Himura Kenshin

Himura Kenshin
Rurouni Kenshin character
File:Himura Kenshin.jpg
Created by	Nobuhiro Watsuki
In-universe information
Title	Hitokiri Battōsai Heir to the title Hiko Seijūrō XIV
Occupation	Wanderer Former hitokiri

Himura Kenshin (緋村 剣心, Himura Kenshin) is a fictional character in the anime and manga series Rurouni Kenshin created by Nobuhiro Watsuki and the main protagonist of the franchise, as well as its title character. His name is given as Kenshin Himura in Western-order and is the chosen order for the English-language anime. In the Sony dub version of Rurouni Kenshin, his name is pronounced "Kenshi" rather than "Kenshin".

His seiyū is provided by Mayo Suzukaze and his voice actors are Richard Cansino (TV) and J. Shanon Weaver (OVA). In the early drama CD version, the character is voiced by Megumi Ogata. His Spanish-language voice actor is Alexander Páez (Latin America).

In all Rurouni Kenshin stories, Kenshin was born on June 20 1849. He is loosely based on real-life hitokiri, Kawakami Gensai.

Biography

File:Kenshin The Battosai.jpg

Kenshin in his Battōsai state.

Kenshin was a former manslayer of the Ishin Shishi, the Choshu faction, who fought at the beginning of the Meiji Restoration. He went by the name "Hitokiri Battōsai" (spelled with a macron in the Viz manga, and spelled as "Hitokiri Battousai" in the English anime releases). The title implies he has mastered the technique of Battōjutsu (sword drawing technique, studied in modern times as Iaijutsu) and can draw his sword with lightning speed. Hitokiri was the title given to samurai assassins ("man slayers" in the English anime).

After the Revolution, he picked up a reverse-blade sword, sakabato, given to him by a master swordsmith and assumed the life of a "rurouni" (this word was created by Watsuki, it consists of the Japanese verb Rurou (to wander) and the suffix ni (that should be nin), and it would be translated as "wanderer". Kenshin becomes a technical master of the Hiten Mitsurugi-Ryū swordstyle after completing his previously abandoned training with his master, but declines the official mastership and title of "Hiko Seijūrō" (given to each disciple who masters Hiten Mitsurugi-Ryu swordsmanship along with a traditional cape that is passed down to each "Hiko Seijūrō").

Kenshin is known to switch between an easy going drifter and a serious Battōsai.

Early life

Kenshin is born into a peasant family under the given name of "Shinta". By age seven, both his parents died of cholera. He was sold into slavery at eight years old. However, the slave-traders' caravan was attacked by bandits in the mountains. The men were killed first and Shinta took up a katana to protect the three slave girls he had befriended, named Kasumi, Sakura, and Akane. They refused to let him fight, instead shielding him with their bodies. The bandits killed the three of them as they protected him. Hiko Seijūrō XIII intervened, killing all the thieves as they were about to kill Shinta. Hiko then leaves Shinta alone in the field of bodies, instructing him to seek shelter in a nearby village.

A week later, Hiko returns to the village to check up on the boy, but is surprised to hear that he never arrived. Presuming that he has committed suicide, Hiko returns to the site of the slaughter, to find that Shinta has buried all the corpses by hand - even those of the thieves. Won over by the boy's strength at heart, he adopts Shinta into his Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu apprenticeship. He renamed him "Kenshin" (Ken=sword, Shin=heart), since he believed that 'Shinta' wasn't a fitting name for a swordsman.

Rurouni Kenshin series

Tsuiokuhen (Trust and Betrayal/Reminiscence)

File:Young Kenshin.JPG

A young Kenshin training with his Master.

Hiko Seijūrō raises and teaches Kenshin in the art of Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu. At age 14, Kenshin decides to join the revolutionary movements to restore power to the emperor (which would be Emperor Kōmei, father of Prince Mutsuhito who would later ascend the throne and take the name Emperor Meiji). Kenshin's decision clashes with Hiko's neutral standpoint, claiming that whoever acquires Kenshin would be granted victory. This conflict causes young Kenshin to abandon his training and master in order to fight for what he believes - the ideal of protecting people. His sword skills soon attract the attention of Takasugi Shinsaku, commander of the Kiheitai. Takasugi later points out the boy to his longtime friend Katsura Kogoro, the leader of the Chōshū clan, Ishin Shishi, who immediately wants the boy to be imported into his ranks. However, in turn, Katsura must swear an oath to Takasugi to never draw his sword again, apparently in exchange for taking the boy's "purity".

