Peace Maker Kurogane
Historically speaking, the Shinsengumi were formed in the 1860s as a police group of very strong samurai gathered by the shogunate (the military ruler of Japan) to counter the popular support of the emperor (the ‘spiritual leader’ of Japan). In reality the policies of the ruling shogunate was causing a lot of political unrest, who were gathering in Kyoto (away from Edo, the center of power for the shogunate) and were using their claim of supporting the emperor as an attempt to legitimize their dissent. The shogunate could not ignore these rebels and authorized the creation of a special police force of samurai dedicated to supporting the policies of the shogunate and then dispatched them to Kyoto to take on rebels.
While being romanticized in the current Japanese culture for their strong samurai skills and values, and their extreme commitment to each other and the shogunate, the reality of Shinsengumi is very different. The shogunate was committed to opening Japan to the west after the humiliating defeat at the hands of the Black Ships. A strong traditionalist faction was emerging that revered the old ways, choosing the Emperor as the symbolic leader of their movement, and were committed to expelling all foreigners and foreign influences. The Shinsengumi while being a dedicated group of samurai, behaved more as a band of hit-men hired by a repressive regime. They were known for their corruption and abuse of power, and used assassination, arson and ambush to attack the opponents of the shogunate. And even when the shogunate fell, they refused to disband and struggled to fight on. In the end, almost all were killed or took their own lives.
Set in this turbulent and polarized period of Japanese history, a fifteen-year-old boy having witnessed the death of parents, now seeks revenge. Ichimura Tetsunosuke wants to join the Shinsengumi to improve his sword skills to be strong enough to find and defeat the man that took the lives of his parents.
Last updated Sunday, October 09 2005. Created Saturday, October 08 2005.
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