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Life in the Shinsengumi |
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A Short History of the Shinsengumi: Part Three |
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by Shaenon Garrity |
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Last month, we explained how under the leadership of Kamo Serizawa and Isami Kondo,
13 samurai broke off from the Roshigumi, which had falsely claimed to support the Tokugawa Shogunate, to form their own group. Now we dig deep into life
in the Shinsengumi, a world that Kaze Hikaru's heroine, Sei, is still getting used to.
From the beginning, the Shinsengumi set itself apart. In
a time when most samurai wore dark brown or gray uniforms to conceal themselves in battle, the Shinsengumi wore bright blue haori
(formal jackets worn over kimonos) with large white triangles, or "white mountain stripes," around the edges. The members of the
Shinsengumi weren't interested in camouflage. Instead, they wanted to be visible and identifiable from far away as a means to intimidate their enemies. The
name Shinsengumi means, roughly translated, "New Team," but the group also bore the name Mibu-Ro or Roshi of Mibu, after the neighborhood
in Kyoto where it established its headquarters. |
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"Life in the Shinsengumi - A Short History of the Shinsengumi: Part Three" by Shaenon Garrity has been edited for shojobeat.com; the complete article appears in the October 2005 issue of Shojo Beat Magazine. |
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