WesWorld

L.1.a-------- Shinsengumi
L.1.b-------- Oniwabanshu
L.1.c-------- Keisatsu
L.1.c1------------ Jitte-mon
L.1.c2------------ Daikan
L.1.c3------------ Junsakenbutai
L.1.d-------- Yakuza
L.1.e-------- Ninja

Security of the Empire

[SIZE=4]Shinsengumi: the Wolves of Mibu[/SIZE]

“Makoto” (sincerity)

Main base: Mibu
Leader: Taisa Jeehuubaa Edoga.

For over thirty years, the Shinsengumi has maintained order and peace across the empire. Their justice is swift and death by their blades, sometimes, even swifter.
In the second half of the 19th century, they were the elite, notorious, government-sanctioned and exceptionally skilled swordsman-supporters of the Tokugawa Bakufu. the Shinsengumi (‘newly selected corps’) were originally established in 1863 to suppress the Ishin Shishi and restore law and order to the blood-soaked streets of the Imperial Capital, Kyoto.
In 1864, they managed to foil an Ishin Shishi plot to overthrow the Bakufu and disturb the piece of the Imperial Capital and they became overnight heroes. This is considered to be the Shinsengumi’s most well known prestation during the turmoil of the 1860s. At its peak during the Bakumatsu, the Shinsengumi had about 300 men.
After most of the ruling powers were returned to Emperor Meiji in 1868, Kondou Isami, captain of the Shinsengumi in those days, found the organization falling apart. The Shinsengumi were considered to be traitors by many and they left Kyoto in May, 1868. Okita Souji, captain of the first troop, left the Shinsengumi due to health reasons. This way, Kondou lost one of his greatest swordsmen. Hijikata Toshizo, vice captain of the Shinsengumi, was shot to death in a battle in 1869. Takeda Kanryuusai, captain of the fifth troop, had betrayed the Shinsengumi and was assassinated. Numerous men died, either together with Hijikata Toshizo, assassinated, or killed by angry civilians. Others left the ranks of the Shinsengumi to live a peaceful life. The Hijikata Toshizo incident finally led to the total ban on firearms in 1874.
In 1875, Kondou and the remnants of the Shinsengumi, 29 men in all, were summoned by Shogun Yoshinobu. The Shogun had various meetings with the Emperor and the decision was made to breathe new life into the Shinsengumi. Their new duty was to act as a police force and keep order in Edo. Kondou had a hard time rebuilding the Shinsengumi, and eventually had to lookthrough the military ranks searching men who could skillfully handle firearms. In 1882, Kondou had managed to get the Shinsengumi’s strength back to 300 men. Various former Shinsengumi members who decided to help out their former chief. One boost to Shinsengumi morale was the return of Okita Souji. Despite still having some health problems, he felt that he had recovered enough to join the Shinsengumi ranks once more.
It was quite a mixture of men with katana, yari, naginata, revolvers, and rifles. One of the new members, Shimazaki Etsuya, even had a Gattling gun which he (or so he said) had managed to ‘acquire’ in the United States. While Kondou wondered how to deploy a cumbersome weapon like the Gattling, he still saw great potential in the weapon. While there was a ban on firearms, there were various reports of gun incidents. A weapon like the Gattling gun could easily discourage any man with a firearm to oppose the Shinsengumi.
Shimazaki was an armsdealer, and once Kondou found this out, he ordered Shimazaki to see if he could find more weapons that could be of use to the Shinsengumi. Kondou never really liked using firearm, but he knew that they were a necessary item to have in the Shinsengumi arsenal. Through various contacts, Shimazaki managaged to get his hands many new weapons, including explosives, a pair of newer versions of the Gattling gun in 1885 as well as three of the new Maxim Machine-Guns in early 1887.
In 1888, there was some unrest in the Imperial Capital about the Governments actions, which soon escalated when several prominent pro Meiji politicians were assassinated. Kondou and the Shinsengumi were sent to Kyoto and soundly defeated the government soldiers by Kondou’s clever use of his swordsmen, riflemen and his machine guns.
Over the decades that followed, the Shinsengumi grew in size and strength and changed from Edo’s police force of hundreds of expert swordsmen and riflemen to the nation’s special security force of thousands of expert swordsmen and marksmen.
Kondou led the Shinsengumi until the day he died in 1913. He was replaced by the man who currently leads the Shinsengumi, Jeehuubaa Edoga.
Today, they are lead by the best and the troops are among the best in the Empire, perhaps even the world. Under their scarlet red flag which bears the kanji "Makoto", the Shinsengumi enforces the laws of the government across the lands. Today, more than ever, citizens respect and opponents fear the blue and white of the Wolves of Mibu.


