From the Ansei Purge (1858) to the Restoration of Imperial Rule (1867), Kyoto was the epicenter of political assassinations and clashes among the Shinsengumi, Sakamoto Ryoma, the Satsuma–Choshu alliance patriots, and the Aizu domain. This six-site course follows not the geographical loop but the historical timeline — starting at the ruins of Honnoji where the 1582 Honnoji Incident unfolded, then Kurodani Konkai Komyoji (Aizu domain headquarters as Kyoto Protector), Mibudera (Shinsengumi barracks), Teradaya (site of the 1862 and 1866 Teradaya incidents), Nijo Castle (where the shogun returned power to the emperor), and finally Ryozen Gokoku Jinja where the patriots' souls rest. The route covers roughly 12 km combining walking and Kyoto City Bus, taking 7–8 hours starting in the early morning. Shinsengumi fans can trace Okita Soji, Kondo Isami and Serizawa Kamo; Ryoma admirers can find the bullet holes at Teradaya and his grave at Ryozen; royalists encounter statues of Kido Takayoshi, Takasugi Shinsaku and Saigo Takamori. A definitive Kyoto Bakumatsu pilgrimage that lets you stand inside scenes from NHK Taiga dramas "Ryomaden," "Yae no Sakura," "Shinsengumi!" and "Reach Beyond the Blue Sky."