Ten years after the Meiji restoration, a young man called Himura Kenshin arrived in Tokyo. He was a rurouni, a vagabond, wandering all over the country. An inverted blade sword and a x-shaped scar on his left chin were all the things he carried. There he encountered a 17 year old girl, Kamiya Kaoru.
Kaoru's father was a sword master, he died in the civil war and she was left all alone with a large property, the dojo. Two villains was trying to take away the dojo from Kaoru. At the most dangerous moment, it was Kenshin who came to rescue. He was going to continue his journey again while Kaoru, being thankful for what he had done, asked him to stay. Perhaps Kenshin was tired of the wandering life, he agreed to stay. During his stay, he made friends with a young man called Sanosuke and a 10 year old boy Yahiko. In the dojo, Kenshin, Kaoru, Yahiko and Sano developed a very close relationship. They were like family members who cannot be seperated.
However, the past of Kenshin did not allow him to stay in peace. Before Meiji era, Kenshin was actually a political assasin, Hitokiri (Assasin) Battosai, whose name was a nightmare to all Bakufu politicians. Kenshin chose the way of Hitokiri, to kill the high ranking officials in the corrupt Bakufu government in order to assist the the reformist. He killed all his way until the year the reformist gained absolute advantage over the Bakufu, and disappeared suddenly. While his commrades became rich and powerful in the Meiji government, Kenshin became a rurouni, a humble, ordinary vagabond who vowed not to kill any more.
He was a cadet of the Sakihora sqaud. After the revolution, he became a professional fighter and was known as Sanza (San means cut and za is the short form of his name). Born with unusual physical strength, he was able to use the heavy giant sword with ease and defeat a strongly-built man with only one finger. His favourite food is barbercued fish and he's the expert in cooking the dish. His surname came from Souzo Sagara, the leader of the Sekihora squad. The squad is the vanguard of the reformist, later betrayed by the Meiji government. Souzo was beheaded, leaving Sanosuke behind with the hatred to the reformist and the government. The Chinese character on the back of Sano, which means ferocity, symbolises his past. He desperately wanted to beat the strongest reformist "Battosai" . It was not until Kenshin defeated him, then he realize the real meaning of the reform, and gave up his obstinacy.
Yahiko's parents died when he was still very young. His father was a lowly ranked samurai who rebeled against the corrupted Bakufu to fight for the reformist, for which he was killed. His widowed mother worked as a prostitute in order to raise him, and died in illness. He was then picked up by a leader of a gang and was forced to became a pickpocket.
Apart from the fact that Saito was enemy to Kenshin in the war of revolution, Saito did have his own principles and believes : "Aku *Soku* San" --kills whoever evil. This is why Saito was willing to work under the Meiji government after Shinsengumi dismantled. He used his role in the Meiji to finish those who endager the country to seek for self interest . Saito's special strike " Katotsu", was initially called "Left Horizontal Thrust", a special strike of the Shinsengumi, which was invented by the deputy leader of the Shinsengumi, Hijikata Toshizo.
Aoshi was the head of Oniwabanshuu serving under Bakufu government. As the Bakufu collapsed, he wandered around the country and became Kanryuu's bodyguard. He was beaten in the first duel between him and Kenshin and all his subordinates were killed while protecting him from Kanryuu's automatic machine gun. Afterwards, he went on training and reappeared in Kyoto. He joined forces with Shishio in order to kill Kenshin, but again he was defeated. This time, the love of Misao and the words of Kenshin touched the heart of Aoshi and won him back.
He was the leader of the first squad in Shinsengumi, famous for his swordsmenship as well as his handsome appearence. He was a key man of Shinesengumi. Unfortunately, he caught Tuberculosis and died at the age of 25.