Turbulent Times: A History
If you spot anything wrong on this page,
The story of RuroKen is set in the Meiji era, a time often referred to as Japan's "period of enlightenment." This period immediately followed the Edo or Tokugawa period, during which Japan was more or less under the feudal rule of the Tokugawa shogunate. At this time, the Emperor's influence was very, very weak. The decline of the Tokugawa was closely tied with the arrival of Commodore Matthew Perry's infamous "black ships" and their attack on Tokyo Bay, further shaking an already troubled government.
In the last years of the Tokugawa period (also known as the Bakumatsu, two major political groups arose: one, the Ishin Shishi, was intent on restoring power to the emperor; Kenshin worked as a hitokiri for the Choushuu Ishin Shishi, one of the more devoutly imperialistic Ishin Shishi groups. There were other shishi in the other regions, though their agenda and loyalties tended to vary from one group to another. The other faction was on the side of the shogunate and, in response to the Ishin Shishi hitokiri, formed the Shinsengumi to maintain peace and order at a time when people were dropping down dead like flies. At this time, there were, strictly speaking, no good and bad guys - both factions fought and killed as their principles dictated and both sides committed heroic as well as atrocious deeds. This is reflected in the manga by Kenshin's refusal to accept the idea that "might is right."
The Ishin Shishi employed four hitokiri - elite swordsmen who used their considerable skills to assassinate the shogun's supporters. One of them was the man upon which Himura Kenshin's character was loosely based. Kawakami Gensai, the most famous of the four for a particularly spectacular assassination in broad daylight, could apparently have been mistaken for a young man or a girl and yet was thought to be the most fearsome of the hitokiri.
The Ishin Shishi side eventually succeeded and the Meiji Restoration ultimately brought an end to the Tokugawa shogunate, whereupon the capital was moved from the seat of the shogun (Kyoto) to Edo (renamed Tokyo). Major changes in Japanese policies were enforced. It is also at this time, in the manga, after the final battle at Toba-fushimi, that Kenshin left the Ishin Shishi and began his wandering, finally winding up at Tokyo and meeting Kaoru.