Руроуни Кеншин: Мекеңдік кезеңдегі қылышкерлер тарихы

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The manga series Rurouni Kenshin features a large cast of fictional characters created by Nobuhiro Watsuki. Set in Japan during the Meiji period, several of the characters are real historical figures who interact with the fictional characters. The story begins in 1878 and follows a pacifist wanderer named Himura Kenshin, who was previously an assassin known as "Hitokiri Battōsai" working for the Ishin Shishi during the Bakumatsu period. After helping Kamiya Kaoru, the instructor of a kendo school in Tokyo, in defeating a criminal, he is invited by her to stay at her dojo. During his stay in Tokyo, Kenshin befriends new people including Myōjin Yahiko, a young child descendant from a samurai family who starts training under Kaoru, Sagara Sanosuke, a former Sekihō Army cadet who enjoys fighting, and Takani Megumi, a doctor involved with the illegal drug trade. He also encounters old and new enemies whose ambitions cause Kenshin to return to fighting, this time to protect the innocent.

Himura Kenshin (緋村 剣心) is a former legendary assassin known as "Hitokiri Battōsai" (人斬り抜刀斎) (rendered as Battousai the Manslayer in the Media Blasters English anime dub, as Battousai: The Slasher in the Sony English dub.) At the end of the Bakumatsu, he becomes a wandering samurai, now wielding a sakabatō, a katana that has a structure in which the blade and ridge are struck in the opposite direction to a regular katana, so if it is used normally, it will always be in a ridged state and will have much less killing power. Kenshin wanders the country offering protection and aid to those in need as atonement for the killings he once committed as an assassin. He meets a young woman named Kamiya Kaoru in Tokyo, who invites him to live in her dojo despite learning about Kenshin's past. Throughout the series, Kenshin begins to establish relationships with many people, including ex enemies, while dealing with his fair share of foes, new and old.

Kamiya Kaoru (神谷 薫) is the instructor of a kendo school in Tokyo called Kamiya Kasshin ryū. All of its students leave when many people are killed by someone claiming to be Hitokiri Battōsai and a practitioner of Kamiya Kasshin ryū, damaging her school's reputation. The real Battōsai, now wandering pacifist Himura Kenshin, saves Kaoru from this murderous impostor. Kaoru invites Kenshin to stay at her dojo as she notes that he is a gentle person instead of a hitokiri. As the series continues, Kaoru develops strong romantic feelings for Kenshin, who is constantly haunted by his past deeds and believes he does not deserve happiness.

Myōjin Yahiko (明神 弥彦) is an orphan from a samurai family who was forced to work as a pickpocket to repay the debt he had presumably owed, as his parents died before they could repay it. When Himura Kenshin rescues him, he decides to grow up to be just like Kenshin. But because of his strong beliefs, Kenshin will not teach the sword style he had learned. Therefore, Kenshin arranges for Yahiko to be trained in Kamiya Kasshin ryū by Kamiya Kaoru. As the series progresses, Yahiko becomes skilled at swordsmanship and faces many opponents.

Sagara Sanosuke (相楽 左之助) is a former member of the Sekihō Army. When the group was destroyed by the Meiji government, he became a fighter for hire to calm his anger by fighting. During his introduction in the series, he encounters the wanderer Himura Kenshin, who easily defeats him and can convince him to stop his mercenary work and instead start protecting people. Sanosuke becomes Kenshin's best friend and his partner in most of their fights.

