Shinsengumi: The Shogun's Last Samurai Corps

I own this book twice, once on Kindle and again as a paperback copy which I bought with the express purpose of creating a series of videos debating the book point for point. The second time I bought it, I bought it used because I refused to give this man any more money than he already made off of me - that's how much I hate this book.Honestly, it's difficult for me to fully express my hatred for it. The author's primary sources were written in the 1920s and earlier, one of them by a man who himself admitted he was a novelist and not a historian writing a sensationalized account of events ... And one that somehow manages to paint the Shinsengumi with a more human brush than this propaganda bias trash fire of a book. He, at least, admitted to their strong points in parts and respected that they fought for beliefs and were not simply empty caricatures pursuing power for power's sake.I may have bought this book to gain a more historical perspective on the Shinsengumi after being introduced to it through a dating simulation visual novel, but I would have been better served trusting the clearly romanticized versions of the Shinsengumi in that game as the gospel truth than trusting anything this man has written on them. This is little more than a posthumous attack on the character of Kondo Isami with all positive portrayals of him brushed underneath the rug neatly or twisted in a way that makes him look like an unintelligent ape compared to the writer's clear bias, Katsu Kaishu, who is mentioned in this book more than the Shinsengumi's Vice-Commander, Hijikata Toshizo.The game in question may not portray Kondo as competent at all points in time and certainly has softened the harsher aspects of his personality, but at least it gives him a semblance of personhood even as it shows him blinded to the suffering he is putting his friends through because he is caught up in the events unfolding around him. It also does not fully attribute assassinations to him that he may not have had a hand in and there is historical doubt around, such as the Uchiyama assassination that was supposedly in retaliation for the magistrate's attempts to prove the then Roshigumi's involvement in the Osaka Sumo Stable incident. It never treats its narrative as fact and instead as a creative interpretation of history, and it somehow manages to be more respectful of these very real men ...In spite of turning over half the cast into vampires, at certain points and in certain routes, and outright erasing the context behind Yamanami's historical death.How this man has managed to write this book and continues to brag about it being the only English language narrative of the Shinsengumi when it is too incoherently written to be called a narrative of anything other than his own meandering hatred of Kondo Isami is ... Frankly speaking, incredible. The fact that he specifically mentions in his description of this book that he stands by the obnoxiously overdone motifs of PROPENSITY TO KILL and WILL TO POWER and has pinned a review comparing the Shinsengumi to Hell's Angels speaks volumes of his arrogance -- Proving that perhaps he himself is the one with the true grain of self-importance here, and the true will to power in wanting to make others see and believe about these men as he does.If he had an ounce of the dignity of the men he claims to admire in Sakamoto and Kaishu, he would at least clearly acknowledge that Kondo Isami may have struggled with his own choices, evidenced by his journey to see Dr. Matsumoto during his trip to Edo to petition that Iemochi visit Kyoto to parley with the Loyalists. He would relegate Hijikata to more than a footnote in another man's narrative, and show him as an agent in his own destiny rather than a man simply trapped in the long shadow that Kondo Isami cast, chasing it onto his own death at Hakodate.These men were not wholly good men.They did things that would curl the toes of any modern person who has not taken the chance to toughen their stomach. The story of the Shinsengumi is painted in blood and tragedy, as bold and unyielding as the red of their banner. It's true that there are countless deaths in their wake, the result of their choices and the actions they took as a result - And even so, there is also that wavering spirit of the warrior that the author thoroughly fails to understand as he grasps only the philosophy of the Blade that Heals and does not embrace the spartan and necessary approach of Japan's greatest duelst, Miyamoto Musashi. Had he read extensively on the history he claims to understand, if he were really a historian trained to think critically instead of a journalist, maybe the author would understand that there is more than one way of viewing that warrior's way.The sincerity that the men of the Shinsengumi employed was one of the necessity of death and bloodshed that left a great toll on them, which is evident if you know how their story ends and how Kondo and Hijikata both felt before they died. But in that sincerity, there is also beauty, something to be honored in that will - not to power, but to persevere - no matter how much the world at large hated and feared them and blamed them for countless things. It takes more grace and strength to not defect from your beliefs when the entire world is against you than it does to hold a popular and progressive opinion.And that is all this author's work is.Decades of the revisionist history devoid of the nuance of the humanity of their opponents as portrayed by the victorious Choshu men in the Meiji government. If you want to learn the truth about the Shinsengumi, you're better off going through Japanese wikipedia and using a translation program to get your information.Whatever decision you come to, whether you see them as the same villains the author does or as the heroes the writers of the game I mentioned and the NHK drama "Shinsengumi!" clearly do, at least you will have come to the decision under your own power without the interference of a man who does not have the authority to make the claims he does. Especially when he asks for the blessing of the descendants and family of the very men he's written this hit piece on and uses images of their generous contributions in this work.Rest assured, this author will not be the only English language narrative of the Shinsengumi for long.Flawed as they are, as brutal as they could be, they deserve better than the distorted image that this book casts as their reflection.

