Shinsengumi (新選組) is a troop of Samurai (侍) warriors at the end of the Edo (江戸) period, whose mission was to eliminate the anti-shogunate forces. Later shinsengumi fought the Boshin war (戊辰戦争) as a part of the former Tokugawa Shogunate army (旧徳川幕府軍). Shinsengumi warriors lived their brief but brilliant lives for their ideal at the most tempestuous period in the history of Japan.
Most of Shinsengumi warriors came to Kyoto with high hopes of becoming a Samurai, and the residence of Yagi (八木) clan in the Mibu (壬生) district was their first accommodation. Since the Mibu district before Shinsengumi was merely a quiet outskirts of Kyoto, I imagine what a drastic change it had been, having so many young and bold samurai warriors at once. The residence is also a site of assassination of the first commander, Serizawa Kamo (芹沢鴨). The obvious cuts of swords at the time of the incident are still can be observed.
Please visit there in Yumeyakata Kimono and let your thoughts flow to the far away past of Bakumatsu (幕末, the end of the Tokugawa Shogunate). Guidance service available.
Akane Kibune
Kyoto Expert Certification 1st Grade
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