The traces of Samurai – Sanjo Bridge

• During the latest years of the Tokugawa Shogunate (also called the bakumatsu period), there was a huge fight between the two major clans in Japan: Shinsengumi (the clan that supported the shogunate) and Choshu (the clan that supported the emperor).
• They always had fights mostly in Kyoto where the emperor lived.
• The guns were banned so the fights involved the blades and of course the katana.
• In July 1864, the Choshu clan was planning to set fire in Kyoto to create a chaos and bring back the emperor to power.
• But the Shinsengumi attacked them in a place called Ikeda Inn.
• The fight continued on the nearby bridge and the blade traces can be seen today.
• The shinsengumi were outnumbered but won the fight by killing 8 members of the Choshu clan and arresting dozens of the Choshu clan members.