Hijikata Toshizō

was a Japanese swordsman of the Bakumatsu period and of the Shinsengumi. As Vice-Commander, he served the Tokugawa Shogunate and co-led his group in its resistance against the imperial rule brought about by the Meiji Restoration. He fought against the Imperial Army during the Boshin War until his death at the Battle of Hakodate, which ended the war.

Background was born on May 31, 1835, in the Ishida village, Tama region of Musashi Province (present day Ishida, Hino, Tokyo), Japan. He was the youngest of ten children and his father Hijikata Yoshiatsu (Hayato), a well-to-do farmer, died a few months before his birth. His eldest brother Tamejiro, was born blind and as a result, could not inherit the family property. His third older brother Daisaku (later Kasuya Ryojin), was adopted to another family and would later become a physician. His eldest sister Shuu died when he was about three years old and his mother Etsu also died when he was six years old, and he was therefore raised by his second older brother Kiroku and sister-in-law.

He was apparently tall compared to the average Japanese men of the period, and it is said that he was very handsome. He was said to be spoiled at an early age and was alleged to be mean to all but his friends and family. This changed when a 21-year-old swordsman from the Aizu clan known for opposing the Reformists was forced to commit seppuku. When Hijikata attended the man's funeral, he apparently cried in public.

Hijikata spent his youth selling his family's Ishida san'yaku (medicine for treating injuries such as bruises and broken bones) while practicing his self-taught kenjutsu. His brother-in-law, Satō Hikogorō, who was married to his older sister Nobu, managed a Tennen Rishin-ryū dojo in Hino; through Satō, Hijikata later met Kondō Isami and was formally enrolled at the Tennen Rishin-ryū's Shieikan in 1859. He was given the rank of Yoriai (寄合格 Yoriai-kaku) in early 1868.

Boshin War

Following the Boshin War in 1868, Kondō and Hijikata led the Shinsengumi in their final battles against the new government and fought in the Battle of Toba–Fushimi in January 1868. The Shinsengumi returned to Edo and was later reformed into a unit known as the and departed from Edo for Kōfu Castle on March 24 upon orders to suppress the uprisings there. But while on the way there, they received news on March 28 that the Kōfu Castle was taken by Imperial Court forces led by Itagaki Taisuke and later settled at the town of Katsunuma five miles east of Kōfu.

On March 29, 1868, Kondō, Hijikata and the Kōyō Chinbutai resisted an attack by the Imperial forces at the Battle of Kōshū-Katsunuma for about two hours but lost, and they were scattered and fled to Edo.

On April 11, 1868, Kondō, Hijikata and the Kōyō Chinbutai departed Edo again and later set up a temporary headquarters at the Kaneko family estate, northeast of Edo. They later moved to a new quarters in Nagareyama on April 25, 1868.

During the training at Nagareyama on April 26, 1868, the Kōyō Chinbutai were caught by surprise by the 200 strong Imperial forces led by Vice-chief of Staff Arima Tota of Satsuma Domain and Kondō was ordered to go with them to their camp at Koshigaya. He was later brought to Itabashi on April 27, 1868, for questioning. On the same day Hijikata went to Edo to see Katsu Kaishū and asked for his help in getting a pardon for Kondō. On the following day, a messenger arrived at Itabashi with a letter seemingly written by Katsu requesting that Kondō's life to be spared, but the messenger was arrested and the request was denied.

Following his trial on April 30, 1868, Kondō was executed at Itabashi execution grounds on May 17, 1868. Hijikata, convalesced from a foot injury sustained at the Battle of Utsunomiya Castle, brought Kondō's strands of hair to Aizu and was said to have personally supervised the erection of Kondō's grave memorial at Tenneiji Temple.

Following the Battle of Bonari Pass, the next day on October 7, 1868, Hijikata met Saitō Hajime at the Inawashiro Castle and stayed at the Saitoya inn in Wakamatsu. When Hijikata decided to retreat from Aizu, Saitō and a small group of Shinsengumi parted with Hijikata and continued to battle in the Battle of Aizu until the very end. Hijikata and his rest of the Shinsengumi went to Sendai, where he joined up with Enomoto Takeaki's fleet. The novel was adapted into a film in 1966 and a television series in 1970 where Hijikata was played by Asahi Kurizuka. Adapted from the same novel in the 2021 film Baragaki: Unbroken Samurai, Hijikata was played by Junichi Okada, a member of Japanese boy band V6.

Hijikata is depicted in the 1999 film Gohatto ("Taboo") (played by Takeshi Kitano) and the 2013 NHK Taiga drama Yae no Sakura (played by Jun Murakami). He was also played by Koji Yamamoto in both the 2004 NHK Taiga drama series Shinsengumi! (including the single-episode sequel Shinsengumi!: Hijikata Toshizo Saigo no Ichinichi) and 2015 morning drama series Asa ga Kita. He is the protagonist in Morita Kenji's manga Getsumei Seiki, and in Mibu Robin's Baragaki ("Red Demon").

He is also featured in a number of other anime and manga series, including Gintama (an inspired character named Hijikata Tōshirō 土方 十四郎), Peacemaker Kurogane, Intrigue in the Bakumatsu - Irohanihoheto, Ghost Slayers Ayashi (as a child, with a brief glimpse of his future death); Kaze Hikaru, Shura no Toki, Hell Girl, Soar High! Isami (inspired character: Toshi Tsukikage) and the popular otome game/anime series Hakuouki: Shinsengumi Kitan. Hijikata is also a supporting character in Shin Teito Monogatari, the prequel to the bestselling historical fantasy novel Teito Monogatari (Hiroshi Aramata). In the manga and anime, Drifters, Hijikata serves as one of the antagonists, who holds hatred to the protagonist, Shimazu Toyohisa, because he is an ancestor of the Shimazu clan he fought. He is also a main character in the manga Golden Kamuy, having been secretly imprisoned in Abashiri Prison instead of killed. Hijikata appears in the 2014 historical fiction novel The Soldier and the Samurai. In 2024, the story of Hijikata served as a backdrop for the 27th Detective Conan movie The Million-Dollar Pentagram. Hijikata is a antagonist in anime series Ao no Miburo.

Hijikata is one of the main characters in the 2014 video game Ryū ga Gotoku Ishin!, voiced by Nakamura Shidō II. He has the visual likeness of previous series antagonist Yoshitaka Mine.

Hijikata appeared in the 2024 drama "With You I Bloom: The Shinsengumi Youth Chronicle" based on the 1963 Shinsengumi manga by Osamu Tezuka. He was portrayed by Shogo Sakamoto.

Hijikata was also portrayed in the drama series “Song of the samurai” by actor Yuki Yamada, telling the story of his rise to vice-commander of the shinsegumi.