VAIAV-018 Bakumatsu Doting Ronin and Intimate Life

The Shinsengumi was a vigilante force, what we would now call vigilantes. It was the third year of the Bunkyu era, during the late Edo period. Recruited by the Tokugawa shogunate, they made their way to Kyoto one after another. They were a group of roughly 200 rōnin. This was the Shinsengumi. Their commander was Isami Kondō. Hijikata Toshizō, the main figure in this work, served as vice commander. They were an armed group responsible for maintaining order in the turbulent Kyoto of the late Edo period. Their main duties were suppressing imperial loyalists and unruly rōnin. Because the times were so chaotic, many books have been published about the Shinsengumi, yet there are still many things about them that remain unresolved. In a sense, they can be seen as a hidden side of history. As a result, many aspects of Hijikata’s character also remain shrouded in mystery. This work shines a light on one such darker side of Hijikata. Hijikata was overwhelmed by his intense desires. Perhaps this was partly because he lived each day as if tomorrow might never come. Or perhaps, as a man, he simply wanted to leave behind descendants. He devoted himself to pursuing intimacy with relentless passion. This work vividly and realistically portrays those intense and turbulent days in fine detail. Using a POV style, it is filmed so that you can experience it as if it were happening to you. Hijikata and you, as though you had slipped back in time to the late Edo period. We highly recommend it as a must-see.