Shinsengumi Day

What Is Shinsengumi Day?

Every February 27th is "Shinsengumi Day" (新撰組の日, Shinsengumi no Hi) in Japan. The date comes from accounts in some books that the Mibu Rōshigumi, forerunner of the Shinsengumi, was formed on this day in 1863 (Bunkyū 3). In fact, the Rōshigumi (浪士組) — masterless samurai recruited by the Shogunate ahead of Shogun Tokugawa Iemochi's visit to Kyoto — left Edo on the 8th day of the 2nd month and reached Kyoto on the 23rd; Kondō Isami, Serizawa Kamo and others who stayed behind were placed under the Aizu domain on the 13th day of the 3rd month. Historical writer Tatsuya Yamamura has pointed out that nothing related to the Shinsengumi actually happened on February 27, and the Hino City Tourism Association in Tokyo marks March 13 as Shinsengumi Day. Either way, the day recalls the origins of the Shinsengumi (新選組/新撰組), the Shogunate's special police force that became one of the most famous and romanticized organizations in Japanese history.

The Shinsengumi: Guardians of the Old Order

The Shinsengumi (新選組, "Newly Selected Corps") was a special unit of samurai assembled in 1863 to maintain order in Kyoto and protect the Shogunate's interests during the turbulent years leading to the Meiji Restoration. Based at the Mibu district of Kyoto, the Shinsengumi enforced order through a combination of strict internal discipline (members who violated the unit's code were required to commit seppuku) and aggressive policing of anti-shogunate activity. Their most famous action was the June 1864 Ikeda-ya Incident, in which they raided an inn where anti-shogunate samurai were planning an arson attack on Kyoto.

Famous Members

The Shinsengumi's leaders — Kondō Isami (近藤勇, the commander), Hijikata Toshizō (土方歳三, the vice-commander, nicknamed "Demon Vice-Commander"), and Okita Sōji (沖田総司, its most skilled swordsman, who died young of tuberculosis) — have become iconic figures in Japanese historical fiction, portrayed in countless manga, anime, novels, and films. Their combination of extraordinary swordsmanship, loyalty to a dying order, and tragic end (the Shinsengumi was effectively dissolved after the Meiji Restoration) gives their story a romantic, elegiac quality that has made them perennial subjects of popular culture.

Cultural Legacy

The Shinsengumi's story — talented men fighting with conviction for a cause that history rendered futile — resonates with Japanese cultural themes of loyalty, martial excellence, and beautiful failure. The "Hakuoki" (薄桜鬼) video game and anime franchise, set among the Shinsengumi, is among Japan's most popular historical fiction properties and has introduced the group to younger audiences worldwide.

Fun Facts

• Hijikata's grave: Hijikata Toshizō, the Shinsengumi's last commander, died in the Battle of Hakodate (the final battle of the Boshin War) in May 1869 — the last significant defender of the old order. Sites connected with him in Hakodate, where he died, and in his hometown of Hino in Tokyo attract many Shinsengumi fans.
• Kyoto tourism: Mibu Temple (壬生寺) in Kyoto — in the Mibu district where the Shinsengumi were quartered — and the Ikedaya inn site (now a restaurant celebrating the famous 1864 incident) are major Shinsengumi-related tourism sites in Kyoto.