Learning history will be easy and fun if you do it while enjoying films based on famous manga and anime such as the Rurouni Kenshin movie. One of the historical events shown in this live-action film is the famous samurai organization called the Shinsengumi. After Japan's political turmoil in the 1850s, the country was divided into various political opinions.

The Loyalists of the Emperor of Japan (Ishin Shishi) carried out a series of murders and violence in Kyoto and it is for this reason that the Tokugawa Shogunate formed the Roshigumi (Defenders of Kyoto), a group of no-man's samurai (Ronin) whose official mission was to protect Tokugawa Iemochi, the 14th Shogun.

But the leader of the Roshigumi named Kiyokawa Hachiro had a different goal, he wanted to gather Ronin to work with the emperor's supporters. In response, the thirteen members of the Rōshigumi became the thirteen founding members of the Shinsengumi. Who are the 6 historical Shinsengumi figures who appeared in the Rurouni Kenshin movie? Here's the list!

1. Saito Hajime

The most popular anti-hero in all of Rurouni Kenshin movies named Saito Hajime is Shinsengumi’s third division captain in the Bakumatsu era and when the Tokugawa Shogunate collapsed he became a special police agent for the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Meiji Government.

Saito, nicknamed  "Wolf of the Mibu" whose face resembles a wolf, has been competing with Himura Kenshin since the red-haired samurai became Battousai the Slayer of the Ishin Shishi. Due to his involvement in the Ikedaya raid, he and his fellow Shinsengumis managed to prevent the burning of Kyoto by the Ishin Shishi extremist faction.

Saito obediently lives by the Shinsengumi code of conduct "Aku Soku Zan", literally meaning "Kill Evil Immediately", but more poetically translated as "Evil Kills Immediately". A bit stiff and arrogant, but none of his bad qualities prevent him from being a great investigator and fighter. He expected his men, whether from Shinsengumi swordsmen or Meiji-era police, to carry out their duties professionally without personal feelings.

2. Okita Souji

The famous legendary samurai from the Rurouni Kenshin movie named Okita Souji was Shinsengumi’s first squad captain during Bakumatsu. He suffers from Tuberculosis (TB), as seen when he fought Himura Kenshin, though he still managed to keep up with Battousai's swordsmanship.

He is one of Shinsengumi’s best swordsmen. He creates his own move called mumyou-ken aka sandanzuki which is inspired by Hijikata Toshizou's hirazuki and is a move that hits three parts of the body simultaneously in one attack.

Okita is friendly and respects his fellow Shinsengumi members and even his enemies. He is usually shown with a confident smile and always takes his fights seriously, despite his childlike appearance. Although he respected all the leaders of the Shinsengumi, he showed more respect for Saito Hajime who was also considered his equal in terms of swordsmanship.

Okita appeared in the prequel of Rurouni Kenshin entitled Rurouni Kenshin: The Beginning. He confronts Kenshin in an area a few meters from Ikedaya to prevent Kenshin assisting Ishin Shishi. Just like history, Okita's relapsing TB disease ended their fight before Saito and the rest of the Shinsengumi and Ishin Shishi arrived. Saito wanted to face Kenshin himself after Okita coughed up blood but Kenshin was forced to retreat with the members of the Ishin Shishi.

3. Kondo Isami

Kondo Isami is a gorilla-like man and the leader of Shinsengumi, he was a Japanese swordsman and official in the late Edo period. He is a fourth generation master of the Tennen Rishin-ryu school of swordsmanship and is best known for his role as commander in every Shinsengumi battle.

In 1863, the Tokugawa Shogunate formed a large group of Rounin to protect the Tokugawa Iemochi in Kyoto. Kondo joined the unit that came to be known as the Roshigumi, with his close friend Hijikata Toshizo, as well as members and guests of the Shieikan dojo Yamanami Keisuke, Okita Soji, Harada Sanosuke, Nagakura Shinpachi, Todo Heisuke, and Inoue Genzaburo.

