the Random Anime page : PEACE MAKER Kurogane

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PEACE MAKER Kurogane anime, and may not be factual.

Kondou Isami (1834 - 1868)
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Kondou Isami was a chief of the Shinsengumi, an armed special security team in Kyoto during the late shogunate period.

In 1863, he joined the Roushi-gumi with Hijikata Toshizou and Okita Souji. After the founder of Kiyokawa Hachiro dismissed the company, they remained in Kyoto with Hijikata and Aizawa and formed Miburo Roushi gumi. They were put under the control of Kyoto Shugoshoku and worked as police in Kyoto.

In an August 18 incident, his team was renamed the Shinsengumi. In June of 1864, the Shinsengumi became well known for arresting extreme cells (the Ikeda-ya Affair: the Shinsengumi foiled a plan to engulf Kyoto in flames and kidnap the Emperor when they broke into the Ikedaya Inn and killed the IshinShishi members who were planning the attack).

In January 1868, the Battle of Toba-Fushimi, he returned to Edo, fighting with the force depatched by the Imperial Court but lost the battle. After surrundering, he was caught on April 25 and his head was displayed in Sanjo beach of Kyoto.

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Serizawa Kamo

Serizawa Kamo was one of the original founding members of the Shinsengumi. He favored the iron fan as a fighting weapon. He disregarded many aspects of the Bushido, angering many members of the Shinsengumi. He was subsequently assasinated by the group.

[In the anime, Kondou Isami, Hijikata Toshizou and Yamanami Keisuke are shown taking part in Serizawa's assination. The incident later haunts Yamanami, who tells Hijikata that he no longer wishes to take part in fighting.]

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Hijikata Toshizou (1835 - 1869)
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Hijikata Toshizou was the deputy leader of Shinsengumi, a young, small but talented group of Japanese swordsmen who tried to resist the Meiji Restoration in 1868 and failed.

Hijikata was born in 1835 in present-day Hino, a suburb of Tokyo, Japan. He was the youngest of six children, and his father was a well-to-do farmer. Hijikata was spoiled at an early age and was known to be mean to all but his friends and family. This changed, however, in 1864, when a 21-year-old swordsman from the Aizu clan, which was known for opposing the Imperial Loyalists and their loyalty for the Tokugawa Shogunate, was forced to commit seppuku (ritual suicide). When Hijikata attended the man's funeral, he apparently cried in public.

Later that year, he and Kondou Isami formed Shinsengumi. Kondou and two other men, Serizawa Kamo and Nishiki Niimi, became joint leaders of the group, and Hijikata served as one of several deputy leaders.

Shinsengumi served as a police force in Kyoto that fought Imperial Loyalist activities after being appointed to that position by Matsudaira Katamori, the Daimyo of Aizu.

Serizawa and Niimi starting abusing their power in Kyoto by fighting, drinking, and committing extortion, which started to tarnish the reputation of Shinsengumi. Hijikata found enough proof against Niimi in these matters and ordered him to commit seppuku.

Serizawa and his followers, however, were assassinated, and Kondou became the sole leader of the Shinsengumi with Hijikata as his deputy.

The group grew to 140 men, which included farmers and merchants whose livelihood was threatened if the Tokugawa Shogunate was overthrown.

The laws set up by the Shinsengumi within Kyoto were strictly enforced and Hijikata was known to be harsh in enforcing them with his sword, the Kanesada, hence his nickname: "The Demon of the Shinsengumi". Even within the Shinsengumi itself, rules were strictly enforced by Hijikata. Deserters and traitors were forced to commit seppuku; this happened to Yamanami Keisuke, one of Hijikata's close friends and founding member of the Shinsengumi, when he tried to leave the Shinsengumi in 1865.

