Saito Hajime — the Shinsengumi captain who became a Meiji police officer
Saito Hajime (斎藤一, 1844–1915) was the commander of the third unit of the Shinsengumi, the shogunate's police force in Kyoto, who after the force split infiltrated the group of his former comrade Ito Kashitaro. In the Boshin War, Saito Hajime stayed to defend Aizu when Hijikata Toshizo went north, and after the Restoration he took the name Fujita Goro and served in the Tokyo police; he died in the Taisho era, in 1915.
"Rurouni Kenshin" and "Hakuoki" turned Saito Hajime into either a master of the invented gatotsu technique or a secret agent on the edge of mysticism. Let's look at whom he spied on within his own force and why he did not go north with Hijikata. And also — how the Shinsengumi captain became a Meiji police officer under a new name, and where the legend of his left-handedness and death in the seiza pose came from.
From secret agent in the Shinsengumi to Meiji police officer
Saito Hajime was born in 1844 in Edo and in 1863 joined the ronin corps that became the core of the Shinsengumi, where he eventually led the third unit. In 1867, his former comrade Ito Kashitaro took some of the fighters and founded a separate Goryo-eji group. Saito, on Kondo Isami's orders, secretly joined them as an informant, and before being exposed he fled back, warning of a planned assassination attempt on Kondo. In the Boshin War, when Hijikata Toshizo retreated north to Hakodate with the remnants of the force, Saito stayed to defend the Aizu domain until its surrender.
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1844 | born in Edo |
| 1863 | joins the corps that became the core of the Shinsengumi |
| 1867 | infiltrates Ito Kashitaro's group as an informant |
| 1868 | in the Boshin War stays with Aizu, does not go north with Hijikata |
| 1874 | under the name Fujita Goro enters service in the Tokyo police |
| 1877 | fights in police units against the Satsuma Rebellion |
| September 28, 1915 | dies in Tokyo |
Exile to Tonami and a new life under the name Fujita Goro
After the surrender of Aizu, the domain's samurai, including Saito, were sent into exile — to the meager, newly established lands of the Tonami domain in northern Honshu. There he took a new name, Fujita Goro (藤田五郎), under which he lived the rest of his life. In 1874 he moved to Tokyo and joined the metropolitan police, and in 1877 he fought against the Satsuma Rebellion as part of police units. Later he served in educational institutions in Tokyo.
一 is read "hajime": how the simplest character became a name
一 — значение: one, beginning (reading in names) — онъёми: イチ、イツ — кунъёми: ひと-、ひと.つ — 1 штрих(ов). 一 — "one": Saito Hajime's entire personal name consists of this single character. Usually 一 is read as "ichi" or "hito-", but in names it has a special reading "hajime" — "beginning".
Why "one" is read as "beginning"
The name Hajime means "beginning", and it is written with various characters — 一, 初, 元, 肇. The variant 一 for this name is customary: "one, first" easily becomes "beginning". Such readings are called nanori (名乗り): they appear only in names and are learned separately from the usual on'yomi and kun'yomi.
| Japanese | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| 斎藤一 | Saitō Hajime · Saitō Hajime | Full name — in search you may also see "Saito Hajime" |
| 藤田五郎 | Fujita Gorō · Fujita Gorō | The name under which he lived after the Restoration |
| 三番隊 | sanbantai · sanbantai | The third Shinsengumi unit under his command |
| 警視庁 | Keishichō · Keishichō | The Tokyo Metropolitan Police, where he served |
| 一 | hajime · hajime | "Beginning" — the reading of the character "one" in personal names |
Listen to how the name 一 (hajime) sounds — the app will rate your pronunciation.
A technique that never existed: what manga and legends gave him
Saito Hajime is one of the few senior Shinsengumi commanders who survived the bakumatsu and lived into the Taisho era: alongside him, for example, Nagakura Shinpachi, commander of the second unit, also achieved this, dying in the same year 1915. So calling Saito the only long-lived member of the force is incorrect — but it is with his name that later legends are most often associated.
- Fiction: the signature gatotsu technique from "Rurouni Kenshin". The manga author Watsuki Nobuhiro invented it himself, but he started from a real detail — according to tradition, Saito was indeed skilled at a one-handed thrust with his left hand, and this technique in the manga was combined with Hijikata's technique.
- Legend: Saito was left-handed in fencing. The detail is repeated in later retellings and formed the basis of "gatotsu", but how far it is confirmed by documents of the bakumatsu era itself, rather than by reminiscences, is an open question.
- Legend: he died sitting in the seiza pose. This detail about Saito's final minutes is passed down through family and later reminiscences, not through a protocol or medical certificate.
FAQ
- What is Saito Hajime remembered for?
- Commander of the third unit of the Shinsengumi — the shogunate's police force in Kyoto — who in 1867 infiltrated the splinter group of Ito Kashitaro as an informant. After the Boshin War he took the name Fujita Goro and served in the Tokyo police.
- How is the name Saito Hajime written in Japanese and why?
- 斎藤一 — a two-character surname and a one-character personal name 一 ("one"), which here is read as a name — "hajime" ("beginning"). In search you may see the spelling "Saito Hajime" — the correct reading is still Hajime.
- What did Saito Hajime do after the Boshin War?
- Under the new name Fujita Goro he was exiled along with other Aizu samurai to the Tonami domain, and from 1874 he served in the Tokyo police. In 1877 he fought against the Satsuma Rebellion in police units, and later served in educational institutions in Tokyo.
- Is it true that Saito Hajime was the only Shinsengumi commander who lived to old age?
- No. Alongside him, Nagakura Shinpachi, commander of the second unit, also lived until 1915 — both died in the same year. Saito's long life after the bakumatsu is unusual for the force's senior command, but not unique.
- Is the gatotsu technique from "Rurouni Kenshin" real?
- No, the technique was invented by the manga author Watsuki Nobuhiro. He started from a real detail: according to tradition, Saito was skilled at a one-handed thrust with his left hand — this technique in the manga was combined with Hijikata's technique and turned into the character's signature strike.
- Where does Saito Hajime appear in anime and games?
- In "Rurouni Kenshin" he is one of the main characters under the name Fujita Goro. In the "Hakuoki" franchise — a hero of a fantasy plot about the Shinsengumi against a supernatural threat. In "Gintama" he is portrayed under the name Saito Shimaru (斎藤終) — the silent commander of the third unit of the Shinsengumi with an afro hairstyle.
Sources
Updated: 2026-09-13