Takani Megumi (高荷 恵) comes from a famous family of physicians from the Aizu region. She became the assistant to a Tokyo physician who had created a deadly new form of opium. When the doctor was killed, she was forced to make the new opium for corrupt industrialist Takeda Kanryū for the past three years. After being freed and stopped from committing suicide by Kenshin and Sanosuke, she becomes a doctor to atone for her past misdeeds. She has a wicked sense of humor and enjoys flirting with Kenshin to make Kaoru jealous (both Kaoru and Sanosuke refer to her as a "vixen" and in the manga vixen ears appear whenever she indulges in her sense of humor), but helps Kaoru come to terms with her feelings towards Kenshin. She is loyal to her friends and is always there to heal their wounds, especially Sanosuke, whom she often cautions about fighting. At the end of the series, she leaves Tokyo to open a clinic in Aizu. Nobuhiro Watsuki created Megumi as a "mature woman" but had no specific model in mind. In the first Rurouni: Meiji Swordsman Romantic Story one shot, Megumi, Kaoru, and Yahiko were siblings. Despite this version and her final version in the main series being so different, Watsuki said they have the same spirit and are not so unalike. Although he admitted the one shot's version of Megumi had a "lighter quality" because of her small role, he, therefore, gave her a more "earthy quality" in the main serial so she could make an impression. By the time of the publication of Rurouni Kenshin volume four, Watsuki felt disappointed as she did not turn out nearly the way he wanted. However, because she is entertaining to draw and is the only woman Kaoru can interact with, he planned to have Megumi frequently appear as a secondary character. Watsuki's used the young grandmother from Takeshi Obata's CYBORGじいちゃんG as the design model for Megumi. Her story arc has "redemption for her crimes" as its theme, and the author wanted to express Kenshin's determination through Megumi. and fifteenth in the third. She is portrayed by Yū Aoi in the live action films.

Shinomori Aoshi (四乃森 蒼紫) is the Okashira or leader of the Oniwabanshū, and a skilled swordsman who his comrades highly respect. After he is defeated by Himura Kenshin and his comrades are killed, he becomes obsessed with killing Kenshin to earn the title of "the strongest" for the pride of the Oniwabanshū. He raised Makimachi Misao, the granddaughter of the previous Okashira, under his protection as a member of the Oniwabanshū.

Saitō Hajime (斎藤 一), based on the historical figure of the same name, was the leader of the third squad of the Shinsengumi during the Bakumatsu. He has a long standing rivalry with Kenshin and firmly believes in "Swift Death to Evil." He goes by the name of Fujita Gorō (藤田 五郎) and works as a Meiji police officer.

Makimachi Misao (巻町 操) is a young kunoichi from Kyoto who was raised by the Oniwabanshū. She traveled to Tokyo searching for Shinomori Aoshi whom she is in love with. She wishes to learn what happened to Aoshi and his comrades and follows Kenshin to Kyoto, hoping to meet him again. When she learns of how Aoshi has become evil and obsessed with revenge, she decides to take over his title as "Okashira" and tries to forget him, but she can not. Kenshin promises that he will bring Aoshi back to her again.

Hasegawa Ashitarō (長谷川明日郎) is an orphaned 16 year old boy just released from prison during the Hokkaido Arc prologue. He and Inoue were inspired by buddy films with Watsuki remembering the ideal designs needed for the protagonists to be likable citing Ushio & Tora as an example. The first chapter had little hints about Ashitaro being related to Rurouni Kenshin with the second one expanding it more. Since the young character Myojin Yahiko already matured in the original Rurouni Kenshin, Watsuki created Ashitaro in order to have him act more like him during early years. Born in Niigata Prefecture, he survived by stealing crops and foraging the mountains. Although claiming to have served five years in a Tokyo prison for dine and dash, it is suspected to have been for being a gofer member of Shishio Makoto's faction, which planned to take over Japan before disbanding when their leader died five years ago. He possesses Shishio's sword, Mugenjin, but due to his propensity for entering uncontrolled fits of rage, Kenshin asks him not to draw it. Ashitaro's given name was formerly written as ("evil child"), before he changed it to ("tomorrow's child").