Kenshin is sent to Kyoto and assigned the role of an assassin, sharing the common goal of the Ishin Shishi to deliver "Tenchu" (punishment from the heavens) upon the Tokugawa Shogunate. Within the first six months of his career, he kills over 100 people, and eventually became known as the Hitokiri Battōsai. The next year, during a mission to assassinate another official of the Shogunate, he encounters a Mimawarigumi member on bodyguard duty. After disposing of the official, Kenshin attempts to do away with the bodyguard as well, since he can't allow a witness to escape. Though Kenshin easily wins, the bodyguard's determination to live, namely for his fiancée, manages to give him enough strength to scar the "Battōsai" on his left cheek, an act thought impossible by the Ishin Shishi (The manga and OVA differ somewhat on the scar's symbolism. In the manga, it simply neglects to heal, while in the OVA, it opens up again on numerous occasions, usually in correspondence with Kenshin's own feelings of guilt). Some months after this incident, Kenshin is ambushed by a Yaminobu assassin, in which he literally cuts his assailant in half, leaving the blood-soaked, mutilated corpse on the street. Afterwards, as he smells the perfume scent of white plums, he comes face to face with the woman with whom he would fall in love.

Unbeknownst to Kenshin, a woman named Yukishiro Tomoe witnesses his fight with the Yaminobu assassin. He only notices her presence after, having been splattered with the assailant's blood, she exclaims "You truly make blood rain." Kenshin ponders killing her due to his protocol to kill any person who catches him "in the act", but she faints from shock and intoxication. He instead takes her back to the inn, which served as the Chōshū clan's makeshift headquarters, where she becomes employed as a servant. During this time, Kenshin and Tomoe develop a loose friendship in which Tomoe notices that the Battōsai is more of a pure and innocent child than a brutal manslayer. However, during this time, the Ishin Shishi is virtually split in two when the decision to light Kyoto ablaze causes a famous conflict with the deadly "Wolves of Mibu", the Shinsengumi.

After the crisis suffered by the Chōshū clan in the Ikedaya Jiken, Katsura orders Kenshin and Tomoe to abandon Kyoto and flee to a remote village. He also orders them to put on the facade of a pair of pharmacists, as husband and wife (In the OVA, they go along with the facade, but in the manga, Kenshin doesn't like the idea of pretending, and he and Tomoe marry for real). During this time, Kenshin and Tomoe begin to slowly form a deeper relationship, and eventually fall in love with each other.

File:KenshinandTomoe.JPG

Kenshin's life with Tomoe

Later, Tomoe's younger brother, Yukishiro Enishi, manages to find what was supposed to be their hidden location. It is then revealed Tomoe's true role was to avenge the death of her fiance, the bodyguard whom Kenshin had killed. However, Tomoe didn't expect to fall in love with him and decides that, although he took her happiness, he also gave her another, in his own arms.

Some time later, Tomoe tells Kenshin about her murdered fiancee, excluding the fact that she knows he had killed him (In the manga Kenshin embraces her and allows her to cry on him, and in the OVA, they make love in front of a burning fire the following night). In both versions, Kenshin then tells her that he will continue to be an assassin until the Revolution is over, but will find a way to repay those whose lives he destroyed, and he tells her that he wishes to protect her happiness which Tomoe returns with a yes and a genuine (and her first) smile. However, the next morning, Tomoe sneaks out of the house before Kenshin wakes up.

