On the night of November 18, 1867, Ito Kashitaro—who had resigned from the Shinsengumi to form the Goryo Eji (Kodaiji-to)—was assassinated by the Shinsengumi, and then his body was used as bait to ambush and kill three Goryo Eji members who came to retrieve it: Todo Heisuke, Monai Ariyuki, and Hattori Takeo. Ito had joined the Shinsengumi with his Hokushin Itto-ryu swordsmanship but resigned in March 1867 with a dozen comrades to form the Goryo Eji under the pretext of guarding imperial tombs. However, Hijikata Toshizo judged that Ito knew too many of the shogunate's secrets and ordered his assassination. After killing Ito near Aburakoji Shichijo and leaving the body as bait, the Shinsengumi killed the three men who came to retrieve it. The incident is inscribed in Bakumatsu history as demonstrating the Shinsengumi's harsh internal regulations and internal divisions.