SHINSENGUMI 新選組

Rurouni Kenshin by Nobuhiro Watsuki (part 1)
When introducing the publication on Shinsengumi to friends, most of their knowledge about the Shinsengumi comes from the likes of Rurouni Kenshin. Therefore lets talk about this manga how it is co-related.

Nobuhiro Watsuki's manga Rurouni Kenshin served as an introduction for many viewers to Bakumatsu-era history and sparked widespread interest in that period. Through the character of Saito Hajime, audiences also came to learn about the Shinsengumi. Historically, Saito Hajime was the captain of the Shinsengumi's third unit and an exceptional swordsman. The series retains his historical identity and builds upon it, portraying his interactions with the protagonist Himura Kenshin during the Meiji period as a police officer facing new threats. Many other characters in the story also take inspiration from Shinsengumi members, and the anime's themes of grudges and conflicts set during the end of the Edo period give the manga Rurouni Kenshin a distinct Shinsengumi flavour.

In 1994 Nobuhiro Watsuki's masterpiece in manga and anime centers on a wandering swordsman and former assassin named Kenshin, who once worked for the Chōshū Domain as a hitokiri (manslayer) under the alias Battōsai. During the Bakumatsu, he carried out assassinations to support the Restoration. After the Meiji Restoration, he chooses to roam the country wielding a reverse-blade sword (sakabatō), vowing never to kill again. His goal is to help the weak and seek redemption for his past. The story is set in 1878.

Why did Watsuki choose 1878 (eleven years since the Meiji Restoration) as the starting point of the story? He once explained that after the Restoration, many civilians were uncertain about the future and still psychologically lived in the habits and memories of the Bakufu (shogunate) era. For those emotionally connected to the Bakumatsu and the Restoration, they did not consider the end of the era to be 1868, but rather after the Satsuma Rebellion of Meij in 1877. Thus the story begins in Meiji 11, with Kenshin carrying his reverse-blade sword and encountering friends and foes who are still mentally trapped in the struggles of the past. These include former Shinsengumi member Saito Hajime, former Sekihōtai fighter Sagara Sanosuke, ex-assassin Shishio Makoto and former Oniwabanshū agent Shinomori Aoshi.

Historically, during the Meiji Restoration, the new government overthrew the Tokugawa shogunate and ushered in a new era. In order to discredit the old regime and prove the backwardness of the shogunate's ideology, the Meiji government hurriedly adopted Western technologies, ideas, and customs — which sparked mixed reactions among the public. As a samurai-themed story, Rurouni Kenshin repeatedly emphasizes the implementation of the Haitōrei (Sword Abolishment Edict, 1876) and the No Revenge Edict (1873). These were used in the story to highlight how those who still wield swords were samurai clinging to the past and resisting the policies of the new government. With the influx of Western civilization, steamships and trains replaced palanquins, and a full postal system replaced traditional couriers. Items like beef hotpot — described by characters such as Sagara Sanosuke as “the flavour of civilization!” — and Saito Hajime's favourite instant noodle soup are examples of early Meiji-era innovations that people both loved and hated. These cultural contrasts are also reflected throughout the manga.

Since its serialization in Weekly Shonen Jump in 1994, Rurouni Kenshin has been a beloved manga worldwide. To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the creation of the work, the Rurouni Kenshin Exhibition was held in Tokyo from January to March 2021 (postponed from April 2020 due to the pandemic), followed by a tour to Kyoto from 23 April to 6 June. The final stop of the exhibition was at Niigata Prefecture where Nobuhiro Watsuki grew up.

The Rurouni Kenshin Exhibition will display a reverse-blade katana crafted by renowned swordsmith Kawakita Kanekuni from Seki City, Gifu Prefecture. According to the dying words of the swordsmith Arai Shakku in the manga, "I have produced killing swords for countless years, even if I am hated by my descendants, my deeds would still be the blessings for thousands of generations," the reverse-blade katana is used to atone for sins he has done. This reverse-blade katana was exhibited for a limited time at the Meiji-mura Museum in Inuyama City, Nagoya at the end of 2019, as part of the “Meiji-mura Museum x Rurouni Kenshin” exhibition.

In addition to Nobuhiro Watsuki's original manga illustrations, he also specially created family crests for the key characters in the story, giving them an identity. However, the designs of these family crests were too intricate and lack aesthetic appeal.