During Tomoe's last meeting with the leader of the Yaminobu - a pro-Shogunate covert network (similar to the Oniwabanshu ninja clan encountered by Kenshin many years later) that had formulated a plan to assassinate Kenshin - she realizes that all along they had actually used her to create Kenshin's weakness. Meanwhile, desperate to find his wife, Kenshin runs off, but is ambushed by several Yaminobu ninjas, each of whom manages to wound him severely. He became blinded and deafened by explosions set off by the dying ninja and numbed by the cold with only his sense of smell remaining. Eventually, he comes to the hut where the leader waits with Tomoe. As they battle, the leader ends up with the upper hand and prepares to finish him off. With a last desperate attempt to defeat the leader, Kenshin blindly swings his sword, killing both his assailant and Tomoe, who had jumped in at the last minute to save Kenshin from a fatal attack. During the swing Kenshin noticed the smell of white plums, Tomoe's signature perfume, but was unaware of her intervention until it was too late. In the end, Kenshin holds his dying wife in his lap. She then uses the knife to cut him across the cheek, finally forming his famous "X/cross shaped scar" (Tomoe personally slashing the scar is another deviation from the manga by the OVA. The manga instead details that the knife had flown from Tomoe's hands into the air and coincidentally landed so it slashed Kenshin's cheek in a way that created the X/cross shaped scar. The OVA, given its more realistic nature, probably shied away from depicting something so improbable). Enishi, who watches the entire event unfold, is utterly shattered. He becomes a refugee, eventually leaving the country.

File:RedSunSet.JPG

Himura Kenshin leaving the Ishin Shishi.

Following the death of his wife, Kenshin tells Katsura that he will never kill again once the Revolution is over. Katsura then replaces Kenshin's role as an assassin and instead has Kenshin fight as a guerrilla swordsman to protect the Imperialists. Kenshin then burns Tomoe's body, along with their house, and returns to Kyoto. During the Bakumatsu, or "The Last Days of the Shogunate," Kenshin clashes multiple times with the Shinsengumi and assists in freeing Japan from the Shogunate's ruling power. Finally, in late 1867, Kenshin and the Imperialists restore power to the Meiji Emperor (who has ascended the throne in early 1867). The Boshin War to overthrow the Shogunate started in January, 1868. Following the first battle of the Boshin War, the Battle of Toba-Fushimi, Kenshin thrusts his sword into the ground and disappears.

Rurouni Kenshin

After receiving his reverse-bladed sword (sakabato), Kenshin assumes the life of a rurouni (wanderer) and travels freely. At the age of 28, ten years after the Revolution, he arrives in Tokyo where he meets Kamiya Kaoru, the feisty young instructor of the Kamiya-Kasshin-ryu dojo. Kaoru is looking for a villain calling himself the "Battōsai" who is tarnishing the reputation of her Kamiya-Kasshin dojo, but quickly discounts Kenshin and his sakabato as being the real "Battosai". In the end, Kenshin rescues the girl, defeats the fake Battōsai, and is revealed as the real Battōsai. Kaoru invites Kenshin to stay, telling him that she doesn't care about his past. He accepts her offer, and the series is born.

Numerous events transpire from that point. Kenshin establishes lifelong relationships with Myojin Yahiko, orphaned child of a samurai family and former Yakuza pickpocket; former Sekihotai member and street fighter-for-hire Sagara Sanosuke; foxy doctor Takani Megumi; hyperactive young ninja Makimachi Misao and brooding warrior Shinomori Aoshi (both members of the Oniwabanshu ninja clan, Aoshi with the Edo portion, Misao with the Kyoto branch); along with uneasy ally, ex-Shinsengumi member, and longtime rival of Battosai, Saito Hajime. Likewise, Kenshin makes his share of enemies like Kurogasa, also called Udoh Jinei, formerly a traitorous member of the Shinsengumi; Shishio Makoto, the brutal once-successor to Kenshin's position as Chōshū's hitokiri and mastermind behind a movement seeking to overthrow the Meiji government; and one more haunting ghost from his past, Yukishiro Enishi, Tomoe's revenge-obsessed brother.

File:Kenshinkaorumarriage.JPG

Kamiya Kaoru and Himura Kenshin's wedding photograph

To defeat such foes, Kenshin was forced to resume his training and mend his relationship with Hiko Seijūrō, while forging the strongest bonds with his allies and enemies. Throughout the battles and trials, Kenshin's friends stay by his side, and they form the nicknamed 'Kenshin-gumi'.

