Like a Dragon: Ishin!

Like a Dragon: Ishin! and Bakumatsu Kyoto

Like a Dragon: Ishin! (Sega / RGG Studio, 2023 remake) sets the beloved Yakuza series characters as Bakumatsu-era samurai and activists, with Sakamoto Ryōma as the protagonist. The open-world "Kyo" is a meticulous recreation of Ansei-to-Keiō period Kyoto, featuring the Mibu Shinsengumi headquarters, Gion, and Shimabara in accurate historical locations.

Four Combat Styles and Japanese Swords

The game's unique combat system — freely switching between sword, fists, pistol, and spear — reflects the transitional weapons culture of the Bakumatsu era, when swords remained primary even as Western firearms rapidly penetrated the military landscape. The sword style features techniques named after real iaijutsu and kenjutsu forms, and the variety of blade types available (uchigatana, curved, naginata-type) subtly conveys the diversity of Japanese sword forms across history.

The Shinsengumi and Bakumatsu Swordsmen

The game's rich portrayal of the Shinsengumi — Kondō Isami, Hijikata Toshizō, Okita Sōji, Saitō Hajime — recreates their individual fighting styles as gameplay. The historical Shinsengumi was a sword-based combat unit grounded in the Tennen Rishin-ryū school. Famous Bakumatsu swords associated with these figures — Hijikata's Izumi-no-kami Kanesada and Okita's Kashū Kiyomitsu — are celebrated examples of late-period sword craftsmanship.

Bakumatsu Kyoto and Sword Culture

Kyoto was the historic birthplace of Japan's greatest Yamashiro-den swordsmith schools (Sanjō, Awataguchi, Rai). The game's open-world Kyoto bridges the sword culture of the ancient capital with the final era of samurai sword-wearing — a historical continuity that DATEKATANA values deeply.

Like a Dragon: Ishin! offers players an engaging entry point into Bakumatsu sword culture, and DATEKATANA provides the next step: authentic Japanese swords from the tradition these game characters' historical counterparts actually carried.