Abstract
In Japan, the shogunate police force called the Shinsengumi is one of the most popular subjects of the Bakumatsu Era (1853–1867), with stories about the group appearing in films, television dramas, manga, anime, video games, and tourist attractions throughout the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. The large majority of these depictions include the group's now iconic uniform: the yamagata haori (mountain-pattern coat), which was originally inspired by the similarly designed costume of the legendary forty-seven rōnin in the immensely popular 1748 kabuki play Kanadehon Chūshingura ("The Treasury of Loyal Retainers"), which in turn was modeled after merchant class firemen's wear of the Edo Period (1603–1868). I examine how the Shinsengumi's yamagata haori is used in visual depictions of the group during three loosely delineated periods that correspond to how they were generally perceived in popular culture: the 1920s and 1930s, where the Shinsengumi served as villains; the 1950s and 1960s, where the Shinsengumi were more closely associated with the celebrated forty-seven rōnin; and the 2000s and 2010s, where the Shinsengumi were presented as romantic heroes. However, I show that none of these general perceptions are entirely accurate, and that visual artists in each period used the yamagata haori to represent multiple aspects of the group: terror and redemption, loyalty and tragedy, romance and self-determination. This fluidity of interpretation is what has allowed the Shinsengumi uniform to become the widespread and popular symbol of Japanese culture that it is today.