When Yukishiro Enishi found out about Kenshin's feelings towards Kaoru, he set out to kidnap her, doing so and leaving a professionally made decoy of Kaoru with a sword in her heart, making everyone believe that she'd been murdered. This was a self proclaimed Jinchu (lit. punishment from man), making reference to the Tenchu that Kenshin brought about during the war. Enishi's goal was to make Kenshin's life a living hell. Instead of wandering again, as he had after Tomoe's death, Kenshin falls into severe depression and runs off to a desolate place known as the "Fallen Village" to mourn. When Kenshin's friends discover Kaoru is alive, Kenshin gets back on track. He goes to rescue her on Enishi's island, where she is safe and sound, and waiting for him. A battle between Kenshin and Enishi follows, and when Kenshin wins and Enishi recognizes his wrongs, Kenshin and Kaoru return home.

Throughout the Rurouni Kenshin period, Kamiya Kaoru develops strong romantic feelings for him, which he comes to realize. Despite his feelings, he is constantly haunted by the wrongs committed in his past, and believes he doesn't deserve happiness. Eventually, they marry and have a son by the name of Himura Kenji.

Five years later, Kenshin gives his sakabato to Yahiko as a gift for his coming-of-age.

Seisōhen (Reflection) OVA

However, as time went by, Kenshin becomes tortured anew by the guilt of leading a happy life after such a destructive past. He makes the decision to wander again, and Kaoru strongly supports him, promising to welcome him home with a smile and their child. For fifteen years, he wanders, returning every once in a while.

Kenshin eventually becomes ravaged by an unknown disease that is much like tuberculosis (the writers have admitted there is no medical explanation for his condition). To share his pain, Kaoru convinces Kenshin to share his disease with her through sexual intercourse. Kenshin then leaves to go assist in the First Sino-Japanese War (primarily over control of Korea) as he had promised the Meiji Government, not fighting and killing, but instead helping people.

After the war's end, Sanosuke discovers Kenshin, gravely injured, on the shore and arranges for Kenshin's return to Tokyo and Kaoru. Upon arriving to Tokyo, a bed ridden Kaoru, almost on instinct, gets up to walk outside the dojo on the cherry blossom path, seeing her husband struggling with each step to meet her.

The two finally meet, and Kenshin collapses into her arms as he clutches her to him. They end up beneath a cherry blossom tree, where Kaoru tells him that they will invite the others for a cherry blossom viewing, and continue to gather in the years to come. With the silence growing stronger, Kaoru realizes that Kenshin has died quietly in her arms. Kaoru then notices that he is smiling and upon brushing his hair off his left cheek, Kaoru notices Kenshin's scar has faded away, signifying an end to his life of pain and bloodshed and commencement to a life of peace. In the final scene before the credits, she holds his head in her arms and weeps.

After the credits, an older Himura Kenji, along with his sweetheart Raikōji Chizuru (a homage to Watsuki Nobuhiro's original manga "Rurouni", which inspired Rurouni Kenshin), are seen walking down a cherry-blossom path.

Although Rurouni Kenshin: Seisouhen (non-canon) wasn't written by Watsuki, Watsuki said that he "checked in on the script"; however, he also said that "Kenshin went through so much crap and deserved a happy ending."

Though Seisōhen served as an ending to the animation of Rurouni Kenshin, many fans have mixed opinions of it.

Haru ni Sakura (Kenshin Kaden)

An extra story in Kenshin Kaden takes place in year sixteen of the Meiji Era. It was published in Kenshin Kaden and takes place six years after the last manga chapter, with nearly everyone and Kenji as a toddler attending a picnic under the cherry blossoms.