Udō Jin e (鵜堂 刃衛), also known as "Kurogasa" (黒笠), is a deranged serial killer who has been hunting down former Ishin Shishi warriors that now hold positions in the government or economy for the past ten years. A master of the Nikaidō Heihō (二階堂平法) style, Jin e was a member of the Shinsengumi during the Bakumatsu. But when he was about to be disciplined for killing people he was not supposed to, he escaped and switched sides to the Ishin Shishi and became a hitokiri for hire in Kyoto. He now appears as a man dressed in a long kimono with a long scarf and straw hat. He has a unique technique to project chi toward people, hypnotizing them with his eyes via the Shin no Ippō (心の一方). When Kenshin stops him from killing Tani Jūsanrō, Jin e makes Kenshin his next target. Believing the new repenting Kenshin to be soft and weak, Jin e kidnaps Kaoru Kamiya to enrage Kenshin into his old Hitokiri Battōsai self. Though he assumes his old mindset and crushes Jin e's right elbow, ending his life as a swordsman, Kenshin stops himself from killing when Kaoru calls out. Though spared, Jin e stabs himself in the heart, so the police will not discover who his government employer is. Watsuki intended for the motif of Jin e to be Okada Izō, the top hitokiri of the Bakumatsu, but admitted that his design looks even less like his counterpart than Kenshin's looks like his. He was designed to be a "murderous ogre", the "polar opposite of Kenshin." The author described Jin e as a "complicated fellow" who is "crazy crazy" and not merely "crazy acting." Although both the character and story were difficult, Watsuki said it was worth it as Jin e was the fan favorite bad guy. He summarized Jin e as, in a sense, the only character to defeat Kenshin even though he did not defeat Battōsai. Jin e's outfit originates from Serizawa Kamo, the main character from a Shinsengumi manga released around 14–15 years before the release of Rurouni Kenshin volume two in Japan. Jin e's laugh, the "uhu hu hu," is from the character Ukon played by Ryōtarō Sugi in the television series Kenka ya Ukon. The character is voiced by Unshō Ishizuka in the drama. Jin e came in tenth place in the series' first character popularity poll, and tied with Arai Iori for eighteenth in the second. In Rurouni Kenshin: Restoration, Jin e is one of the assassins hired by Takeda Kanryū to kill Kenshin. His kidnapping of Kaoru and fight with Kenshin are similar with some differences. He has holes in both hands from when Kenshin pierced them during the Bakumatsu, where he now inserts hilt less swords to fight. Watsuki said that many of the changes he made to Jin e in Restoration did not work out, proving that the original version is perfect. Giving Jin e a motive to attack Kenshin, lost some of his madness; leaving out the Shin no Ippō for being "too supernatural", diminished the excitement unique to shōnen manga; and the change in his skin tone to make him odder, made keeping the tone of the entire story consistent difficult. In the first live action film, Jin e is the principal antagonist who uses the Kamiya Kasshin ryū style for horrific acts. Having acquired Kenshin's old katana after the Battle of Toba–Fushimi, Jin e found employment under the corrupt, power hungry businessman, Takeda Kanryū. While sent to assassinate Takani Megumi, Jin e crosses paths with Kenshin and recognizes him. As Kenshin and Sanosuke deal with Kanryū, Jin e captures Kaoru and paralyzes her lungs to force Kenshin into a duel that ultimately leads to his suicide. He is portrayed by Kōji Kikkawa.

Anime voices|Nobuo Tobita (1996 series), Mitsuaki Madono (2023 series)|John Snyder (1996 series) He is portrayed by Teruyuki Kagawa in the first live action film. For Rurouni Kenshin: Restoration, Watsuki did not plan on making any drastic changes to Kanryū but was inspired to after seeing Kagawa's "fanatical" performance in the film.

Anime voice|Kazuhiro Nakata (1996 series), Ryōta Takeuchi (2023 series) that being X Mens Omega Red (aka meaning "red", and matsu corresponding to "end", equivalent to "Omega", which is the last letter of the Greek alphabet also related to the Christian concept of Alpha and Omega). Arundo's use of chains also parallels Omega Red's carbonadium tentacles.

Shishio Makoto (志々雄 真実) is the leader of the Juppongatana and the primary antagonist of the Kyoto arc. Shishio was Kenshin's successor as hitokiri for the Ishin Shishi. When the new Meiji government discovered Shishio's insatiable lust for power, they attempted to kill him and lit his body on fire. But he survived and has gathered an army to exact his revenge and overthrow the government.

Anime voices|Kanako Irie|Wendee Lee (1996 series), She is portrayed by Maryjun Takahashi in live action films.

