The Shinsengumi and Mibu

The Rōshigumi come to Kyoto and lodge in Mibu

In 1863 (Bunkyū 3), the Edo shogunate gathered masterless samurai (rōnin) to form the "Rōshigumi." Its stated purpose was to guard the shogun on his visit to Kyoto; 234 men answered a call for 50, so it was also called the "Three Hundred," and among them were Kondō Isami, Hijikata Toshizō, and Serizawa Kamo. The party entered Kyoto on February 23 and lodged in the village of Mibu, west of the city, split among the homes of country samurai (gōshi) such as the Yagi and Maekawa families.

Kiyokawa Hachirō, who had proposed the group, gathered its leading members at Shintoku-ji in Mibu and declared in a speech that they would carry out "revere the emperor, expel the barbarians" (sonnō jōi) here in Kyoto. The shogunate recalled the Rōshigumi to Edo, but Kondō, Serizawa, and others remained in Kyoto, were placed under Matsudaira Katamori, lord of the Aizu domain and Kyoto Protector, called themselves the "Mibu Rōshigumi" or "Rōshigumi in the custody of the Aizu domain," and took up patrolling the city.

The name "Shinsengumi" and the killing of Serizawa Kamo

There are two theories on when the name Shinsengumi began. The March theory comes from the Yagi family, who hold that the group's birthday is March 16, 1863 (Bunkyū 3), when a nameplate reading "Lodging of the Shinsengumi, under Matsudaira Higo-no-kami" was hung on the gatepost; Mibu-dera also dates the founding to March 1863. The August theory comes from historical documents: the name was granted by the court's liaison officials (buke tensō) in recognition of their service when they turned out at the Aizu domain's request in the coup of August 18, 1863, and until then they had been called the Mibu Rōshigumi and the like.

Late on the night of September 18 of the same year, in the inner room of the Yagi house, the commander Serizawa Kamo, Hirayama Gorō, and two others were cut down. They were killed by Kondō Isami, Hijikata Toshizō, and others.

Historic sites in Mibu

Along Bōjō-dōri, which runs north–south past the front (main) gate of Mibu-dera, the Yagi and Maekawa residences that served as headquarters still stand. The Yagi Residence's gatehouse (nagayamon) dates from 1804 (Bunka 1) and its main house from 1809 (Bunka 6); as a surviving site of the late Edo period it became a Kyoto City designated tangible cultural property on June 1, 1983 (Shōwa 58).

The grounds of Mibu-dera were used as the members' training ground, where they drilled in martial arts and artillery. There are also anecdotes of Okita Sōji playing with children in the grounds and of members watching Mibu Kyōgen. Mibu Kyōgen is a masked pantomime begun by the priest Engaku, and temple tradition dates its start to a service he held in 1300 (Shōan 2). It became a national Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property in 1976 (Shōwa 51), and performances are held in spring, autumn, and at Setsubun.

Shinsengumi Sites around Mibu

The bust and graves at the Mibu Mound

The Mibu Mound (Mibuzuka) is the burial place of Shinsengumi members, on an island in the pond on the east side of the grounds of Mibu-dera. It holds a bust of Kondō Isami and a memorial for his hair, the graves of Serizawa Kamo and Hirayama Gorō, the grave of the accountant Kawai Kisaburō, and a collective grave for seven members including those who died in the Ikedaya Incident; 11 members are enshrined in all. The bust was erected in 1971 (Shōwa 46) by the actor Ueda Kichijirō, and a memorial service is held in front of it every year on July 16, the date Mibu-dera observes as the day of the Ikedaya Incident.

The headquarters at Nishi Hongan-ji and Fudōdō village

In 1865 (Keiō 1), when membership passed 130 and Mibu became too cramped, the headquarters moved to the area around the drum tower and the north assembly hall of Nishi Hongan-ji. The temple tried to prevent the move but was overruled, and the members fired cannon in the grounds, among other things.

On June 15, 1867 (Keiō 3), they moved to a newly built headquarters on land provided by Nishi Hongan-ji in the village of Fudōdō, Kadono district (around today's Aburanokōji-dōri Shiokōji, Shimogyō Ward). With the restoration of imperial rule in December of that year, however, they left after only about six months, and after defeat at the Battle of Toba-Fushimi in January of the following year they withdrew to the Kantō region. The exact location of this headquarters is not known; the landmarks are the monument "Near Here: Site of the Shinsengumi's Last Residence in Kyoto," erected in 2009 at Nishinotōin-dōri Shiokōji-sagaru, Shimogyō Ward, and a monument in front of a hotel at Aburanokōji-dōri Shiokōji-sagaru.

The "birthplace of the Shinsengumi" stone markers

Two stone markers stand in front of the Yagi Residence: a slender marker reading "Shinsengumi Site" erected by the Kyoto City Education Association in July 1931 (Shōwa 6), and a monument reading "Shinsengumi Headquarters Site" erected in 2000 (Heisei 12) by Yagi Kikuma, 15th head of the Yagi family. The Yagi family calls the residence the "Birthplace of the Shinsengumi, Former Site of the Mibu Headquarters."

Getting to the Yagi Residence and Mibu-dera

Mibu is the area a short walk west of the Shijō Ōmiya intersection. From Ōmiya Station on the Hankyu Kyoto Line or Shijō Ōmiya Station on the Randen (Keifuku Electric Railroad), go west along Shijō-dōri and turn south onto Bōjō-dōri; the Yagi Residence and Mibu-dera are about 10 minutes on foot. From the "Mibudera-michi" city bus stop, head south on Bōjō-dōri: 1 minute to the Yagi Residence and about 3 minutes to Mibu-dera. From Tanbaguchi Station on the JR Sagano Line, it is about 12 minutes on foot north along Senbon-dōri. Kōen-ji is 3 minutes on foot from the "Shijō Ōmiya" city bus stop.