A swordfight ensues. Enraged by his betrayal, Tashiro attacks Sozaburo. Knowing Okita plans to murder Sozaburo, Hijikata is beset by unidentifiable emotion. A nearby cherry sapling slowly falls. H ijikata stands amid scattering cherry blossoms in the rain.
Japan sets out on the road to modernization.
Kondo is executed. Toshizo Hijikata and Genzaburo Inoue are killed in battle. Okita dies from illness. Only seven years after its foundation, the curtain is drawn on the Shinsen-gumi.