After Kondou surrendered to the Imperial Loyalist Army and was executed in April 1868, Hijikata led the Shinsengumi on their final battle against his comrade's killers. He knew he fighting a losing battle, and told a physician acquaintance of his that "I am not going to battle to win. With the Tokugawa government about to collapse, it would be a disgrace if no one is willing to go down with it. That is why I must go. I will fight the best battle of my life to die for the country".

On May 11, 1869, he was killed while in combat on horseback by a bullet that shattered his lower back. It is unknown where he was buried, but a memorial gravestone stands near Itabashi Station in Tokyo, next to Kondou Isami.

The story of Hijikata and the Shinsengumi is a very popular one in Japanese culture, and several books and anime movies have been made about them. There also exists many Hijikata fan clubs in Japan, including the Kyoto Shinsengumi Fans' Group.

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Yamanami Keisuke (1833 - 1865)
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Yamanami Keisuke was one of the Vice Commanders of the Shinsengumi, replacing Serizawa Kamo.

He was also known as "Sannan" (an alternative pronunciation of the kanji in his name).

Yamanami was the lover of Akesato, a geisha.

Due to a difference in ideals, Yamanami left the Shinsengumi. The punishment for this was death, so he was caught and forced to commit seppuku.

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Okita Souji (1844 - 1869)
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Okita Souji was captain of the first troop of the Shinsengumi, an armed special security team in Kyoto during the late shogunate period.

Born Harumasa Soujirou in 1844, he trained at the age of nine with Kondou Isami, a master of the Tennen Rishin Ryu. He proved to be an excellent swordsman, and was a teacher of kenjutsu at 18. His signature technique being his Three Piece Thrust, a technique that stabs the sword at the neck, left shoulder, and right shoulder.

Okita is usually considered one of the most talented out of the Shinsengumi, along with Saito Hajime and Nagakura Shinpachi.

It was rumored that his tuberculosis was discovered when he fainted during the Ikeda-ya Affair, but some sources say that he contracted the disease long after that.

He died of tuberculosis at the age of 25, after the Boshin War.

[In the anime, Okita has a pet pig, named Saizo. He often carries the small, pink pig around with him.
Saizo seems to enjoy bothering Tetsunosuke... ]

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Saitou Hajime (1844 - 1915)
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Saitou Hajime is the captain of the third troop of the Shinsengumi. He was one of the few who survived the numerous wars of the late shogunate period.

Married Tokio Takagi, a daughter of a daimyo.

After the war, he changed his name to Fujita Gorou and worked as a police officer. He obtained special permission to carry a katana (Japanese longsword).

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Nagakura Shinpachi (1839 - 1915)
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Nagakura Shinpachi was the captain of the 2nd troop of the Shinsengumi.

After Okita Souji became sick, he sometimes commanded both the 2nd and 1st troops.

Afterwards, Nagakura wrote a book concerning the history of the Shinsengumi titled A Full Account of the Shinsengumi (Shinsengumi tenmatsu ki).

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Toudou Heisuke
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Toudou Heisuke is the youngest of Harada and Nagakura. He was the captain of the 8th troop of the Shinsengumi.

[In the anime, Toudou Heisuke, Harada Sanosuke and Nagakura Shinpachi are portrayed as the comedic trio.]

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Harada Sanosuke (1839 - 1868)
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Harada Sanosuke, the captain of the 10th troop of the Shinsengumi, uses the spear.

[He has a seppuku scar decorating his abdomen, which he likes to show off.]

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the Yamazaki kyoudai
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Yamazaki Susumu is one of the spies for the Shinsengumi.

[Susumu is a shinobi who gathers intelligence from both inside and out of the group.

To get data, he will even disguise himself as a woman to infiltrate enemy quarters.

Susumu is often expressionless and quiet, unlike his more sociable sister, Yamazaki Ayumu.]

[The elder sister, Ayumu, also works for the Shinsengumi.

She takes care of the Shinsengumi members, and is in charge of their meals. Her cheerful personality makes her well-liked among the Shinsengumi.

