Most characters in this anime are based on actual historical figures, including the main character, Tetsunosuke Ichimura.
Almost all of the characters in Peacemaker Kurogane were real historical figures, except for some such as Saya, Hana, Hotaru, Kichisaburo, and Maro. The Shinsengumi were essentially a band of hit-men hired by the Shogunate but are admired by the Japanese and many others for their heroics in losing the revolution. The name “Shinsengumi” in itself means “newly selected team” and the flag bears the sign of “makoto” or “sincerity/truth”. The anime ends at the Ikeda Inn incident, which was the highest point in the Shinsengumi’s career and spread their name all throughout Japan. However, there is more history after the anime ends which is very tragic. An important historical Shinsengumi figure is not mentioned in the anime, but he is in the manga. His name was Serizawa Kamo, the original commander of the Shinsengumi. He and Kondo had their own groups, and did not get along very well. Serizawa was known for causing trouble and getting away with it due to his title as “commander of the Shinsengumi”. Eventually it got to the point where the daimyo Matsudaira was displeased with his conduct and had the Shinsengumi execute him, along with his partner Niimi Nishiki. The Shinsengumi were not named the “Shinsengumi” in the beginning and were known as the “Roshigumi”. It was not until after the Ikeda Inn incident that they were truly known as the Shinsengumi. Kondo Isami was beheaded April 25, 1868. Hijikata Toshizo’s death in the Boshin Wars in combat on May 11, 1869, marks the end of the Shinsengumi.
The final days of the Tokugawa Bakufu were, in short, wildly chaotic with American Commodore Perry and his black ships forcing the country open to foreign nations and dividing Japan’s opinions of how to respond. The bakufu was losing its power. In response to this, the Shogun himself chose to come to Kyoto in 1863 and straighten things out. Of course, Kyoto was a dangerous place, so a call was made for “loyal patriotic samurai” to serve as a bodyguard of sorts for the Shogun. The samurai of the Shieikan Kenjutsu Dojo in Edo (now Tokyo) were among those who joined up with the so-called “Roshigumi” (The “Roshi/Ronin Group”).
Though the gathering later turned out to be an Ishin-Shishi (or Imperial Revolutionary) plot and most of the Roshigumi was disbanded, a select bunch remained together to defend the shogun. Formed in Mibu village and under the jurisdiction of the Aizu Clan, the Mibu Roshigumi worked hard to keep the peace in Kyoto, especially against the anti-bakufu ronin from the samurai clans of Choushu and Satsuma.
There was a problem, though. The Mibu Roshigumi was divided between its head chiefs: Serizawa Kamo and Niimi Nishigi on one side and Kondou Isami – head of the Shieikan Dojo – on the other. Serizawa was famous for being a wild and dangerous man, especially when he was drunk. His faction was often disrupting more of the peace than they were protecting; they burned, they extorted, and they murdered. The shortened name of “Miburo” began to have a different meaning for many, who took it to mean “Mibu wolves” instead.
This is when Vice Chief Hijikata Toshizo, wanting to end the strife, produced his dreaded rules. Rules such as never leaving the group and never behaving in a manner unbefitting of a samurai were dealt with swiftly: any infraction was met with immediate seppuku/suicide. It has been said that for this reason, the streets of Kyoto ran with the blood of Shinsengumi members. Shortly afterwards in September, Hijikata entrapped Niimi and forced him to commit suicide; Hijikata and several others then ambushed and killed Serizawa.
Around this time, the group was renamed the “Shinsengumi” (The “Newly Chosen Group”), and Kondou Isami was the sole head chief of the group.
Things came to a point in 1864, when the radical Choushu Clan gathered at Ikedaya (the Ikeda Inn) to work out their plan to burn down Kyoto and abduct the emperor. The Shinsengumi found out about it and in a night raid they killed or captured most if not all the ronins. After the Ikedaya incident, the fame of the Shinsengumi skyrocketed, and hundreds of pro-bakufu samurai joined up.
Though they were a group feared by the Ishin-Shishi, the politics of the nation came down around them. In 1867 the shogun, wanting as little bloodshed as possible, abdicated his rule and handed the country over to the emperor in the Meiji Restoration. Despite this, the Shinsengumi and many other groups continued to fight against the imperial forces. Finally, it all came to an end with a series of battles during the Boshin War, when the imperialists wiped out the Aizu Clan, captured (and later executed) Kondou Isami and killed Hijikata Toshizo. With the death of Hijikata in 1869, the Shinsengumi officially broke up and disbanded, and the Meiji Era of Japan began.
Source: animenewsnetwork
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