Many female fans also visit the tombs of Shinsen-gumi members, who, together with Imperial loyalists such as Ryoma SAKAMOTO, are "idols of Japanese history"; but as the Meiji Government was established by Imperial loyalists who were opposed to them, hardly any notice was taken of Shinsen-gumi from a historical standpoint until recently, and their current popularity owes much to many novels about them written by such people as Kan SHIMOZAWA, Ryotaro SHIBA, and also TV dramas, movies, etc.
新撰組組員の墓参りをする女性ファンも多く、坂本龍馬ら勤皇の志士と共に“日本史のアイドル的存在”となっているが、明治政府がかれらと敵対する勤皇派志士たちによって設立された経緯もあり、近年まで史学的にもほとんど注目されることがなく、現在における人気は子母沢寛や司馬遼太郎らによる新選組をテーマにした数々の小説やTVドラマ・映画等の影響が大きい。