After commander Kiyokawa Hachiro revealed his true goal was to support the Empire, the Roshigumi were disbanded and most of the members returned to Edo. Kondo, Hijikata, and several others remained in Kyoto and formed the Mibu Rōshigumi.

Acting directly under the shogun’s order, Matsudaira Katamori of Aizu supervised this group. Under the tutelage of Aizu, they act in their role as Protectors of Kyoto, they also work as policemen in the city of Kyoto. On August 18, his unit was named Shinsengumi. In July 1864, the Shinsengumi became famous for capturing many Ishin Shishi rebels in the Ikedaya building raid.

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4. Toshizo Hijikata

Hijikata Toshizo is the vice-commander and co-founder of the legendary Shinsengumi and appears in the Rurouni Kenshin Movie. Hijikata is a person who insists on a very strict code of ethics and must be followed by all members of the Shinsengumi with the consequences of seppuku or harakiri punishment, which earned Hijikata the nickname "Demon Vice-Commander".

He was the Shinsengumi founder who wrote the internal rules and developed fighting styles, including the Hirazuki technique which later became the basis of Saito Hajime's signature move, Gatotsu, as well as being the inspiration for Okita Souji to develop his own swordsmanship, Sandanzuki or three-way thrust.

His resolute nature doesn’t tolerate the faults of his subordinates, however, he is highly respected by all 40 members of the Shinsengumi. He was killed in the Battle of Hakodate in the final days of the Boshin War. His death also marked the end of the Shinsengumi group.

5. Harada Sanosuke

Harada Sanosuke is Shinsengumi’s 10th unit captain and a skilled spear user in Rurouni Kenshin movie, he fought from the start until he died in the Boshin War.

In 1863 Harada together with Kondo and those associated with the Shieikan Dojo joined Kiyokawa Hachiro's Roshigumi and left for Kyoto. Shortly after reaching Kyoto, the Roshigumi was disbanded and most of its members returned to Edo. Harada, Kondo, Serizawa Kamo and several other members remained in Kyoto and formed the nucleus of the group known as the Mibu Roshigumi, which was later renamed into Shinsengumi.

Then Harada became the captain of Shinsengumi’s tenth unit. He trained briefly under the dojo run by Tani Sanjuro. In 1865, Tani became the Captain of the seventh Unit. In Kyoto, Harada married a local woman named Sugawara Masa, and had a private family residence near the Shinsengumi headquarters in Nishi-Honganji. The couple had a son, who was named Shigeru.

Harada was highly trusted by the deputy commander Hijikata. He was involved in many important missions and was involved in the assassination of Serizawa Kamo due to the misconduct of Shinsengumi’s first commander. Harada was involved in the assassination of Uchiyama Hikojiro, the Ikedaya incident, as well as the Sanjo Seisatsu incident.

6. Nagakura Shinpachi

Besides Saito Hajime, there’s also Nagakura Shinpachi, the Shinsengumi figure who survives the war and appears in the Rurouni Kenshin movie.  He is Shinsengumi’s second division captain. As a kendo master and former commander of the Shinsengumi units, Shinpachi is a formidable fighter. Shinpachi's signature move is known as San Rendou Sa, after blocking his opponent's sword, Shinpachi suppresses his opponent's center of gravity through the sword.

Nagakura Shinpachi has an easygoing personality. Shinpachi has shown to be a friendly individual and even wants to befriend old foes, such as Kenshin. After the fall of the Bakumatsu era in the manga, Shinpachi later became the kendo master of the Kabato Prison in Hokkaido.

Shinpachi also believes that he is no longer a samurai during the Meiji Era, in the records, Shinpachi wrote books about Shinsengumi so that his name remains known and legendary to this day. Shinsengumi's name always appears in every Japanese pop culture story such as manga, anime, movies and even games.

Those are the 6 historical Shinsengumi figures who appeared in the Rurouni Kenshin live-action movie. Hopefully, it can enrich your knowledge while enjoying this popular samurai story, and hopefully, the Rurouni Kenshin live-action movie won't end here and there will be a sequel to the Hokkaido Arc with the Nagakura Shinpachi.

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