Who Were The Shinsengumi? Song Of The Samurai’s Elite Force Explained

HBO’s Song of the Samurai, much like the story it’s based on, centers around Hijikata Toshizo, a famous leader of the Shinsengumi, a special police force from 1869. The series begins by showing Toshizo as a young man, traveling and selling medicine while trying to prove himself. In the first episode, his travels bring him to the Shieikan Dojo, where he’s taken on as a student by Kondo Isami. Kondo, Toshizo, and the others who come together will eventually form the Shinsengumi, but the show leaves viewers wondering what that will actually entail.







