Historical notes

Hakuouki is based on the story of the real Shinsengumi who lived in Japan in 19th century. Due to most characters having historical prototypes and participating in historical events, it might sometimes be confusing to distinguish between various terms and namings. Here is the list of important names, terms and events to understand the story better.
NOTE: This page has been written by the Admin based on her research, and the information here is paraphrased and simplified to save you some time in reading long wikipedia pages. Therefore the page is locked to be editable only by the admins. If you find any inconsistencies/missing information, please contact Lucy.
==The Edo Period (the Tokugawa period)==
The Edo period (江戸時代, Edo jidai) or Tokugawa period (徳川時代, Tokugawa jidai) is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan. During this period, Japan was ruled by the Tokugawa Shōgunate and their subordinate regional Daimyō (feudal lords) even though officially the head of the country was the Emperor. This period was known for economic growth, isolationist foreign policies ("Expel the barbarians"), art and culture blossoming and perpetual peace which means by the time the Shinsengumi became active, Japan had not had any major conflicts for over 200 years.
==Shogun==
Shōgun is a Japanese title from 1185 to 1868, which the word "Shōgunate" (lit. "tent government") derived from. It was the title of warlords, who, nominally appointed by the Emperor, were usually de facto the rulers of the country and were considered second in importance after the Emperor in terms of making decisions for the future of the nation. The Shinsengumi also served the shōgun as their primary military commander and protected him, finding great pride in it.
The word Shōgunate is an Anglicism, it does not exist in Japanese, it is the English version of the word Bakufu (幕府).
===Bakufu===
The Shōgun and his advisers were called Bakufu (幕府) which literally meant "government behind the curtain". They were in charge of all the administrative work as much as the military (but since Japan did not get involved into wars, Bakufu were in charge of Domestic policy, including town police). Despite being appointed by the Emperor, the Shōgun and Bakufu held immense power in the country, being the second branch of power, even though still serving the Emperor. 
All English sources translate this word into "Shogunate" to make it sound more English and therefore more understandable for English speakers. In Hakuouki, there are a lot of references to Bakufu, for example, in this episode when Kazama calls Hijikata and the Shinsengumi 幕府の犬 (Bakufu no Inu, dogs of the Shogunate).
Bakufu were the ones who gave orders to the Shinsengumi both as a police force and as a military unit later on, and they were the ones whose side the Shinsengumi took when the civil war started. Bakufu's existence was something that a lot of people disliked, which sparked the controversy and further conflicts of interests. 
===Tokugawa===
Tokugawa (徳川) is the surname of the lineage of Shōguns that were appointed to rule the country for over 250 years (from 1603 to 1868). The time of them being in charge, as well as the political organization itself, was called The Tokugawa Shōgunate (徳川幕府 Tokugawa bakufu). Therefore any mentioning of this surname in Hakuouki refers to the Shōgun and/or the political organization in charge of Japan at that time.
====Tokugawa Iemochi====
Tokugawa Iemochi was the Shōgun that was in power during the majority of events in Hakuōki: Shinsengumi Kitan. His death is announced in Episode 8, during the summer 1866. The cause of it was widely reported as heart failure due to beriberi, a disease caused by thiamine (vitamin B) deficiency.
==Hierarchy==
The vertical of power was the following: 
The Emperor (Kōmei till 1867 and then Meiji)⬇The Shōgun and Bakufu (Tokugawa Iemochi till 1866 and then Tokugawa Yoshinobu)⬇Daimyō⬇Domain
===Daimyo===
Daimyō (大名) were powerful Japanese magnates and feudal lords who ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the Shōgun and nominally to the Emperor. They controlled certain regions of Japan and had smaller clans or families serving them or operating with their support. One of the Daimyō that appeared in Hakuouki was Matsudaira Katamori (松平 容保) who was the 9th daimyō of the Aizu Domain and the Kyoto Shugoshoku (Military Commissioner of Kyoto). He established the Rōshigumi and later bestowed the name "Shinsengumi" upon them, funding their operations and participating in their affairs (according to Hakuouki: Reimeiroku, he was the one who ordered Kondou and Hijikata to kill Serizawa Kamo). 
