- List of Photographs
- Map of Japan
- Map of Edo and Vicinity
- Map of Kyoto
- Map of Ezo
- Note on Japanese Pronunciation
- Author’s Note
- Preface
- Prologue
- Historical Background
- Loyal and Patriotic Corps
- Newly Selected Corps
- Of Insult and Retribution
- The Purge
- A Propensity to Kill
- Slaughter at the Ikéda’ya
- A Tale of Bushido
- Battle at the Forbidden Gates
- Return of a Hero
- Endings and Transformations
- Blood at the Crossroads
- Of Outrage, Fury and Inexorable Fate
- Civil War
- The Peasant as Feudal Lord
- Of Defeat, Disgrace and Apotheosis
- Epilogue: Hijikata’s Last Fight
- Appendix I
- Appendix II: The Survivors
- Table of Era Names and Their Corresponding Years in Western Chronology
- Glossary of Japanese Terms
- Bibliography
- Source Notes
- Index