjutsu) *char. model for Seta Soujirou
2nd: Nagakura Shinpachi (instructor in Kenjutsu)
3rd: Saitou Hajime (instructor in Kenjutsu)
4th: Matsubara Tadaji (instructor in Jujitsu)
5th: Takeda Kanryuusai (instructor in military strategies) *char. model for Takeda Kanryuu
6th: Inoue Genzaburou
7th: Tani Sanjyuurou (instructor in spearing skills)
8th: Toudou Heisuke
9th: Suzuki Mikisaburou
10th: Harada Sanosuke *char. model for Sagara Sanosuke
Head of sentries/spies: Yamazaki Susumu *char. model for Henya (His job was to keep an eye on the members' conduct, sort of like a disciplinary master, besides being a spy to make sure of the coast before an important operation. Kondou and Hijikata relied and had a lot of faith in him)
(?no idea what his job is, except the JP word is souchou)Yamanami Keisuke
(same post as above) a lot of those but the most famous among them was Shimada Kai who was a big muscular man *char. model for Anji
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Real Hitokiris Like Rurouni Kenshin
Kawakami Genzai, from Higo
Character model of Himura Kenshin, Kawakami was of the Shiranui Ryuu (he invented it himself)Hmm. Seems that his Battoujutsu pose is quite unique: something like Kenshin's, "the right leg is extended in front, knee slightly flexed, while the left leg is folded with the knee touching the ground. One slash with the right hand, and that's it." (Do I see all the people starting to imitate the pose? Ok I admit it, I tried it too. Really hard on my legs...)
According to documents, Kawakami was a man of short stature, kept his hair long, quiet, and was often mistaken for a female. In fact, something like Kenshin. (Baka, Tracy! He *is* the character model of Kenshin, isn't he!)
Kawakami was a supporter of the Jyoi movement, his most famous killing being that of Sakuma Shouzan, the great thinker who was the teacher of Yoshida Shoin, who in turn was the teacher of Kido Koin (Katsura Kogorou) and other Choshu shishis. Sakuma believed that in order to protect himself from foreign threat, it was essential for Japan to open up her self to Western influences and learn about all the technologies the West had to offer, so that Japan would have to ability to fight back against colonialism. Needless to say, this made him a target for radicals who believed that Japan musn't be contaminated by filthy gaijins. Kawakami was arrested after the assassination, and was thrown into jail. He was freed after the Restoration. However, the new Meiji government, comprising of young political blood, believed in Sakuma's views and was practising the concept of 'Western Technologies, Japanese Soul'. Kawakami disagreed strongly against this, for according to Watsuki, he didn't want to see the efforts of his comrades in the Jyoi movement who had since passed away, and also those who had died under his katana, to go to waste. In fact, it was based on this spirit that the character of Himura Kenshin is designed. In the end, he became such a nuisance to the Meiji government, that he was decapitated in the 4th year of Meiji, 1871.
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Okata Izou, from Tosa
Character model of Udou Jine. Of the Keishin Meichiryuu, Okata was a childhood bosom friend of Sakamoto Ryoma, the person who was responsible for making the partnership of Choshu and Satsuma, two life-long rival clans possible - see section on Sakamoto Ryoma. Working under the leader of the Tosa Shishis, Takechi Hanpeita, Okata was responsible for a lot of assassinations. He was finally arrested by Tosa officials for the assassination of an important Tosa Daimyo, and was decapitated.
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Nakamura Hanjirou, from Satsuma
Since Nakamura was also from Satsuma, he was also of Jiegenryuu. Nakamura Hanjirou was a great friend cum ally of Saigo Takamori, and fought alongside him in many battles, including the Seinan War. It was in that war, after Saigo knew that he'd lost and asked his comrades to decapitate him, Nakamura continued defying the Meiji Army viciously, until he was shot to death by the bullets.
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Tanaka Shinpei, also from Satsuma
Of Jigenryuu - the *one* skill in Satsuma! It's the sword skill used by Ujiki (the corrupted police officer in RK #2). It emphasise that the first slash is also the final one, so you *must* beat your opponent the first time.