Ayumu is also a skilled shinobi. Although most spy work is now handled by her brother, she will get involved when necessary.]

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the Ichimura kyoudai (fictional characters)
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[Wanting to avenge his parents, the rash 15 year old Ichimura Tetsunosuke tries to enlist with the Shinsengumi, despite his brother's objections. He wants to become stronger so as to seek revenge on the Choshu assassin who killed his parents.

At the Shinsengumi headquarters, Tetsunosuke meets Okita Souji who brings him into the group.

However, he ends up being made Hijikata Toshizou's page, although he is later given the Shinsengumi uniform and his swords.

Ichimura Tatsunosuke, the elder brother, is an accountant for the Shinsengumi. He brought up Tetsunosuke after the death of their parents and is prone to worrying - mostly about about his reckless little brother.]

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Sakamoto Ryoma (1836 - 1867)
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Sakamoto Ryoma was born in Kochi, of Tosa han. His family in previous generations had acquired enough wealth as sake brewers to purchase the rank of merchant-samurai, which was the lowest rank of samurai. After being bullied at school, his olders sister enrolled him in fencing school. By the time he reached adulthood he was a master swordsman.

Once the United States forced Japan to open its borders samurai throughout the country were up in arms, but Ryoma Sakamoto had a better grasp of the superiority of the Western technology and spent years preparing Japan for the Meiji Restoration. He was crucial in the creation of a modern navy.

For hundreds of years Japan had been under isolationist rule so a navy was created from scratch. Eventually, he secured funds for his navy from various nationalist han. Next, Ryoma negotiated a secret alliance between Choshu domain and Satsuma domain. Satsuma and Choshu historically had been absolute enemies.

Ryoma officially was a low-ranking samurai, but he managed to make ties with some of the most influential daimyo and samurai. Also, he developed trade with foreigners in order to obtain modern weapons and naval technology.

Ryoma was a visionary who envisioned a Japan without any more feudal trappings. He read about and was inspired by the example of the United States where "all men are created equal." He realized that in order to compete with a industrial, technological outside world Japanese people must be used according to their ability. After centuries of the Tokugawa Shogunate, the hereditary leaders and samurai had grown increasingly impotent.

Not long before the Meiji Restoration transpired, Ryoma Sakamoto was killed by the Shinsengumi.

In November 15, 2003, the Kochi Airport was renamed to the Kochi Ryoma Airport in honor of this man.

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Yoshida Toshimaro (1841 - 1864)
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Yoshida Toshimaro was a student of Yoshida Shoin.

Yoshida Shoin was a Japanese scholar and teacher, born in 1830, in the Choshu domain. He was imprisoned for attempting to board one of Commodore Perry's ships, and later imprisoned again for preaching sonno-joi, Imperial Reverence and Expelling the Barbarians. After being released from house arrest, he opened a private school, Shoka Sonjyuku, to teach the youth military arts and politics. He was executed in 1859.

Yoshida Toshimaro, like his teacher, was also an imperial loyalist. He was wounded during the Ikeda-ya Affair, and died soon after.

[The anime Yoshida Toshimaro is older and has a disciple, Kitamura Suzu. He was wounded by Okita Souji in a fight during the Ikeda-ya Affair and was killed there by Ichimura Tetsunosuke.]

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Kitamura Suzu (fictional character)
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[The Choushuu youth looks up to Yoshida sensei as his preceptor.

He makes friends with Tetsunosuke but Yoshida does not approved of their friendship.]

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Saya (fictional character)
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[Saya and Tetsunosuke are good friends.

Like Tetsunosuke, Saya has also lost her parents.

She is training to be a geisha in Shimabara, under Akesato.]

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Akesato
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[Akesato, a beautiful geisha working in Shimabara, hides a secret.

She is a Choshuu spy.

Her family was killed by the Bakufu and Akesato is is secretly working for the IsshinShishi - Yoshida-, along with two other female ninjas.]

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