Seta Sōjirō, also known as "Heaven's Sword" (天剣), is a teenage boy who is Shishio's right hand man and the strongest of the Juppongatana. He is noted in the series for always smiling and lacks any emotion but "comfort," making him impossible to read. He has been with Shishio the longest and is the most trusted member of the Juppongatana, having met Shishio when he was a small boy. He had witnessed Shishio brutally killing police officers, but Shishio ordered him to keep him in a safe house and provide for him instead of killing him. Days pass and Sōjirō tended to him and explained his situation with his abusive relatives. Shishio then explained his creed of survival of the fittest and gives him his sword. When Sōjirō is caught harboring Shishio in his family's rice silo, his older relatives try to kill him, thinking they can pin it on Shishio. As a result, Sōjirō kills them in self defense and goes off with Shishio to become his protege.

Anime voices|Yasuyoshi Hara (1996 series)|Michael McConnohie (1996 series), Although the reader response to Anji's story was mostly positive, looking back on it Watsuki said he was an immature writer then. Watsuki planned to have more to Anji's story, but with five weeks' worth of material, he had to significantly cut it down so it would not interrupt the flow of the fighting; he originally planned to have Anji's heart momentarily stop due to the "Mastery of Three Layers." The author assesses that if one reads into the story deeply enough, one can see that Anji's "rampage" to the dark side was stopped. Still, his soul has yet to be "saved." Watsuki said that while he had nothing specific about Anji's later adventures, they were slowly coming to him and he might write it down if the chance presents itself. Anji came in tenth place in the series' second character popularity poll. Chō ranked ninth in the "Who is Kenshin's Biggest Rival?" poll. Usui came in seventeenth place in the second character popularity poll of the series. in Japanese, okama (お釜) is a slang word for homosexual, while the word for a scythe is kama (鎌). Watsuki used ideas from assistants to create many of the Juppongatana and Kamatari was one he seized immediately. Still, when coming up with the specifics, the concept "just wasn't coming together." In the beginning, some of his ideas were "male appearing on the surface, but personality wise, will be feminine," "A very erotic and seductive, womanly appearance from the outside, but a manly man on the inside," and "a big macho gay guy." But a friend of Watsuki's suggested making Kamatari "just a 'pretty girl' type," leading to the solidification of the character. Watsuki planned for Kamatari to have a "light hearted and cheerful" personality, but found complications when a "more serious side" began to emerge, leading him to feel some regret with the outcome; he admitted that one of his bad habits is to cross the fine line between "serious" and "depressing". Watsuki added that the next time he uses the character, he would try to "keep his outlook sunny" while not compromising the "essential self." Watsuki used Ikari Yui from Neon Genesis Evangelion as the visual model for Kamatari's face; but colored the hair black, exposed more of the forehead, and had the back of Kamatari's hair "flip out as I've seen so many high schoolers do these days." Watsuki found that the character's triangular silhouette has influences from Rei Rei in Vampire Hunter. The large chain scythe that Kamatari uses exists in real life, but Watsuki made the blade larger to give it "a real super impact look" and noted that it is not intended to be used in the way that Kamatari does. Kamatari came in sixteenth place in the series' second character popularity poll and tenth in the third.

Anime voices|Ikuo Nishikawa (1996 series)|Paul St. Peter (1996 series)

The Six Comrades (六人の同志) are a group of six men who each seek revenge against Himura Kenshin for their own reasons. Financed and conceived by Yukishiro Enishi, they are the primary antagonist group of the Jinchū arc. Rather than simply kill Kenshin, they decide they must make him recognize his past crimes first. The group agreed to disband then and whoever gets to Kenshin first gets to kill him. Because many of the Juppongatana were characters that were "hard to hate," Watsuki wanted to make the five comrades (excluding Enishi) in this storyline as "scum like" as possible. But because he created villains with no ideals or beliefs, it wasn't easy to portray them as an enjoyable read. Gein ranked eighth in the "Who is Kenshin's Biggest Rival?" poll. Kujiranami ranked tenth in the "Who is Kenshin's Biggest Rival?" poll. In the first live action film, Inui appears as one of Kanryū's men and is portrayed by Genki Sudo. In the fourth film, his equivalent Inui Tenmon is portrayed by Joey Iwanaga.