In 1863, a radical imperial court offical, Anekouji Kintomo, was assassinated when he was returning to his residence at night. A katana was left at the scene, which was recognised to be the belonging of Tanaka. There were doubts to this, however, for Tanaka was an accomplished assassin, and it's unthinkable for him to be so careless as to leaving behind his katana. Tanaka denied to have assassinated Anekouji when he was arrested, but when the katana was produced, an expression of extreme shock showed on his face. He then snatched up a sword lying nearby, and before anyone could stop him, commited seppuku!
Who assassinated Anekouji? Why leave behind the katana? Why frame Tanaka? What did the shocked expression on Tanaka's face meant? What was so critical that he committed seppuku there and then? Until this day, these questions remain to be mysteries in the history of Japan...
Real Life Shinsengumi
Okita Souji
(Captain of the 1st Troop)
He plays an part i RK(Samurai X OVA)
Probably the best-known and popular Shinsengumi figure. Another handsome total knockout, besides being a child prodigy at kenjutsu - he joined Kondou's dojo at 9, and was an accomplished swordsman at 15 or so. Former name Soujirou, (yes, it's true!) the sword he used is the one used by Soujirou in his last battle with Kenshin, the Kikuichi Norimune, length 2'4"2.
Strongest swordsman in the Shinsengumi, he yields a katana, bokken and shinai equally well. Famous for his "3-piece thrust" - 3 thrusts delivered so quickly at the opponent, usually at the neck and the right and left shoulders. Like Saito, this technique was improvised from the one invented by Hijikata.
Tragedy struck, though, for Okita contracted Tuberculosis, an incurable disease in those times, shortly after the formation of the Shinsengumi. He coughed up blood several times, though he would not let the others know. During the Ikeda-ya affair, however, his situation suddenly spiralled down (perhaps because of the cold night and the vicious battle), and fainted after he coughed up a shocking amount of blood. It was then that Kondou and Hijikata knew of his disease, and even by then the doctor had already predicted that he would not live long. Both were distressed over this, for they were like elder brothers to Okita (did I mention that Kondou was 10 years Okita's senior, and Hijikata 9?). However, all 3 agreed that news of Okita's disease should not be widely known, lest it dragged down the members' morale.
After the Boshin war, Okita went into a tuberculosis hospital in Edo. He passed away on 30/5/1868, First year of Meiji, aged 25
Saitou Hajime
(Captain of the 3rd Troop)
Plays a part in RK(Samurai X OVA)
Saitou Hajime seems to have struck second fame in Japan following his appearance in RK! There are certainly a lot of info about him on the web. Seems to be a mysterious guy even in real life... Also, everything about him that came out in RK (except Shishio and Kenshin, of course) is real history. I got a shock there!
Right. First of all, his origins seems a bit obscure. One theory is that he's the son of a ronin. Another says he hailed from Edo, son of a Bakufu official, and that he'd come to Kyoto after accidentally killing a person in Edo. Yet another claims that he's a son of the 12th Shogun?! and yet another says that he was a spy of the Aizu han placed in the early Roshitai. Talk about a mystery guy. His name, Hajime (meaning "one" or "start" as in another kanji") was because that he was born on the 1st day of the 1st month, though there are other reports as to his birthday.
He entered the Shinsengumi "sponsored" by the Aizu han, under the name of Yamaguchi Jirou, when he served as one of Hijikata's assistants. His most powerful sword skill is the "Left-hand single thrust" (but *not* Gatotsu, that's Watsuki-san's creation), this skill is even more destructive than Okita's 3-piece thrust! In fact, Saitou, together with Okita and Nagakura, were hailed as the 3 strongest swordsman of the Shinsengumi. Saitou assasinated a lot of corrupted Shinsengumi members. Eg, Itou Kashitarou and co., Takeda Kanryuusai and others. And yeah, Aku.Zoku.San was no invention of Watsuki - it was a motto of the whole Shinsengumi!
