Howling Wolves

To fight fire with fire. To cross blades and spill blood in the streets of Kyoto in order to serve the Shogun, to protect the Emperor and to ensure Japan?EUR(TM)s future. That was the reason we found ourselves in Kyoto. With the general unrest of the people with the entry of the Gaijins, there were rampant assassinations and killing in the streets, chaos was the only name for it.
The various hans that warred, plotted and bickered amongst themselves were a constant headache for both the Military and Imperial branch of Japan. And the worst was when they had decided to slowly instigate the separation of the Shogun and the Emperor under the slogan ?EURoeSonno-joi?EUR?, a long and slow process that finally came to fruition when Shogun Tokugawa Iemochi left Edo and took Kyoto as the seat of the Bakufu to calm the unrest the Ishin Shishi has started. Of course it was just a plot to free Edo of the Bakufu to create an opportunity to take the Imperial house and influence it however they saw fit. Of course the various clans saw through this particularly, the Military Commissioner appointed to protect Kyoto who was no one else than Matsudaira Katamori himself of Aizu. Eventhough Aizu itself was amongst the largest han comparable to Choshu and Satsuma, between the masses and the other clans combined it was a difficult task to keep the Shogun and Kyoto safe, thus Matsudaira himself with the help of Kiyokawa Hachiro recruited samurai, ronins and farmer to form the Roshitai, to subdue the Ishin Shishi who were using masterless ronins, farmers and country samurai to cause unrest in Kyoto. Thus, the beginning for the Shinsengumi.
The Kyokuchou being a young man interested in politics, a young master of the Tennen Rishin Ryu, we followed him for his sincerity and charismatic leadership. Perhaps this zeal came about from his humble beginnings as a farmer’s son and the discrimination that came along with it. But we saw it, his desire to become truer than a real samurai, to surpass it both in body and mind. We came to dance upon the bonfire which he started as nothing but a small flicker of flame that grew in a small dojo in Tama. Tenderly cared for until our fangs were sharp enough to roam the streets, tearing at those which threatened the stability that kept Japan by a thread.
What started out as a ploy on the part of the Pro-Imperial forces who took Kiyokawa under their wing back-fired. Those who signed up for the Roshitai soon found themselves tricked upon reaching Kyoto. That we were to turn back and be part of the new imperial army that was to be based in Edo. ?EURoeWhat nonsense is this? The Shogun and the Emperor are one, the purpose that bound them are the same! To serve the Shogun is to serve the Emperor and to serve the Emperor is to serve Japan! And if it was the Shogun and the Bakufu itself who were led astray and must be cut off before gangrene settles, then shouldn?EUR(TM)t the Emperor himself commit seppuku??EUR? These very words I heard Kondou-san say as I carved a small figure on the engawa, watching Serizawa Kamo suggesting to Kondou to kill Kiyokawa?EUR? I would?EUR(TM)ve done it myself but perhaps we will be dismissed and ordered to return to Edo soon enough.
Ah! But yes the deception and ministrations of those clans in the South and West, they tore the land apart and planted the seeds for a civil war. Yes we share the sentiment of ?EUR“dislike- for foreigners, yes we share the same fear for our safety and colonialism, but no we do not condone insolence! That is the reason we stayed in Kyoto, unwelcome in the estate of the Yagis, reluctantly imposing upon them until we were strong enough to be of use. The humble beginnings in Tama had made us hardy people and the Kyokuchou?EUR(TM)s patriotic desire guided us until we were able to suppress the unrest caused by the Choshu clan with the help of Aizu and Satsuma. Finally Aizu decided that we were more than just ronins and farmers, that we could be useful and supportive of the Bakufu. This was the time we were officially commissioned as the Police troop directly under the Military Commissioner of Kyoto, under the name Shinsengumi.
And yet one night as I pass by to return to the compound, I saw writings on the wall ?EURoeMiburo?EUR?. That would?EUR(TM)ve been fine, our headquarters were in Mibu, however narrowing my eyes that dark night, I see it is written in red?EUR? It meant nothing else but a derogatory term for the Shinsengumi. The streets were full of rumors and blood during that time. We were thought of as cold, heartless, brutal murderers. We were quick to practice Aku Soku Zan. We were thought of as wily and wild. The people took to the side when we patrolled the streets, while the rebels and traitors hid in the shadows. Cowards!
And yet the people did not know, that we were here for them?EUR? And that the blood spilt between us and the enemy?EUR? What really colored the streets were our own, the blood of our comrades who have died in ambush, those who have died fighting and those?EUR? who died by our own hands. Cruel indeed. They labeled us monsters, for they heard of rumors of the Kyokuchou and his immutable “unreasonable” decisions. They heard of the Oni Fukuchou and his many rules and the torture chamber that accompanied it. They heard of the Captains who did not tolerate excuses and kept their men in a tight leash?EUR? For they heard of the many subordinates who were asked to practice kishin and commit seppuku. It was our blood ?EUR“not- theirs that painted Kyoto red! It was our lives that were sacrificed to restore some sort of order that they had obliterated for fear of change!
What they didn?EUR(TM)t see was the kindness of Kondou-san to his men, sacrificing the life he knew in Tama as Kat-chan for the love for Nihon. They didn?EUR(TM)t know the pragmatic designs and intelligence of Hijikata and his loyalty to the Shinsengumi. They didn?EUR(TM)t hear of the loyalty and camaraderie between the Captains and the brotherhood shared between their men. They did not see the tears of blood we shed each time a member was lost to the hands of the enemy and the insanity and pain that lingered when we took the life of a brother to uphold the Hatto. They did not hear the wolves howling together at night, knowing what was to come and yet not turning back to flee. The fangs are grown and if it is to be cut then so be it! There is only one real truth and that is Makoto!
(OOC:
*Gaijin*-foreigner
*Han*-clans
*Matsudaira Katamori*-Daimyo of Aizu/Kyoto protector
*Kiyokawa Hachiro*-traitor who misled the roshitai and the daimyo
*Sonnoi joi*- Revere the Emperor! Expel the foreigners! -slogan used by the Ishins
*Roshitai*-group of masterless samurai and farmers that was to be recruited to helaap the Bakufu
*Oni-Fukuchou*-(lit trans) Demon vice-commander – demon though is not really descriptive nor bad. It means more like very passionate or very stubborn about something.
*Serizawa Kamo* ?EUR“ Kyokuchou of the Shinsengumi in it?EUR(TM)s earlier stages. Assasinated by order of Kondou.
*Kat-chan*-real childhood name of Kondou Isami, before he was adopted his name was Katsugoro Miyagawa