“Go-you!” (Official Business!) Shinsengumi about to storm an inn where a number of guests have been stirring up trouble.

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For more Shinsengumi Cosplay by Team [ Asagi no kai ] , see http://www7.big.or.jp/~a-a/kuon/

Eyes and Ears of the Empire

[SIZE=4]Oniwabanshuu[/SIZE]

O-niwaban: ‘One in the Garden’. A ninja.
Main base: Edo
Leader: Okashira Shinomori Kyoshi
The secret agents of the Shogunate, heard but never seen. It was not until recently that the Oniwabanshuu has been organized into the large and efficient network as it is today, controlled from the military capital of Edo.
The Oniwabanshuu work in secret so most of their work is not known to the general public, something they wish to keep that way.

Law and Order of the Empire

[SIZE=4]Keisatsu[/SIZE]
The police
Main base: Edo
Leader: Soukan Fujita Toshiro
The police, but usually referred to as the police force. The Jitte-mon, the Daikan and the Junsakenbutai are all part of the police force.

Jitte-mon
A policeman. The street cops of the Edo period carried jitte, a specialized weapon about 18 inches long with no cutting edge – just two prongs designed to catch and snap off an opponents sword blade.
Today, the Jitte-mon are the local police and the jitte has become more of a symbol, since almost all Jitte-mon carry a firearm.

Daikan
The primary local representative of the Shogunate in territories outside of the capital of Edo. The daikan and his staff collected taxes owed to Edo and oversaw public works, agriculture, and other projects administered by the central government.
Today the Daikan are the national police and their shout of ‘go-you’ (‘official business’), also used by the Shinsengumi, is still one of the most dreaded words in the world of the criminal elements.

Junsakenbutai
The Police Sword Corps. The members of the Junsakenbutai are all able police swordsmen, enforcing the law. They’re authorized to use (deadly) force to deal with the situations when they believe it is necessary. This is something that has caused a lot of trouble in the past and at one time at the end of the 1870s, the Junsakenbutai were disbanded due to various acts of aggression against civilians. However the Junsakenbutai was reinstated after the Kyoto incident of 1888 under the guidance of Nagakura Shinpachi, captain of the second unit of the Shinsengumi. In time the Junsakenbutai grew in strength as many people who wished to join the Shinsengumi and failed to get through training are often still good enough to become part of the Junsakenbutai and deal with justice in the hans.
Like the other sections of the police, the Junsakenbutai, too, changed with time and use firearms, but still use their swords. Unlike the Shinsengumi, the average Junsakenbutai swordsman is not as good, and the Junsakenbutai, like the Jitte-mon, are local police.

The Crime World of the Empire

[SIZE=4]Yakuza[/SIZE]

Main base: Various
Leader: Various
Japan’s criminal syndicates. In the Edo period Yakuza were a common part of the landscape, running houses of gambling and prostitution. As long as they did not overstep their bounds, they were tolerated by the authorities, a tradition little changed in modern Japan.
Of all groups, none is bigger than the Yamaguchi-gumi operating out of Kobe. It is believed to be the biggest criminal organization in the world, with the Oniwabanshuu estimating that it consists of over 60,000 men and that they operate in more than 30 nations around the world.
The Kumicho of the Yamaguchi-gumi is Yamaguchi Noboru. His ‘legal’ front is the Osaka-based International Business Organization for Industries, Imports and Exports, led by his lieutenant, Yoshinori Watanabe.
The Yakuza deal in extortion, gambling, the sex industry, guns, drugs, and real estate and construction kickback schemes. They are also involved in stock market manipulation and Internet pornography (:-)).


Yoshinori Watanabe, owner of the International Business Organization for Industries, Imports and Exports.
(have yet to find a picture of Yamaguchi Noboru)

(OOC: from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yamaguchi-gumi)
(OOC2: regarding the number of Yamaguchi-gumi ‘employees’, I used the number given here (165,000 in 1999) and took about 35-40% of that)
(OOC3: not only stock market manipulation, but gold market as well though the article does not mention this; Higher gold price = higher Ryo value)