There is not a lot of historically verifiable information about Serizawa Kamo, co-commander and co-founder of the Shinsengumi along with Kondo Isami. According to one contemporary from Aizu, Serizawa “was extremely courageous, but since he was violent, if one of his subordinates did something to displease him, he would beat him nearly to death.” 

I explore the enigma that is Serizawa Kamo in my forthcoming Samurai Swordsmen: The Definitive History of the Shinsengumi amid the Fall of the Tokugawa Bakufu.

(This photo of Serizawa’s grave at Mibu Temple in Kyoto, shared with that of his cohort Hirayama Goro, was taken on October 11, 2016.)

Samurai Swordsmen: The Definitive History of the Shinsengumi (Helion, 2026) is now in production.
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