SHinsengumi: a bond?

Hello,

I have a question for those who might have had or have access to
Japanese sources (for example the Nagakura memoirs found in 1998
however accurate they may be) and may shed light for me:

it may sound foolish but is it anywhere mentioned that despite being
what they were and the circonstances the Shinsengumi formed a kind of
family? At least for some of them? I mean a strong bond where you feel
you belong, maybe a feeling of understanding.

Thanks foranyhelp,

Aki

it may sound foolish but is it anywhere mentioned that despite being
what they were and the circonstances the Shinsengumi formed a kind of
family? At least for some of them? I mean a strong bond where you feel
you belong, maybe a feeling of understanding.

It's not a foolish question at all. And while I can't speak specifically for the Shinsengumi  guys who are close in a military or police environment often form a bond with the other guys they work with since basically their lives depend on that bond as they need to "watch one another's back" in dangerous situations.



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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

--- In SHQ@yahoogroups.com, "Akimiya" wrote:

>

is it anywhere mentioned that despite being

> what they were and the circonstances the Shinsengumi formed a kind of
> family? At least for some of them? I mean a strong bond where you feel
> you belong, maybe a feeling of understanding.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear Aki,

I think that's a fascinating question and thanks for posting! (^_^)

In terms of historical text -explicitly- stating a "family" bond--that
would be tough to find because the era and style of writing of the
time would probably not specify those exact words. However, all
members of the Shinsengumi were humans and therefore fans and
researchers alike are welcome to draw their own personal conclusions
about what personal relationships may have arose.

These are things I think:
1) age---most of the guys were very young, away from home and in a big
city---it's normal for them to become buddies

2) The Shinsengumi were one of a handful of law enforcement units in
Kyoto (Mimawarigumi, Shinchogumi and doshingumi forgot the exact
spelling). These other groups often had men derived from the "upper"
class (especially the Mimawari) in other words real "hereditary"
samurai while in contrast the Shinsengumi had men from a varied
background. There was no doubt the Shinsengumi operated with a chip
on their shoulders and grasped that they were the new kids on the
block. It's not a stretch for the Tama group in the Shinsengumi to
stick amongst themselves because of their common background and to a
greater extent all the guys from the Edo region to form a group.

3) modern day military and police units such as the riot polie in
Japan who do live together (sort of like firemen here in the US) do
form strong bonds. One can imagine that the Shinsengumi which shared
barracks also had these strong bonds. Furthermore the length of time
during which the Shinsengumi were active since the early Bakumatsu era
to the end in 1868 (Aizu) and 69 (Hokkaido) suggest many were comrades
for YEARS---longer or as long than many modern day wars (or low
burning political conflicts).