about samurai during tokugawa and meiji era

hello there....i like to ask some question,was there a group called the shinsengumi?i only know one of them and that is saitoh hajime(think so).when tokugawa ended,he changed his named to fujita goro.there's a couple of other samurais that i know:hiko soujiro,hitokiri battousai(rurouni kenshin himura),shishio makoto,shogo amakusa. were they exist during either tokugawa or meiji era?i heard that kenshin himura was really known as hitokiri battousai the slasher,because he killed and assasinated other samurais.now my question is...was or were they(the names that i mentioned above)exist?if they do exist....can u tell me a summary about them?their life,their jobs,anything that u know.ok thats all i think.....hmm....wait!!last question: was there a samurai technique called HITTEN MITSURUGI(flying sword from heaven)?
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Kirk-
The Shinsengumi did exists unfortunately Ruroni Kenshin and
many of the characters in the comixs did not. When the Tokugawa
bakufu began to lose control of the country in the 1850s, Kyoto
became a magnet for Anti-Tokugawa ronin. The Bakufus' hold on the
city became rather tenuous. Thye Shinsegumi was a group of Tokugawa
loyalists banded together to act as counter-terrorists in the capitol.
They were known for their harsh rules and strict
traditionalism. I would recommend the movies "Shinsengumi" with
Mifune, "Shisengumi Shimatsuki" with Ichikawa, "Bakumatsu zankoku
monogatari" and even the recent "Gohatto". There are many more, but
if these stimulate your interest I think you'll find the true story
of the Shinsegumi more interesting than any manga.

Tom

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