Shinsengumi

The was a small secret police organization, an elite group of swordsmen organized by commoners and low-ranking samurai, commissioned by the (military government) during Japan's Bakumatsu period (late Tokugawa shogunate) in 1863. It was active until 1869. It was founded to protect 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 from events such as the Ikedaya incident and the August 18 coup, among others. The members were d

Japanese military leader (1835-1869)

Japanese swordsman (1834–1868)

Japanese swordsman

Japanese swordsman (1844–1915)

Japanese swordsman (1839–1915)

samurai (1840–1868)

samurai

samurai

samurai (1826-1863)

1864 conflict in Japan

Japanese spy

samurai (1833–1865)

The , was a group of 234 masterless samurai, founded by Kiyokawa Hachirō in 1862. Loyal to the shogun, they were supposed to act as the protectors of the Tokugawa shōgun, but were disbanded upon their arrival in Kyoto in 1863.

swordsman

samurai

Shinsengumi

Japanese female swordsman