The Rōshigumi (浪士組, meaning "the

rōnin A ''rōnin'' ( ; ja, 浪人, , meaning 'drifter' or 'wanderer') was a samurai without a lord or master during the feudal period of Japan (1185–1868). A samurai became masterless upon the death of his master or after the loss of his master' ...

squad"), the "

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the c ...

Defenders", was a group of 234 masterless samurai (''

''), founded by Kiyokawa Hachirō in 1862. Loyal to the

Bakufu , officially , was the title of the military dictators of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, though during part of the Kamakura ...

, they were supposed to act as the protectors of the Tokugawa ''

shōgun , officially , was the title of the military dictators of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, though during part of the Kamaku ...

'', but were disbanded upon their arrival in Kyoto,

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

in 1863.

History

Formation

Kiyokawa Hachirō formed the Rōshigumi with funding from the

Tokugawa bakufu The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tokugawa-jidai''"in ''Japan Encycloped ...

on October 19, 1862. Originally, he claimed it was formed for protecting the Tokugawa ''shōgun'' in Kyoto and preparing for military action against Western countries. However, he lied to the regime; his goal was to gather people to work with the imperialists and not the shogunate government. The Rōshigumi met on March 26 (

lunar calendar A lunar calendar is a calendar based on the monthly cycles of the Moon's phases ( synodic months, lunations), in contrast to solar calendars, whose annual cycles are based only directly on the solar year. The most commonly used calendar, t ...

February 8), 1863 in

Edo Edo ( ja, , , "bay-entrance" or "estuary"), also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo. Edo, formerly a ''jōkamachi'' (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province, became the ''de facto'' capital of ...

and they all left for Kyoto.

Kondō Isami was a Japanese swordsman and official of the late Edo period. He was the fourth generation master of Tennen Rishin-ryū and was famed for his role as commander of the Shinsengumi. Background He was born Miyagawa Katsugorō to a farmer Miyaga ...

Hijikata Toshizō was a Japanese warrior. As of the ''Shinsengumi'', he resisted the Meiji Restoration and fought to his end. Background was born on May 31, 1835, in the Ishida village, Tama region of Musashi Province (present day Ishida, Hino, Tokyo), Ja ...

, Okita Sōji, Inoue Genzaburō,

Tōdō Heisuke was a samurai of Japan's late Edo period who served as the eighth unit captain of the Shinsengumi. His full name was ''Tōdō Heisuke Fujiwara no Yoshitora''. Background Tōdō was from Edo, Musashi Province (now Tokyo). Very little is known abo ...

, Harada Sanosuke,

Nagakura Shinpachi was the former captain of the 2nd troop of the Shinsengumi, He was later known as during the Meiji era. History Early life Nagakura Shinpachi Noriyuki, known as Eikichi or Eiji during his childhood, was born in the Matsumae clan's "kami-yashik ...

Serizawa Kamo Serizawa Kamo (芹沢鴨; September 2, 1826 – October 30, 1863) was a samurai known for being the original lead commander of the Shinsengumi. He trained in and received a licence in the Shindō Munen-ryū. "Kamo" means goose or duck in Japane ...

, Niimi Nishiki, Nakazawa Koto, Hirayama Gorou, Hirama Juusuke, and Noguchi Kengi were all among the members of the Rōshigumi. Two days later, while the Rōshigumi left for Kyoto, Kondo was responsible for assigning lodges for the members. However, he accidentally forgot about Serizawa's group, leading to a famous incident where Serizawa lost his temper and, with the help of his group, created a huge bonfire outside the lodges as an insult to Kondo.

Disbandment

On April 10 (lunar calendar February 23), 1863, the Rōshigumi arrived at Kyoto and the group stayed in Yagitei, a

Mibu 270px, Mibu Toy Museum is a town located in Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 39,158 in 16,149 households, and a population density of 640 persons per km². The total area of the town is . Geography Mibu is lo ...

village outside Kyoto. Surprisingly, when they had just arrived in Kyoto, Kiyokawa suddenly commanded the group to return to Edo. By then, he had secretly submitted a letter to the imperialists stating that his Rōshigumi were to work only for the

Emperor Kōmei was the 121st Emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession.Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'')孝明天皇 (121)/ref> Kōmei's reign spanned the years from 1846 through 1867, corresponding to the final years of the ...

Aftermath

The disbanded Rōshigumi members returned to Edo upon Kiyokawa's command. However, nineteen members, mainly from the Mito clan dissented and stayed behind, including Kondō and Serizawa, and formed the '. Initially, the ''Mibu Rōshigumi'' were called , meaning "''

'' of Mibu". At the time, Mibu was a village south west of Kyoto, and was the place where they were stationed. On August 18, 1863, the Mibu Rōshigumi was renamed the '. In response, a

official made spies out of former Rōshigumi members Tomouchi Yoshio and Iesato Jiro, and forced them to stay in Kyoto and join Serizawa and Kondo's group in order to keep an eye on them. The other dissident members of the Rōshigumi who returned to

became the founding members of the ' (the Shinsengumi's brother league in Edo) with Okita Rintarō, the brother-in-law of Okita Sōji, as a commander. Shinsengumi Japanese warriors {{Japan-hist-stub de:Shinsengumi