I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in the Shinsengumi, Bakumatsu or early Meiji Restoration periods of Japanese history. It gave me a better understanding, despite the author’s at times heavy-handed style, about who the Shinsegumi were, what they did and their role in Japanese history in an easy to understand and readable manner. I appreciated the way hard information, stories and personalities were played out to give the subject matter human depth.Despite the author's tone, I found Shinsengumi less villainous and more men of their times, the Shogunate’s equal and opposite reaction to what we’d now call domestic terrorism. Shinsengumi were violent and merciless and their opponents were no better. The people they were created to defeat were plotting to overthrow the government, at times burn down Kyoto (which would kill lots of innocent people) and abduct the Emperor if need be to carry out their plans. (The Ikedaya incident alone in a good example of this) Ultimately, those revolutionaries and their better contemporaries such as Saigo Takamori did overcome and create a better Japan but their methods were not peaceful.Telling this story fleshes out turmoil in Kyoto and the ground-level fighting done to keep the peace as well as teaching about who the individuals in the Shinsengumi were and their varied backgrounds. What I found most interesting about Kondo Isami and Hijikata Toshizo is that they were self-made samurai who rose from the ranks of peasants, something that should have been impossible in Japan’s rigid caste system but in these chaotic times men like them were elevated based on ability and not birth.The book’s downside is the author’s self-indulgent writing style. He gives himself leeway in the beginning by claiming this isn’t really “non-fiction” because not all of his sources are foolproof, but by that logic no true non-fiction may exist. The book often has a negative tone toward its subject matter and comes off as opinionated when the narrative would better be served by telling the story and giving context to create positive or negative impressions instead of zeroing in on what’s dislikable about X, Y or Z or using colorful adjectives.And as others have said, the ‘propensity to kill’ repetition was pointless and annoying unless the goal was for it to serve as the inspiration for some sweet Shinsengumi-themed death metal song lyrics. (For context though, despite its being peppered throughout the book, the phrase is only obnoxious on one page of constant repetition so it’s not on every other page as our reviews may make it seem.)If it wasn’t for the style I would give this book five stars for being informative, highly readable and memorable.

I'm not too sure how to describe this book.First, let me say that I did enjoy the story. For those only marginally acquainted with he subject, the Shinsengumi were supposed to be a pseudo-police force to protect the Shogun at the end of the Tokugawa shogunate. They failed, on many levels. the Shinsengumi have a special place in the hearts and history of the Japanese - the closest parallel I can think of is the Texas Rangers, and even then that is not a good comparison. The Shinsengumi have been portrayed in film and anime (most notably Rurouni Kenshin for anime and, well, Shinsengumi with Toshiro Mifune for film); it's through anime that I became interested in knowing more.The good parts: There is a lot of information here. This is the scholarly part. Mr. Hillsborough does a good job of telling the story of the Shinsengumi, explaining the historical setting and giving insight into the characters and their motivations. Footnotes and textual explanations while not copious are sufficient.The bad parts: somehow, even though we are talking only a period of some 6 years the story seems short, almost a sketch. Dry. Bring a bottle of water with you dry. And, one of the most dramatic moments of the Shinsengumi - one of the most dramatic moments in Japanese history, the incident at Ikeda'ya - is pretty unsatisfying. Accurately portrayed I have no doubt but somehow lacking.For a student of Japanese history and culture, this is a good book and does the job well and I do recommend it for this reader. For the casual reader in Japonica, maybe not so much.

