"Hijikata—Toshizō."

Hijikata Toshizō was a warrior in the Bakumatsu era, serving as the vice-commander of the Shinsengumi under the Tokugawa shogunate. He was known for his brutal methods.

Indeed, he was the "Merciless Vice-Commander" of legend. During the Boshin War that began the Meiji Restoration, the defeated shogunate army retreated to Hokkaidō and Hijikata Toshizō went with them.

Hijikata Toshizō's later exploits were very well-known to history enthusiasts.

Entering an audience with Lord Tenryuu, the sacred beast that had descended upon the plains of Hokkaidō, he obtained a pack of retainer beasts, the Mibu wolves. Fighting as the commander of the shogunate troops across various battlefields with the Mibu wolves by his side, he protected Hokkaidō from the Meiji government's invasion.

The current imperial family had roots in the northern court that had fled to Hokkaidō. Consequently, after the Second World War, the name of Hijikata Toshizō came to the forefront as a hero who had protected the nation.

Furthermore, national historical novelists had written a series of masterpieces using the Shinsengumi as a theme.