He was also a great drinker! The creator of one Shinsengumi website stated that "he's a different person when drunk", (I'm not sure whether this refers to "I desire to kill once I'm drunk"). In fact, he finally passed away because of a stomach ulcer, caused by excessive drinking. Unfortunately, I still can't verify that he smokes all the time, or that his favorite food is soba... help, anyone? Saitou's wife, Takagi Tokio, was the daughter of an important Aizu official - in fact,the middle-man was none other than the Daimyo of Aizu himself! They (Saitou and Takagi Tokio) were married in the 6th year of Meiji (1873), and their first son, Tsutomu was born in the 9th year (1876).After the Ishin government was formed, he changed his name and worked as a kendo instructor in a university. In 1877, the 10th year of Meiji, he joined the police troop with permission of carrying a sword to fight in the Seinan War, the one where Saigo Takamori rebelled against the Meiji government in Satsuma. Saitou did this under the name of Fujita Gorou. After which he became a spy directly responsible to the Police Commissioner, Kawaji Toshiyoshi. (I was really shocked at this one... Watsuki can really interweave fact and fiction!)
Saitou worked as a guard of a museum in Tokyo when he was quite a senior citizen.After his retirement, he seemed to spend a lot of time thinking. Pity I can't understand his grandchild's remarks in the Japanese homepage. Anyway, Saitou passed away on 27/9/1915, 4th year of Taisho, at the ripe old age of 72.
Other Shinsengumi
Kondou Isami (Captain)
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Originally son of a rich peasant farmer, his original name was Miyakawa Katsuta. He was adopted by the former master of Shieikan Dojo, Kondou Shuusai, at the age of 16. His katana was the Nagasone Kotetsu (yep, the one used by Soujirou which was cracked by Kenshin), length 2'3"5.
According to most sources, he was a rigid man, loyal to the moral codes of a swordsman. Had a wife, and his daughter Tamako was born just before he went over to Kyoto. After the utter defeat of the Shinsengumi in then Boshin War, he was captured by the Ishin Army, who had now become the "legal" government army - after Shogun Yoshinobu's resignation, the situation took a complete reverse, so now it is the Shinsengumi who are outlaws. Kondou was decapitated on 25/4/1868 at the age of 35.
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Hijikata Toshizo (Vice Captain)
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The drug powder which Saitou tried to sell to Sanosuke in the guise of Fujita Gorou is the Ishida Sanyaku, a formula which had been in Hijikata's family for generations. It was used frequently in the Shinsengumi for battle wounds and broken bones. In fact, when Hijikata was a child, also son of a farmer (about 11 years old), he was something like Sanosuke, fighting and brawling all day. Then his elder sister married into a household of decent name, and his brother-in-law arranged for him to become a door-to-door medicine seller, selling the Ishida Sanyaku. It was then that he met young Kondou.
Hijikata was feared by many for his mercilessness. Nicknamed "The Demon of Shinsengumi". Can't find the JP name of his katana, though it's of length 2'8". Master strategist and tactician who stretched the prowess of the Shinsengumi to its maximum.
One of the Shinsengumi iron rules was that any traitors, including deserters, had only one path to take: COMMIT SEPPUKU. Yamanami was one such deserter. (See section on Yamanami for more.) After Yamanami split his bowels, he was decapitated by another member of the Shinsengumi, the whole process overseen by Hijikata. I must stress that Hijikata knew Yamanami ever since their Shieikan days, so feel the guy's cold-bloodedness. However, according to Watsuki, in the historical novel 'Moeyoken' (Burning Sword) by Shiba Ryotarou, Hijikata was acting the way he did because he realised that he *was* a leader and could not afford to be soft, though he *did* bring it to the extreme. In that novel, 'he chose to play the part of a demon in front of everybody and killed those he loved, and cried alone in the dark', to quote from Watsuki in his comments about Aoshi. As a leader, he had to be firm and set a good example for his followers irregardless of what he actually felt. I'm sure he's hurting beneath his seemingly cold-blooded facade, after all, they were childhood friends. Perhaps Aoshi keeps his own feelings to himself for the same reason? After all, Hijikata *was* the character model for Aoshi! :)
After the group's defeat in the Boshin War and the death of Kondou, he joined Enomoto Takeaki (a former Bakufu Navy official), escaped to Hokkaido and proceeded to build a so-called "Hokkaido Republic" in order to continue fighting the Ishin government. However, Hijikata was shot to death in a battle in 1869, 2nd Year of Meiji, aged 35. Watsuki's favorite historical figure. And according to many sources including Watsuki, a handsome total knock-out...
