Новый отряд Шинсэнгуми: японская специальная полиция XIX века

19th century Japanese special police force

The "Newly Selected Corps"; 新選組; Shinsengumi was a small, elite group of swordsmen that was organized by commoners and low rank samurai, commissioned by the bakufu (military government) during Japan's Bakumatsu period (late Tokugawa shogunate) in 1863. It was active until 1869. It was founded to protect the shogunate representatives in Kyoto at a time when a controversial imperial edict to exclude foreign trade from Japan had been made and the Chōshū clan had been forced from the imperial court. They gained considerable fame in the Ikedaya incident and the August 18 coup events, among others. Loyalists (particularly in Chōshū Domain) in Kyoto began to rebel. In response, the Tokugawa shogunate formed the on October 19, 1862. The Rōshigumi was a squad of 234 rōnin (samurai without masters) drawn from the sword schools of Edo. There had not been such a meeting since the third shōgun of the Tokugawa bakufu, Tokugawa Iemitsu, had visited Kyoto in the 17th century. Tokugawa Iemochi, the head of the military government, the bakufu, had been invited to discuss how Japan should enact the recent imperial edict calling for the expulsion of foreigners. Although the Rōshigumi was funded by the Tokugawa bakufu, the leader Kiyokawa Hachirō and others had strong loyalties to the emperor and planned to gather other rōnin in Kyoto to police the city from insurgents. On March 26 (lunar calendar February 8), 1863, Kiyokawa led the Rōshigumi out of Edo as the vanguard of shōgun 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 Rōshigumi to return to Edo. The members were disbanded and then returned to Edo where they would later form the (新徴組) under the patronage of Shōnai Domain. However, nineteen Rōshigumi members, mainly from the Mito clan, remained and formed the (壬生浪士組).

At its peak, the Shinsengumi 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 Shinsengumi members were from non samurai classes. Out of 106 Shinsengumi 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.

The code of the Shinsengumi, famously created by Hijikata Toshizō, included five articles, prohibiting deviation from the samurai code (bushido), leaving the Shinsengumi, raising money privately, taking part in others' litigation, and engaging in private fights. The penalty for breaking any rule was seppuku. 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.

The members of the Shinsengumi were highly visible in battle due to their distinctive uniforms. Following the orders of the Shinsengumi commander Serizawa Kamo, the standard uniform consisted of the haori and hakama over a kimono, with a white cord called a tasuki crossed over the chest and tied in the back. The function of the tasuki was to prevent the sleeves of the kimono from interfering with movement of the arms. The Shinsengumi wore a light chainmail suit beneath their robes and a light helmet made of iron. The uniform was best defined by the haori, which was colored light blue; 浅葱色; [[Traditional colors of Japan#Blue/blue violet series. In the old days of Japan, during the ritual, the samurai committing seppuku would wear an asagi iro kamishimo. Thus the colour, in the samurai's eyes, characterized an honourable death.

In 1867, when Tokugawa Yoshinobu withdrew from Kyoto, the Shinsengumi left peacefully under the supervision of the wakadoshiyori, Nagai Naoyuki. A remaining group of survivors, under the last commander Sōma Kazue, who had been under Nagai Naoyuki's supervision at Benten Daiba, surrendered three days later on June 23, (lunar calendar May 14), 1869, marked the end of the Shinsengumi.

In 1875, Nagakura Shinpachi, with the help of the physician Matsumoto Ryōjun and several surviving former Shinsengumi comrades including Saitō Hajime among others, erected the monument for Kondō Isami, Hijikata Toshizō, and the fallen comrades of the Shinsengumi at Jutoku ji temple boundary known as Graves of Shinsengumi in Itabashi, Tokyo and held requiems for their past comrades' souls.

