Samurai Assassination - Death of Shinsengumi Leader Serizawa Kamo
Japan in the mid-19th century was in turmoil. The two centuries of seclusion from the outside world had been shattered by the arrival of the black ships of the American Commodore Perry in 1853. The once strong and secure Tokugawa Shogunate government began to totter and reel. Anti-Shogun activists chanted " Sonno Joi !" (" Revere the Emperor! Expel the Foreigners! ") wanting a return of power to the ancient Imperial Court. Assassinations became the order of the day. A top Shogunate official was assassinated in front of the very gates of the Shogun's castle in 1860. In early 1863 a historical meeting between the Shogun and the Emperor was to take place in Kyoto. Such a meeting between the Shogun and the Emperor had not taken place since the mid-17th century. To protect the Shogun, the Shogunate raised a force of ronin (masterless samurai) known as the Roshigumi. Upon arriving in Kyoto, the leader of the Roshigumi promptly revealed he was really wo...