Otowa Hyōko (乙和 瓢湖), the "Human Shadow Instrument" (人間暗器), is member number five of the Six Comrades and an effeminate looking user of assassin's weapons or "Instruments of the Shadows". He says he has thirteen hidden weapons all over his body, but only four are shown in the series. The first is Baika Chūzen (梅花袖箭), a small six barreled arrow launcher worn on his left wrist. The second is the Kasui Busuen (過水毒煙), a paralyzing mist generated by dropping two small cubes into water. The third is a jar of iron powder, Bishamon's Powder (毘沙門粉), used in conjunction with his magnetic Bishamon's Sword (毘沙門剣). The last is the Rikudōko (六道蠱), six long piercing tentacle like appendages worn on his torso. His battle tactic is to outwit the opponent and catch them off guard with his hidden weapons as opposed to simply overpowering them. Otowa is a sadistic individual who enjoys killing people for fun and is not above targeting women and children. Otowa seeks Kenshin's death in revenge for the death of his friend Nakajō, whom he had competitive killing sprees with. In reality Otowa joined the fight just for pleasure. Otowa attacks Chief Uramura's house as part of the Jinchū campaign while Inui simultaneously attacks Maekawa dojo. Otowa later fights Myōjin Yahiko during the attack on Kamiya dojo. He comes close to killing Yahiko with a few of his weapons, but Yahiko eventually defeats him. As Otowa goes down he has a crazed smile on his face as he could not believe his defeat at the hands of someone not even half his age;. However, Sanosuke notes Otowa was not in peak form because he feared Kenshin's abilities and thought of fleeing after the duel with Yahiko. Otowa is arrested by the police afterwards. Watsuki had no personality model for Otowa and made him cruel because he is a shadow instrument user, which he notes resulted in him being like Kanryū. The author wanted to make him more cunning and sadistic, but said Otowa was not developed satisfactorily due to his own incompetence. Otowa's design model was a previously rejected "drag queen ish" villain who wore a lot of lipstick. The six pronged accessory was borrowed from Mr. Sinister in X Men: Age of Apocalypse. Watsuki said that he feels Otowa is one of his better designed characters.

Yatsume Mumyōi (八ツ目 無名異) is a member of the Six Comrades who hides himself from the others, such as by hiding in the ceiling. A member of a famous gold mining clan, family tradition led them to elongate the limbs of their members using metal rings to help them mine better via "Body Shaping" (人体精製); similar to neck rings. As a result, Yatsume's limbs are about 1.5 times as long as normal, with the notable exception of his left arm, which is twice as long and equipped with metal claws. His teeth have also been sharpened into fangs from a young age, although his long tongue is natural. Fifteen years earlier, Yatsume took up fighting and joined the Yaminobu in order to support his clan, who had fallen on hard times due to depleted gold mines, by hoping to prove to the Tokugawa shogunate that their bodies had battle potential. But the Yaminobu were defeated by Kenshin and the Shogunate defeated by the Ishin Shishi. Yatsume wants revenge on Kenshin to uphold the laws of his clan (which state that anyone who sees a member of their clan must be killed) and for the misfortunes of his clan, which he blames on the Ishin Shishi and Kenshin. Before he can fight Kenshin however, he ends up fighting Saitō instead and is brutally maimed in defeat, despite having managed to outmaneuver the man's trademark attack once. Kenshin stops Saitō from killing him and offers to let Yatsume fight him if he still wants to after healing, but suggests that he go up north and use his abilities to help his clan. He is arrested by the police afterwards. Yatsume's model was kumo otoko ("Spider Man"), not the American version, so he has similar roots as Han'nya. Because the "freaks" theme did not go so well with Han'nya, Yatsume is Watsuki's second attempt at it. But the author said he was utterly defeated, citing Saitō as the biggest reason; any character turns into a weakling in front of Saitō, just like Usui did. Watsuki said that the body shaping is one of the ideas he likes, but seems a little unfitting for a shonen manga. Because body deformation is a sensitive issue, he had to be careful how he dealt with it, which might have detracted from the storyline as a whole. He stated that there would be no further attempts at the freaks theme because he believes that there needs to be more "positive themes" in shonen manga; but will still use it in terms of design. Watsuki admitted that the design model is all "jumbled up." The silhouette version of Yatsume, seen before his full reveal, was modeled after the "bandana mask version" of Wolverine from X Men and Carnage from Spider Man. After being told by various people to "do Spider Man, or to do Spawn and such," Watsuki got agitated and said "I'll throw in Venom also!," which he referred to as digging his own grave. The gold mining clan backstory was added after the fact, but Yatsume still stuck out from the period.

