GinHiji

"I'm gonna search for the Yorozuya."

- Hijikata about Gintoki, Chapter 692

GinHiji is the slash ship between Sakata Gintoki and Hijikata Tōshirō from the Gintama fandom.

Canon
Gintoki and Hijikata meet in the 5th episode of the anime and 6th lesson of the Gintama manga. They start as enemies because Hijikata mistakes Gintoki for a terrorist but soon after they become friendly rivals instead. The two share similar personalities and hobbies which leads them to run into each other pretty often. As the anime progresses and the plot startts to develop they stop viewing each other as nuissences and begin to trust each other. When the Shinsengumi are disbanded by Nobunobu, Gintoki is supportive and aids Hijikata, saying that the anyplace the Yorozuya calls home is somewhere the Shinsengumi are as well. He refuses to let Hijikata punch Nobunobu for insulting Tae, because he did not want Hijikata or the Shinsengumi to get in trouble with the law. Due to Katsura's suggestion, the Shinsengumi agreed to leave Edo and gather revolutionaries to go against the Bakufu. Before parting ways, the two notably shared drinks and exchanged their signature dishes Uji Gintoki don and Hijikata special while having a sincere conversation in their favorite diner. Hijikata promises to come back to Gintoki. Throughout the story their bond gradually becomes very strong to the point where Hijikata leaves his regular life to search for Gintoki for two years when he leaves the town for personal reasons.

Lesson 6
The first meeting between Gintoki and Hijikata happens in lesson 6 of the Gintama manga. Hijikata with the rest of the Shinsengumi forces storms down a Joui hideout to take them down along with Katsura. Among the Joui is Gintoki because Katsura tricked him and the rest of the Yorozuya into helping him out so he can recruit Gintoki back to fight against the Bakufu. Hijikata corners Gintoki and is ready for a fight to which Gintoki comments how he is not fit to be a police officer. This first meeting instantly turns into bickering between the two which is their natural dynamic. Sougo interrupts their conversation by blasting a bazooka aimed at Hijikata. Gintoki rushes out the window to throw the bomb Kagura accidentally activated which catches Hijikata's interest.

Lesson 9
After Gintoki beat Kondo in a duel in lesson 8 Hijikata takes it upon himself to beat Gintoki to restore the honor of the Shinsengumi over their commander's loss. Gintoki being on an odd job fixing someone's rooftop accidentally drops the construction material on Hijikata who is passing down below while on a patrol. This is their second meeting however Gintoki does not remember Hijikata and instead calls him Ogushi. Gintoki tries to go back to work to fix the rooftop but Hijikata comes following after him demanding a duel. Gintoki remembers Hijikata who admits ever since their first meeting he has been thinking about Gintoki. Hijikata attacks Gintoki saying how he will not allow anyone to bring shame to the Shinsengumi and their commander. Gintoki starts defending himself and attacking back which earns him a cut on his left shoulder. Just when Hijikata thought he was about to win Gintoki came from the side and cut his sword ending the duel. Hijikata asks him if he intends to show mercy to which Gintoki says he fighting to protect the Shinsengumi which he understands. Hijikata asks him what he is protecting and Gintoki explains he is protecting his own rules. At this moment Gintoki intrigues Hijikata even further as he begins to understand what kind of a person he is. Hijikata is now content with Gintoki and the result of the match lays down comfortably on the roof smoking a cigarette.

Fanon
GinHiji is the most popular ship in the Gintama fandom with most results on Tumblr, Archive of Our Own, Twitter and Pixiv. As of January 2022 the ships combined numbers of GinHiji and HijiGin on Pixiv result in over 25 thousand posts. The ship gained so much attention even the anime itself made references to it. It rivals every other Gintoki ship such as GinTaka or GinTsu. Fans have labeled 5th of October as GinHiji day and 10th of May as HijiGin day (Combination of Birthday dates: Gintoki was born on 10th of October and Hijikata on 5th of May). On July 27th, the fandom celebrates the anniversary of the bowl exchange in lesson 551, which is the most relaxed we have ever seen Gintoki and Hijikata in the series. They exchange bowls of each other's favorite food which they used to call trash food by different names. Hijikata special which is mayonnaise on rice and Gintokis Uji Bowl which is sweet azuki bean on rice have been represented as their bad sides so when they eat each other's food they are in a way accepting each other's flaws. Gintoki said if you love a person you accept their flaws with them and Hijikata's love for mayonnaise has always been connected to his love life, the reason why every girl ends up disgusted with him despite his good looks.

Fandom
FAN FICTION

ART
 * Gintoki/Hijikata tag on Pixiv
 * Hijikata/Gintoki tag on Pixiv

TUMBLR

TWITTER

INSTAGRAM GinHiji hashtag on Instagram

Trivia

 * Episode 166 of the anime is an anime-only episode focused on Gintoki and Hijikata, in which Sougo handcuffs the two of them together (this is likely a Death Note reference)
 * The anime has included three GinHijiGin DVD covers as a joke in the show.
 * Gintoki and Hijikata have similar designs which has been mentioned in canon.
 * The Yorozuya and Shinsengumi frequently interact, Hijikata being Gin's equivalent and usually the dynamic focussed upon, such as chapter 17 of the manga (episode 125 in the anime and the Jump Festa 2005 version with an extra scene where Hijikata calls Gintoki by his name) which included their drinking competition and protective arguing over who was likely to win between Sougo and Kagura.
 * The symbols representing the couple are 🍓🚬 (Strawberry emoji represents Gintoki because of his love for strawberry flavoured prodcuts and the cigarette emoji represents Hijikata because of his addiction to smoking)