===Domain===
Domain (藩 Han), or simply a clan, is a Japanese historical term for the estate of a Daimyō in the Edo period (1603–1868) and early Meiji period (1868–1912). Han or Bakufu-han (Daimyō domain) served as a system of de facto administrative divisions of Japan alongside the de jure provinces until they were abolished in the 1870s. The han belonged to Daimyō, the powerful samurai feudal lords, who governed them as personal property with autonomy as a vassal of the Tokugawa Shōgun. The main domains that appeared in Hakuouki were Aizu Domain (that was always serving the Bakufu and aiding the Shinsengumi with funds, military might and later a place to re-group), Satsuma Domain (that started with the Bakufu but then united with Chōshū) and Chōshū Domain that was always opposed to the Shinsengumi and caused mayhem in Kyoto and other cities. A few other Domains that were mentioned less often include Tosa Domain (part of which was Nagumo family that took care of Kaoru but Kaoru is not a real historical person) and Yodo Domain (that first betrayed the Shinsengumi and caused Inoue Genzaburo's death in Episode 12 of the first season).
===Hatamoto===
Hatamoto (旗本) were high-ranking vassals of the Tokugawa who served the Shōgun directly. They had the right to an audience with the Shōgun, and they were considered "bannermen" — those who protected the flag on the battlefield. Unlike in the past when many lords could have retainers, the Edo Period hatamoto served only the Bakufu as the retainers of the Tokugawa family. Hatamoto were highly paid but had a distinction between those who received payment from the Bakufu directly and those who had a lot of lands around the country (which made them similar to Daimyōs). In Episode 1 of the second season Kondou announces that he has been appointed Executive Lieutenant Minister which practically made him a Daimyō (in fact — a hatamoto with Kōfu Castle in his possession), and later, during his last conversation with Hijikata in Episode 4, he mentions that his plan is to pretend like the Shinsengumi base actually belongs to a group protecting a hatamoto, assuming that the Imperial Loyalists would not kill a high-ranking vassal of the Bakufu. In the military, the hatamoto rank was ~ equal to an officer.
==Imperial nationalists==
Imperialism was a term for the philosophical and political leanings of those who wanted to see the Emperor as the supreme administrative power for Japan, in place of the shōgun.
Imperial nationalists were the people who valued the Emperor's orders extremely highly, and specifically the order to "Expel the barbarians" which was aimed at ensuring Japan's ability to be self-sustained, mainly focusing on the economy and foreign trade reduction. They also believed that the Shōgunate (or Bakufu) did not have enough power to protect Japan from the "barbarians" (foreign invaders) and needed to be overthrown and replaced by a government more capable of showing its loyalty to the Emperor by enforcing the Emperor’s will. The most devoted nationalists promoted the Emperor's supreme authority. The Shinsengumi were organized by the Bakufu and had opposing views to imperial nationalists' (one of such nationalists was Kashitarou Itou which is why the Shinsengumi were skeptical of him joining forces with them).
The Satsuma were the most powerful Domain among the opposing ones, even though their decision to overthrow the Bakufu did not come right away unlike the Chōshū's. They later formed the Satchō Alliance with the Chōshū Domain (who were publicly expressive of their dissent towards the Bakufu) and became the main force in the Bakufu regime destruction. 
==Expel the barbarians==
Expel the barbarians was both an order that the Emperor gave in 1863 and the motto of a political movement in Japan (Sonnō jōi 尊王攘夷, Revere the Emperor, expel the barbarians). This was referred to the Westernization of Japan following the opening of the country by Commodore Perry in 1854, it basically meant that the people did not want foreigners to come to Japan and/or trade there. This part is also the key to understanding why people were fighting even though both the Bakufu AND the Imperial nationalists wanted the same: the nationalists believed that Bakufu were too weak to follow this order that the Emperor had given, and they did not want the Bakufu to stay in power. The Bakufu were defending themselves from such allegations while also trying to change the overall situation with Japanese Westernization.
==Mibu==
Mibu is a village (or a small town) located in Kanto region (near Tokyo). It is where the Rōshigumi (the previous name for the Shinsengumi) had their first headquarters. That is why they are often called "Wolves from Mibu". They earned this nickname due to Serizawa's order to put a ronin's head on display in Osaka as a warning because "bad reputation is better than no reputation".
==Edo vs. Ezo==
Edo is the former name of Tokyo.