Woo Heishin (呉 黒星) is the second in command of Enishi's black market organization that smuggles weapons from Shanghai to Japan. While Enishi likes to rule from action and fear, Heishin rules from careful planning, and this balance is what allowed their organization to grow so fast. He possesses no true fighting skills and is guarded by the Sū shin, who are skilled in various fighting styles. In exchange for being allowed to use the organization's resources for his personal Jinchū campaign, Enishi agreed to hand over total control of it to Heishin. After receiving control, Heishin tries to have the Sū shin take Enishi's revenge by killing Kenshin. But all four are defeated by Kenshin's comrades, while Heishin is beaten up by Enishi. He later recovers and begins shooting with dual revolvers, managing to wound Kenshin before being beaten up by Enishi again, but just when Enishi is about to kill Heishin, Kenshin stops him. Watsuki had no model for Heishin. He created him after his editor told Watsuki that he needed to put more depth into the black market weapons organization. Since the organization was made simply to explain Enishi's finances, Watsuki believed that the addition of Heishin "didn't seem to change anything." The author felt that chapters flew by and he was unable to set Heishin's personality, so he became "this pathetic creature." Even though Heishin was his favorite "#2," he became an unattractive character and Watsuki regretted how he turned out. Heishin also had no design model; he was designed around the time of the Tomoe chapters when Watsuki was aiming for originality and creating characters that did not obviously look like any other. Heishin was designed to be "heavy" on black to contrast with the "whiteness" of Enishi.

The Sū shin (四星 or 四神) are Woo Heishin's personal bodyguards. They are identical quadruplets named after the four symbols of Chinese astrology, and each versed in a different form of combat. Heishin tries to have the Sū shin take Enishi's revenge by killing Kenshin, but Kenshin's friends take them on so he can save his energy for Enishi. Seiryū (青龍) fights using a naginata like weapon and prides himself on being able to determine his opponents moves and conquer them. He lets himself be hit by Saitō's Gatotsu and correctly identifies its weakness as the blind spot created by extending the right hand as a counterweight. But Saitō defeats him with the move regardless by using his right hand to grab Seiryū by the mouth. Suzaku (朱雀) fights using two swords and prides himself on being able to mimic his opponents moves. He perfectly mimics Aoshi's dual sword attacks and is even faster than him, but Aoshi defeats him using martial arts. Byakko (白虎) fights using his fists and spiked knuckle blades and prides himself on simply attacking. Although he delivers a lot of blows, Sanosuke defeats Byakko as his attacks are too weak to do any damage. Genbu (玄武) fights with what looks like a staff but is actually a retractable six jointed mace and prides himself on his battle strategy. He is defeated when Yahiko uses the Kamiya Kasshin ryū secret technique and ultimately destroys his mace. The Sū shin had no personality models and were created simply to "fill out the numbers." As the story advanced towards Kenshin's final battle, Watsuki realized that the other characters would have no "glamour" and created the Sū shin on the spot. Because they were "irresponsibly made," he initially named them the "Four Stars", but changed it to the "Four Gods" and individually named them after the four godly beasts. He realized this and tried to fix the dialogue but it "got weird" and the fights were not as glamorous as he had hoped. This made him realize how important it is to decide the scenes and plot in advance. The Sū shin had no design models either; it was simply an easy to draw design and making them quadruplets in Chinese clothes without any tone. Although you can tell them apart by their head tattoos and weapons.