Techniques

About Hiten Mitsurugi-Ryū

Hiten Mitsurugi Ryū (飛天御剣流, lit. Flying Heaven Honorable Sword Style), known as "Ultrasonic Sword Style", is a fictional ancient sword style that is said to pit one against many. It is a sword art that is passed from master to apprentice, its masters inheriting the name of Hiko Seijūrō. Kenshin states that the sword style was created in the Sengoku Period of Japan's history

The philosophy of Hiten Mitsurugi-Ryū is that a practitioner must protect those around him; he may use that lethal force for the protection of the people. When a student of Hiten Mitsurugi-Ryū understands this, he is ready to complete his training.

Hiten Mitsurugi-Ryū's principles are based on utilizing godlike speed, or shinsoku, and precision to deal powerful blows that usually bring down foes with one shot. The swordsman must also be able to read techniques at an amazing pace as well as interpret emotions as a form of clairvoyance in order to accurately predict what an opponent will do. Combining those two elements with the speed and the precision allows Kenshin and Hiko to subdue opponents before they even act. That is the power of Hiten Mitsurugi-Ryū.

The one drawback to the style on a whole is that it is a physically demanding style, only a person of peak athletic ability is able to maintain it. Thus a wide-framed muscular build like that of Hiko Seijūrō is more suited to Hiten Mitsurugi-Ryū compared to Kenshin's slender build. After Kenshin learns the "Amakakeru Ryū no Hirameki", he feels his body starting to deteriorate. By the time of the last chapter, five years after the main story, he has become unable to perform Hiten Mitsurugi-Ryū.

Himura Kenshin mastered the Battōjutsu style, (note the name Battōsai) perfecting all parts of it, including all of its weaknesses.

A running gag in the manga with Kenshin upon first meetings is many people often think he's much younger than he really is. After seeing that Hiko also looks younger than his true age, Yahiko and Misao believe that the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryū is what causes both Kenshin and Hiko to stay young.

List of Hiten Mitsurugi-Ryū techniques

The following techniques are both Kenshin's and his master's:

Note - The names of the following techniques are all preceded by Hiten Mitsurugi-Ryū:

Doryūsen (Earth Dragon Strike) (土龍閃)

"Doryūsen" is a range technique that sends debris flying at the enemy from a powerful sword strike to the ground. Kenshin only uses this technique once in the manga.

Ryūtsuisen (Dragon Hammer Strike) (龍槌閃)

The "Dragon Hammer" is a sword-drop technique delivered from above, targeting the crown of the head or the shoulder of the adversary. The key to the technique lays in the height gained from the user’s jump and the free-fall, which is applied to the sword to multiply the force of the sword-stroke. This is one of Kenshin's favored techniques.

Ryūtsuisen ~ Zan (Dragon Hammer Strike ~ Tragedy) (龍槌閃・惨)

The "Zan" is a brutal variant of the “Dragon Hammer”, which instead plunges the sword into the adversary with a sword-plant rather than simply striking them. This was only seen once in the series.

Ryūshōsen (Soaring Dragon Flight) (龍翔閃)

The "Dragon Flight" was originally a move meant to utilize the edge of the sword, cutting the adversary below while aiming for the jaw and/or the pit of the stomach. The key to this technique lays in jumping power, utilizing it to its fullest. Kenshin has altered this move, instead pressing the flat of his Sakabato into the adversary, as opposed to the blade edge.

Ryūtsuishōsen (Dragon Hammer-Flight Strike) (龍槌翔閃)

This is a combination technique which executes Ryūshōsen immediately after Ryūtsuisen.

Ryūkansen (Dragon Spiral Strike) (龍巻閃)

The "Dragon Spiral" is a move which takes advantage of centripetal force to accelerate the draw of the blade while simultaneously avoiding the adversary's assault, shifting directly into a counterattack.

Ryūkansen ~ Tsumuji (Dragon Flash Spiral) (龍巻閃・旋)

A variation of the normal Ryūkansen, the swordsman is in motion (and airborne in one particular case) while spinning. This causes the user to use the force of the spinning to draw the sword at lightning speed.

Ryūkansen ~ Kogarashi (Dragon Spiral Strike ~ Wintry Wind) (龍巻閃・凩)

A variation of the normal Ryūkansen, this technique targets the adversary's head.

Ryūkansen ~ Arashi (Dragon Spiral Strike ~ Storm) (龍巻閃・嵐)

A variation of the normal Ryūkansen, this technique places the swordsman is in a full somersault while attacking.