During the Meiji (1868 1912) and Taisho (1912 1926) periods, the Shinsengumi were generally unpopular. At that time, the Japanese considered the Meiji Restoration a great achievement and regarded the current system centered around Satsuma and Choshu as just. Therefore, the Shinsengumi were perceived as a foolish group resisting the Meiji Restoration. This prevailing notion began to change with Kan Shimozawa's novel "Shinsengumi Shimatsuki" (1928). Furthermore, after World War II, there was a reevaluation of history among the Japanese. Ryōtarō Shiba's novel "Moeyo Ken" (1964) gained popularity, spreading empathy towards the way of life of the Shinsengumi. Today, the Shinsengumi is depicted and beloved by people through various media such as novels, movies, dramas, anime, and more. An early film, The Legend of Shinsengumi (1963) was based on a 1928 novel of the same name. In 1969, a full length film, Shinsengumi: Assassins of Honour, starring Toshiro Mifune was released. It depicted the rise and fall of the Shinsengumi. The main characters of Space Battleship Yamato (宇宙戦艦ヤマト) were named after the Shinsengumi. The 1999 film Taboo (Gohatto) depicted the Shinsengumi one year after the Ikedaya affair. The film shows the Shinsengumi's strict code and acceptance of homosexuality among the samurai members. Manga artist Nobuhiro Watsuki is a self proclaimed fan of the Shinsengumi and many of his characters in Rurouni Kenshin are based on its members, including Sagara Sanosuke (inspired by Harada Sanousuke); Shinomori Aoshi (modeled after Hijikata Toshizō); Seta Sōjirō (based on Okita Souji); and Saitō Hajime. The 2003 manga, Getsu Mei Sei Ki or Goodbye Shinsengumi by Kenji Morita depicted the life of Hijikata Toshizō. The manga Kaze Hikaru presents a fictional tale of a girl joining the Shinsengumi in disguise and falling in love with Okita Soji. The manga Peacemaker Kurogane by Nanae Chrono is a historical fiction taking place during the end of the Tokugawa period, following a young boy. Ichimura Tetsunosuke, who tries to join the Shinsengumi. The anime series Soar High! Isami features three 5th graders who are fictional descendants of the Shinsengumi and they fight against the evil organization, the Black Goblin. The game series/anime series/anime movie franchise Hakuōki (Hakuōki Shinsengumi Kitan, ) follows a girl, looking for her lost father (a doctor who worked with the Shinsengumi). The premise mixes supernatural elements and fictional enemies and historical events. The Shinsengumi characters are fictionalized adaptations of the real members and retain their real names throughout the show. Touken Ranbu (2015) is a free to play collectible card browser video game developed by Nitroplus and DMM Games. It has spawned multiple different anime series, Touken Ranbu: Hanamaru (2016) and Zoku Touken Ranbu: Hanamaru (2018), both for a younger audience, as well as the more sophisticated Katsugeki/Touken Ranbu (2017). In the Touken Ranbu universe, the legendary swords, spears, and guns of famous warriors from Japan's feudal past are granted human form and come to life in a swashbuckling historical adventure. The swords of Shinsengumi heroes like Okita Souji, Hijikata Toshizo, and Isami Kondo are featured. One of the most prominent characters in Touken Ranbu is Hijikata's long sword, which bore the name Izuminokami Kanesada. The 2004 video game Fu un Shinsengumi, which was developed by Genki and published by Konami, is based on the Shinsengumi. In March 2012, a stand alone expansion for Total War: Shogun 2 set during the Boshin War was released. Fall of the Samurai features the Shinsengumi as recruitable agents used for assassination and bribery, and as an elite combat unit capable of fighting both at range and in melee. Moeyo Ken is a video game and also an anime series about girl members of the Shinsengumi. Moeyo Ken ("Burn My Sword") is the name of a famous 1964 novel by Ryōtarō Shiba about the Boshin War (1868 to 1869 CE) from the point of view of Hijikata Toshizō. It is regarded by Shinsengumi fans as the 'bible' of Shinsengumi fiction and was the first literary work to focus on Hijikata; previously, Shinsengumi stories tended to focus on the commander Isami Kondo. Shiba also published short stories about the Shinsengumi. His Shinsengumi fiction has not yet been translated into English; it is available in Japanese and Chinese. Shinsengumi Keppūroku Japanese television jidaigeki period drama was broadcast on TV Asahi in 1998. The Shinsengumi appear in the mobile game Fate/Grand Order as one of two teams players can side with during the GUDAGUDA 2: Meiji Restoration event. Members of this team include Servant versions of Okita Souji and Hijikata Toshizo, which are both limited Servants. Shinsengumi is also the name of Toshizo's Noble Phantasm, which gets much stronger as his HP gets lower. Furthermore, in GUDAGUDA 5: Yamanataikoku, servant versions of 3 other members, Saitou Hajime, Keisuke Yamanami and Serizawa Kamo, are introduced, with Saitou Hajime and Keisuke Yamanami being currently playable. The Shinsengumi feature heavily in the plot of the 2014 video game Ryū ga Gotoku Ishin!. In this game, main protagonist Sakamoto Ryoma, a 19th century doppelgänger of main series protagonist Kazuma Kiryu, becomes the group's third unit captain under the alias of Saito Hajime. The Shinsengumi appears in the app "Bakumatu Hanafuda". Players are confrontations to Shinsengumi members by Koi Koi. In the manga Golden Kamuy and its anime adaptation, Hijikata appears as the leader of one of the contending groups trying to locate a cache of gold on Hokkaido soon after the Russo Japanese War. He would have been in his seventies at the time the story takes place. The manga and anime Gintama features its own alternate reality version of the Shinsengumi as regular characters, including members with surnames such as Kondo, Hijikata, and Okita.