Ezo (蝦夷) (also spelled Yezo or Yeso) is the Japanese term historically used to refer to the people and the lands to the northeast of the Japanese island of Honshu. This included the northern Japanese island of Hokkaidō, which changed its name from "Ezo" to "Hokkaidō" in 1869, and sometimes included Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands. Hence Takeaki Enomoto is the head of this territory and the people living on it rather than a specific city. 
There was approximately 1.200km between Edo and Ezo therefore travelling was quite long and problematic. 
===The Republic of Ezo===
The Republic of Ezo, as it is called in Hakuōki: Hekketsuroku, was a short-lived separatist entity established in 1869 by a part of the former military of the Tokugawa Bakufu. It was intended to be a refuge for the remnants of the Tokugawa clan and a stronghold of samurai tradition, not an independent state. And it was also the first attempt to institute democracy in Japan, though voting was allowed only to the samurai caste. The Republic of Ezo existed for five months before being annexed by the newly established Empire of Japan.
==Shimabara==
Shimabara is a town, which was the capital of Shimabara Domain during the Edo period and the district in Kyoto where one could find licensed courtesans (geisha, maiko). It was also referred to as the Red-Light district. Men often came to have a drink in a female company or even gathered there as a group in case of a celebration. Kimigiku and Kosuzu worked in Shimabara at different points in time. The plot of Hakuouki: Sekkaroku goes around Chizuru infiltrating Shimabara.
==Summer 1866==
These events are not shown in Hakuouki and are only mentioned briefly by Chizuru and then Itou in Episode 8 of Season 1 which may cause some confusion. 
During the summer 1866, Chōshū were back to their extremist views and the plans to oppose the Bakufu, so the Bakufu announced its intention to lead the Second Chōshū expedition (the first one was in August 1864 when Chōshū handed over the ringleaders of the Kinmon Rebellion) to punish the renegade Domain. This, in turn, prompted Chōshū to form a secret alliance with Satsuma. In the summer of 1866, the Bakufu was defeated by Chōshū, leading to a considerable loss of authority. Therefore, in Episode 8 and further we see the Shinsengumi being mistreated again (due to them being allies of the Bakufu who have lost authority) and waging war not only with Chōshū but also with Satsuma (later referred to as SatChō 薩長).
Shortly after this expedition, the Shōgun Tokugawa Iemochi died (the reasons were officially unrelated to the conflict). 
==January 1867==
This is a small addition to the events in Episode 9 of Season 1 that were mentioned but not shown: Emperor Kōmei, that was the ruler of Japan, died in January 1867 of smallpox. He was always against anti-bakufu forces, so his death was a good sign for them, that is why Kashitarou Itou decided to be the Guardian of his Tomb.
==Bakumatsu==
Bakumatsu (幕末, "End of the bakufu") was the final years of the Edo period when the Tokugawa Bakufu ended. 
Between 1853 and 1867, Japan experienced a significant transformation in its foreign policy and government structure. This period, known as the Bakumatsu, marked the end of Japan's isolationist policy (sakoku) and the transition from the feudal Tokugawa Bakufu to the modern Meiji government (Meiji was the next Emperor who initiated the change at the end of 1867).
The Bakumatsu era was characterized by a major ideological and political divide between two prominent factions. On one side were the pro-imperial nationalists known as ishin shishi, who advocated for the restoration of imperial power. On the other side were the Bakufu forces, who fought to ensure that she shōgun would remain in power, which included the elite swordsmen of the Shinsengumi. These two groups represented the most visible powers during this time of change.
However, numerous other factions also sought to exploit the chaos of the Bakumatsu period to gain personal power. The dissatisfaction stemmed from various factors. 
*Firstly, the tozama Daimyō, or outside lords, harbored growing resentment due to their exclusion from influential positions within the Bakufu. Their predecessors had fought against the Tokugawa forces in the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, which led to their permanent marginalization.
*Secondly, the arrival of Matthew C. Perry and the opening of Japan to the West fueled anti-Western sentiment. This sentiment was expressed through the slogan "sonnō jōi", meaning "revere the Emperor, expel the barbarians".
The turning point of the Bakumatsu came during the Boshin War and the Battle of Toba–Fushimi. It was in these conflicts that the pro-Bakufu forces suffered defeat, shaping the course of events leading to the establishment of the Meiji government.
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