Ryūsōsen (Dragon's Nest Strike) (龍巣閃)

The "Dragon's Den" is a rapid-strike technique which deals a flurry of successive blows at god-like speed.

Ryūsōsen ~ Garami (Dragon's Nest Strike ~ Strangle) (龍巣閃・咬)

A variation of the normal Ryūsōsen, this technique targets the neck/head instead of the body.

Kuzu-ryūsen (Nine-headed Dragon) (九頭龍閃)

The “Nine-Headed Dragon” is a formidable technique which utilizes Shinsoku (lit. God-speed) to the fullest extent; dealing nine strikes to the most fundamental targets of swordsmanship (Kara Take, Kesa Giri, Saka Gesa, Hidari Nagi, Migi Nagi, Hidari Kiriage, Migi Kiriage, Saka Kaze, and Tsuki), all at the same time. These points are the focus of the technique as they make up the basis of one’s guarding stance, regardless of style or weapon. So with the Kuzu-ryūsen, attacking all nine all at once, guarding and dodging becomes virtually pointless. It should be noted, that this move was not created for actual combat, but as a byproduct in the creation of the secret; as an initiation for the secret. If the initiate can overcome their master's nine dragons, then they would be ready to acquire the secret. Unlike the multiple strike attack, Ryūsōsen, all nine strikes of the Kuzu-ryūsen carry lethal force. However, weight and power play a critical aspect in the effectiveness of the technique. This means, even if the move is executed without flaw, the force behind the technique will differ from wielder to wielder depending on their class in weight and arm strength. Essentially, a "lighter" Kuzu-ryūsen would be overpowered by a "heavier" Kuzu-ryūsen.

Battōjutsu techniques

Art of Drawing the Blade (Battōjutsu)

Stance with right foot placed in front of left, pressing the blade of the sheathed sword against the curve of the sheath, which increases draw speed. The drawing of the blade is the same motion used for the attack. It is an all-or-nothing attack where missing the target results in the user being completely vulnerable. All battōjutsu in Hiten Mitsurugi-Ryū are comprised of two steps to avoid failure.

Note - The names of the following techniques are all preceded by Hiten Mitsurugi-Ryū:

Battōjutsu Soryūsen (Art of Sword-drawing, Double Dragon Strike) (双龍閃)

As above, but with a follow-up attack utilizing the sheath as its secondary strike. This second swing covers the period of vulnerability left after a normal battōjutsu.

Battōjutsu Soryūsen ~ Ikazuchi (Art of Sword-drawing, Double Dragon Lightning) (双龍閃・雷)

“Ikazuchi” is the reverse variant of Soryūsen, wherein the blade strike follows that of the sheath. The swordsman feints battōjutsu to distract from the sheath strike and follows-up with the second blade strike. It is a highly-advanced maneuver, as the sheath strike locks the adversary and their weapon, leaving them completely vulnerable to the swordsman's blade.

Battōjutsu Hiryūsen (Art of Sword-drawing, Flying Dragon Strike) (飛龍閃)

This projectile sword-technique uses centrifugal force and the user's hand (more precisely, the thumb) to shoot the sword from inside the sheath, allowing them to strike at adversaries outside the sword's reach. The culmination of centrifugal force and hand strength makes the accuracy of the strike all the more efficient, enabling the swordsman to strike regions on the adversary such as the middle of the forehead.

Ryūmeisen (Dragon Howl Strike) (龍鳴閃)

This is a sword-technique opposite to the god-speed battōjutsu of Hiten Mitsurugi-Ryū, shinsoku nōtōjutsu (lit. god-speed sheathing). When the sword hilt connects with the sheath, the god-speed sheathing produces a sonic boom that temporarily stuns an opponent's auditory nerve, impairing their hearing and equilibrium. Kenshin uses this technique only once, against Yukishiro Enishi, to counter Shikkū Tōsei (lit. Sky-Stride Sword Rush).