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Itou Kashitarou (Military Advisor)
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This guy just can't seem to merge in with Kondou and the others because of the different way they see things. He had a lot of followers in Shinsengumi, for he was a scholar-type fellow and was able to explain his beliefs (tending to Sonno-joi) to the others and even persuade them to support his views. Finally things got to a head, Itou and his followers, including Saitou, packed up and resigned from the Shinsengumi. He was quite popular among some of the Shinsengumi members, which was why as many as 15 people packed up and went with him. Yamanami's death sentence played a part as well - see section on Yamanami on this.
But wait! Saitou's departure with him was actually Hijikata's trap, where Saitou was sent as a spy! By and by Saitou gained Itou's trust while relaying messages back to Hijikata, until finally Saitou assassinated the former advisor, and rejoined the Shinsengumi... Saitou was really a very important personnel in the Shinsengumi, ne?
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Nagakura Shinpachi
(Captain of the 2nd Troop)
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Not much that I can find about this guy - only that when Okita fell sick, Nagakura sometimes commanded both the 1st and 2nd patrol. He deserted his han to come to Kyoto. After the Ishin government was set up, he was granted pardon to return to his han, and changed his name to Sugimura Yoshie. In the 15th yearof Meiji (1882), he went over to Hokkaido and became a kendo instructor in a prison there, the same prison Anji went to... (wonder if they'll meet each other there?) Nagakura resigned after several years, and built some graves for his former friends in the Shinsengumi. He later wrote a book on his Shinsengumi days, which seemed to be the main factor of his fame. Nagakura passed away in January 1915, 4th year of Taishoat the age of 76.
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Takeda Kanryuusai
(Captain of the 5th Troop)
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Watsuki's pretty much covered everything there is about this guy in his comments about Takeda Kanryuu. He was learned in military strategies and practised medicine. A homosexual. Not an impressive piece at all - he sucked up to those in power and bullied those beneath him, and often outstepped his boundaries by throwing his weight around. What made him so exceptionally despicable was that he betrayed the Shinsengumi to team up with the Satsuma Ishin Shishis, just because of the benefits and profits. Finally assassinated by Saito.
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Harada Sanosuke
(Captain of the 10th Troop)
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According to Watsuki and the historical novels I've been through, he's almost the same as Sagara Sanosuke. Liked to brawl, short-tempered and simply loved a fight. His favourite weapon was the spear. According to Watsuki, before he joined Kondou, Harada was the servant of some bushis, and this lowly status caused him to have a weak side at times. However, he really took care of those under him. (Really manly...) He was also a man who didn't like to fuss, and did things the way he saw it. Kinda like those "tai-kos" (like Cheng E-Kin) in those gangster movies.
One interesting point here: the members of the Shinsengumi frequented the brothels (hey they *were* humans with biological needs too! Just that Serizawa was carrying it way too far) but they seldom attached themselves to the girls, to take them as their legal wives. Harada married his girl, however - something surprising considering his personality, for in those days, you had the choice of *not* marrying a girl even if you'd slept with her.
After he broke upwith the others following the Shinsengumi defeat in the Bushin War, he joined the Shogitai, the same troop in which Yahiko's late father also took part. Harada died in the Ueno War. According to other sources, however, he survived the war and stowed-away to Manchuria, China, where he became a bandit.
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Yamanami Seisuke (Gochou)
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The guy deserves a special note. He tended towards Sonno-Joi as time went on, and was thus isolated by Kondou and Hijikata. He suddenly escaped fromthe Shinsengumi (perhaps because he couldn't take the pressure of doing things he didn't feel right and being isolated anymore?) in 1864 (or 65), which made him a traitor, only to be caught by Okita before he could go far enough. He was sentenced to commit seppuku,and died at 29. I understand from the novel that Okita faced some anguish here - Yamanami was one of the earliest members of Shinsengumi. Okita and the others had known him since their Shieikan days. Okita was in despair because he had a choice of letting Yamanami go, but he chose duty when it came to a choice between "duty" and "passion". And from we get a glimpse at how merciless Hijikata can be when it comes to punishments, for the sentence was imposed by him. The harsh sentence imposed on Yamanami invoked the other members' dissastisfaction, because Yamanami was a gentle, honest man, and many thought that Hijikata was being too harsh. This was also one of the factors which caused 15 members to pack up and go with Itou.
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