The Yaminobu (闇乃武) were a group of assassins who were called the "Oniwabanshū of the West" and planned to kill Kenshin. They used Yukishiro Tomoe to get close to him and become his weakness. One of their members, Murakami (村上), a wielder of dual katana chained at their hilts was the assassin Kenshin killed in front of Tomoe. Finally setting their plan into action in December 1864, they send Enishi to contact Tomoe and leave a note luring Kenshin to their "Binding Forest." Kenshin kills Nakajō (中条), a warrior who uses hidden weapons and successfully binds Kenshin's hearing with an explosion, and Sumita (角田), a large axe wielder who binds his vision in another. Yatsume Mumyōi fights alongside Sumita but flees injured and vowing revenge; he later joins Enishi in the Six Comrades. With his senses impaired, Kenshin fights the leader Tatsumi (辰巳), a hand to hand fighter. Although Tatsumi has the advantage, he is killed by Kenshin when Tomoe jumps in between them. I'izuka (飯塚) was their spy in the Ishin Shishi. After Kenshin defeats the Yaminobu, Katsura Kogorō sends Shishio Makoto to kill I'izuka, having discovered his true affiliation.

Fudōsawa (不動沢) is a yakuza trying to take over a small town in Shinshū, former sumo wrestler, and nephew of Tani Jūsanrō. The only obstacle preventing him from taking over the town is the farmer Higashidani Kamishimoemon. Fudōsawa hires Sanosuke to fight the farmer, but Sanosuke realizes that Kamishimoemon is his father and that his family is being forced into poverty by Fudōsawa. Sanosuke defeats Fudōsawa's army of 200 men single handedly and injures Fudōsawa, breaking six of his ribs.

Anime voices|Shūichi Ikeda (1996 series, Trust & Betrayal, Reflection, New Kyoto Arc), Yuichi Nakamura (2023 series)|Richard Epcar (1996 series; Media Blasters dub), Hiko came in ninth place in the series' second character popularity poll and eighth in the third. In the live action films, she is portrayed by Kasumi Arimura.

Han'nya (般若) is a skilled martial artist and was the master of intelligence for the Edo Castle Oniwabanshū. In the poor village he was born in, it is common to abandon a child at birth to reduce the number of people to feed. Han'nya survived and wandered around like an animal until Aoshi found him and trained him to be an Oniwabanshū. Thus he is extremely loyal to Aoshi, giving his life to allow Kenshin enough time to retrieve his sword to defeat Kanryū and save Aoshi. His arms have horizontal stripes painted on them, which gives them the appearance of being shorter than they actually are, thus luring opponents into a false sense of security regarding distance of attacks. He also wears steel gauntlets beneath his gloves, which help him to block attacks from other weapons. These gauntlets contain retractable steel claws, which he will resort to as a sort of trump card. Han'nya is also the master of disguise within the group; he gained his ability by removing all his prominent facial features, which is why he wears the demonic mask on his face. Han'nya burned his lips, cut off his ears and nose, and crushed his cheekbones so he could disguise himself as any individual. After the Bakumatsu, Han'nya received no prosperous government job offers because of his appearance. Watsuki was originally going to base Han'nya off of the "Elephant Man"; intending for his face to be deformed because a person stepped on it while he was still in his mother's womb. Other people would have treated Han'nya like a monster and therefore he would have lived alone in the mountains until Aoshi finds him. Han'nya would join the Oniwabanshū, becoming a tragic figure who finds his raison d'être in fighting, saying "Only in the Oniwabanshū am I able to live as a human being." Watsuki and his editor discussed how this could be interpreted meaning "the shape of one's destiny is determined by how one is born" and whether or not this would be appropriate for a young men's magazine. Watsuki decided a change needed to be made and said that for him Han'nya was a difficult character as it made him aware of the responsibilities of writing for young people. Han'nya's personality is derived from Yamazaki Susumu, a member of the Shinsengumi. Some readers proposed that Han'nya had a handsome face under his mask, was Aoshi's kagemusha (such as his twin brother), or was a kunoichi. The design model for Han'nya was a human skeleton. His left and right eyes being two different shapes and sizes originates from the elephant man concept. Han'nya came in fourteenth place in the series' third character popularity poll. He is portrayed by Min Tanaka in the live action films.

