Kondō Isami
In 1863, Hijikata and Kondō Isami joined the Rōshigumi in Edo, they arrived in Mibu, Kyoto and remained there as the Mibu Rōshigumi while the rest returned to Edo. Later, when Mibu Rōshigumi was renamed as the Shinsengumi, Kondō and two other men, Serizawa Kamo and Niimi Nishiki, became joint leaders of the group, and Hijikata served as one of the deputy leaders. Shinsengumi served as a special police force in Kyoto that fought against the Reformists under Matsudaira Katamori, the Daimyō of Aizu.