Well Researched fact-wise, but this book does seem to be a little biased in places.Some of the same phrases are repeatedly used within an inch of their lives, some of the more prominent moments are only mentioned fleetingly, and I noticed one or two events which were barely grazed.The book did well to pull from first-hand accounts, but it could have done A Lot more to utilize those instead of the odd sentence here and there.Also it could have included a lot more, such as historical documents, photo's etc.I found the book to be an interesting read, but really bleak with often minimal description, and ... short.

I found this a thoroughly enjoyable historical book to read from cover to cover, not for those of us who may have a romantic idealistic view of these 'knights' of old. Will give you, the reader, a strong sense of the inner turmoil during this period of Japanese history

Husband loves this.

I bought this book because I've taken a historical interest in the Bakumatsu and especially in the Shinsengumi. The content mainly covers the years 1863-1868 and is well-researched thanks to Hillsborough being able to exploit original Japanese sources. He uses a lot of quotes from the surviving testimony of Nagakura, Shimada, Katsu Kaishu and others as well as letters, eyewitness reports, and modern-day publications to create as vivid and accurate a picture of the time and circumstances as possible (he does not deny, though, that his text cannot be entirely non-fictional). The focus is of course on the Shinsengumi, but the author tried his best to explain the historical events surrounding and determining the group's actions.Apart from the fact that the author uses the words "self-importance," "unyielding will to power," and "propensity to kill" a little too often for my taste, I cannot agree with reviews claiming that he particularly disliked the Shinsengumi and purposely portrayed them in an unfavorable light. I rather think that the highly romaticized and fictionalized movies, series, animes, and mangas/comics on the topic make you forget all too easily that the Shinsengumi's business was terrorizing oppression and cold-blooded murder. I found it refreshing that the book elaborated on several inglorious incidents as well as some tragic character changes that seem to inevitably come with money and power.What bothered me, however, was the rather sketchy storytelling toward the end. Hijikata and his Ezo Republic were shoved into the epilog as if their retreat to the north was not part of the actual story anymore. The final words on Okita didn't even cover half a page, Harada's fight at Ueno was only mentioned in a one-sentence side note and information on the survivors and their fate after the revolution was pretty scarce. In my opinion, the author failed to bring his book to a satisfying end. Also, I found it somewhat irritating that several events were depicted in topical rather than chronological order to the effect that characters died in one chapter and then were very much alive again in the next. Also, the text generally lacked dates, so that sometimes it was hard to tell what year exactly the author was talking about. I appreciated all the extra information in the appendixes as well as the source notes, however, I would have wished for bigger and more detailed maps and - if possible - more pictures. I also feel like many questions still have been left unanswered, though I don't want to blame the author for information lost in history.CONCLUSION: Being more or less the only English source on the Shinsengumi, this book totally fulfilled my expectations (4 stars due to my structural criticism). However, be warned, this book is NOT a historical novel but more like a very long wikipedia entry. Don't expect a thrilling storytelling from a book that is clearly meant for research. If you don't have a deep historical interest in the time or the Shinsengumi, you should really keep your fingers off this book.

Well researched and writed. A very interesting work on a less know subject in Western lenguages. Shinsengumi: patriots or thugs? Hillsborough offer plenty of though-provocking info. Very readable even for people don't familiar with Japan's History.