Tsukayama Yutarō (塚山 由太郎) is a young boy and Isurugi Raijūta's "apprentice." Yutarō's father, Tsukayama Yuzaemon (塚山 由左衛門), is a former samurai who became rich by selling swords to Europeans. Yutarō feels that his father's actions degrade him and wants to show him how a true samurai lives by the sword. The Tsukayama family was deceived by Isurugi Raijūta, who faked a robbery so the Tsukayama family would pay him to teach Yutarō how to use swords. Yutarō trains at Kamiya dojo a little and becomes Myōjin Yahiko's rival, the two gaining a mutual desire to become better than the other. When Raijūta initiates a failed sneak attack on Kenshin's group, he accidentally slices Yutarō's right arm so that the nerves are severed, therefore making Yutarō unable to hold a sword with that hand. Yuzaemon takes Yutarō to Germany to get medical treatment. Before he leaves, however, Yahiko confronts him, scorns his sulking, and tells him that he can overcome his sorrow by working to be better than he imagined Raijuta to be. Yutaro responds that he will never stop practicing swordsmanship and his left arm is still enough to become great. At the end of the series, Yutarō's name is listed as one of the acting instructors of the Kamiya Kasshin ryū dojo, along with Yahiko. In the anime Yutarō's father, a well known swordsman, is dead. Yutarō, who had inherited a lot of money after his parents died, wishes to learn swordsmanship to become as skilled as his father. When he sees Kenshin, he demands lessons on how to use a sword, but Kenshin refuses. Yutarō finds Raijūta, who plans to overthrow the Meiji government. During a scuffle one of Raijūta's men accidentally hits Yutarō, causing him to fall into the ocean. After Kenshin rescues him Yutaro gets to know Kenshin's group. In a similar manner Raijūta injures Yutarō's right arm, and Yutarō goes to Germany for medical treatment. Watsuki created Yutarō as Yahiko's rival with no real model; while they both want to be stronger, their desires come the complete opposite places. He gave Yutarō the traits of admiring Kaoru, an older woman, and Kenshin's strength but made him unable to "be honest" about it because they were Raijūta's enemies, as aspects of his youth. Watsuki said that Yutarō is one of the "good guys" but because he was "brought down a bit" by the author's "most disgraceful character" (Raijūta) he may not have been developed "to his full extent." Yutarō's design is also the opposite of Yahiko. Watsuki initially had difficulty with his hair, but once he got used to it, it became easy and he enjoyed drawing it. He also had difficulty in compensating for Yutarō's black less design on the page, which if he was not careful, would go all white. Yutarō came in eighth place in the series' first character popularity poll. He is portrayed by Kazufumi Miyazawa in the live action films.

Anime voices|Hidehiro Kikuchi (1996 series), Daisuke Ono (2023 series)|Steve Cannon (1996 series) Sagara came in sixth place in the series' first character popularity poll and eleventh in both the second and third. Iori tied with Jin e for eighteenth place in the series' second character popularity poll.

, real name Mutō Shōgo (武藤 翔伍), was taught Hiten Mitsurugi by his uncle. Shogo is also a Christian, and sought revenge for Christianity, and to make the Holy Land, after his parents were killed for their beliefs, when Christians were persecuted during the Shogunate. He mastered "God Speed" by the age of 14, and according to Kenshin, had surpassed even God Speed. His followers believe that he is the "Son of God". Some of his "miracles" were really just due to his education in Western Medicine, and other sciences.

Lady Magdalia (マグダリア), real name Mutō Sayo (武藤 小夜), is Shogo Amakusa's younger sister. She serves as a holy mother to their crowd of followers and a teacher to the young children. She has suffered from consumption ever since she was a child (which she perhaps obtained from her mother, who suffered the same illness). She is often seen accompanied by Shozo, a childhood friend whom she and her brother saved from persecution. Magdalia is a devout Christian and believes in everything that her brother says and does, which leads to her and Sanosuke Sagara having clashing personalities. Her most prized possession is her mother's holy medallion which is lost and eventually returned to her by Sanosuke. She comes to respect him and wishes that she had met someone like him earlier in life so that she could have had a more open heart to those outside her faith. She is shot as she protects the Dutch consul, who can save her townspeople, and refuses to be treated in the hope that the people she cares for will be saved. She dies in Sanosuke's arms after telling him her real name. Shogo promises to make her dreams of a land of equality and peace a reality.