Ōgi - Amakakeru Ryū no Hirameki (天翔龍閃)

Note: It literally translates into "Flying Heaven Honorable Sword Style Secret: Heavens Bridging Dragon Spark"; VIZ "Dragon Flight of Heaven".

The Amakakeru Ryū No Hirameki is battōjutsu that surpasses Shinsoku. This is the key to defeating the Kuzu-ryūsen. Because the Kuzu-ryūsen is a charging technique that cannot be blocked, an attack must be made before the Kuzu-ryūsen arrives, thus the true nature of the final technique: the Amakakeru Ryū No Hirameki must be faster than a regular battōjutsu in order to hit the opponent. The secret behind the technique lays in an additional step with the left foot. This single step alone adds instantaneous acceleration and weight to the sword changing the god-like speed of Hiten Mitsurugi Battōjutsu to "Beyond god-like speed". However, this extra step is difficult to take as one of the fundamental teaching of battōjutsu states that one should step forward with the right foot as to avoid cutting their own foot with the attack. As such, the additional step forward with the left foot can spell certain death for the swordsman, as it takes precise timing to coordinate, as to not lose any momentum while drawing; it requires the utmost concentration, that can only be obtained by one's desire to live.

There is another secret to this technique. If the initial strike is avoided or blocked, the force of the unusually fast slashing motion displaces the air around it, generating a vacuum in its wake and sucking the opponent in. As this happens, the body is spun around for a second strike, the previous action adding force and momentum to the swing, making the subsequent strike far stronger. This is the true power of the Amakakeru Ryū no Hirameki. As Kenshin's teacher Hiko Seijuro said, Even if you were able to avoid the fangs of the flying dragon, the gusting winds strip away freedom of movement, and the claws would rip you apart.

"Amakakeru Ryū no Hirameki" is so fast that its implementation can be successful even when the enemy's strike has actually reached the user's body, as in Rurouni Kenshin manga volume 14. As depicted, Shinomori Aoshi's signature Kaiten-kenbu Rokuren attack has actually begun to cut into Kenshin's neck when Kenshin released the attack, and blows Aoshi back before he can even finish. The invincible attack "Amakakeru Ryū no Hirameki" is the final technique of the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryū.

In order to perform the attack flawlessly, the user must be in peak physical condition and there must be nothing inhibiting their application of the technique.

Miscellaneous techniques

Air Dragon Strike (地龍閃, Ka-ryūsen)

A gust of wind caused by Kenshin's sakabatō, he uses this to stun or impede opponents at a distance.

Kenshin Style - Art of the Revolving Sword Draw (剣心流・回転抜刀術, Kenshin-Ryū: Kaiten Battōjutsu)

In the final duel of "Ishin Shishi he no Requiem (Requiem for the Ishin Patriots)", Kenshin improvised this original move as a last resort, as his left arm was wounded and the other techniques of the Hiten Mitsurugi Style had been rendered all but useless before Shigure's Kanuma Sword & Sheath Style.

Wrapping his wounded arm and sheath to the belt and taking the stance for the Amakakeru Ryū No Hirameki, Kenshin leaps high into the air, and begins a free-fall. Knowing there is no stability while airborne, Kenshin utilizes the free-fall to multiply the torque of his rotating body to accelerate the draw of his sword for the decisive strike. This technique is more accurately akin to Ryūkansen, in that it uses the body’s centripetal force to counter any adversary’s assault with a lightning-swift counterattack. Sagara Sanosuke was the one to coin the name "Kenshin-Ryu: Kaiten Battōjutsu".

Zantetsu

The most skilled swordsmen were purportedly able to use their swords to cut through steel. Kenshin states he can use it anywhere except underwater.

Shiraha Dori

A defensive technique where the enemy's sword is stopped by using the bare hands. This was the move used to defeat Shinomori Aoshi in the Tokyo Arc.

Modoshi Giri (Reversing Cut)

The most skilled swordsmen using the best of blades were supposedly able to slice an object in two and rejoin the halves together, as if it were never cut at all. Kenshin demonstrates this when he cuts a daikon and then reforms it back together. He doesn't cut it with his sword, but rather a kitchen knife, since his sakabatō was broken at that time.