- The Childhood Years -
Not much is known about Kenshin during his childhood years. My memory is a bit hazy, but from what I remember Kenshin's parents were probably of the peasant class and most likely worked as farmers. At this time his name was Shinta. When he was young his parents lost their lives due to an epidemic that spread through the village they lived in. Afterwards, poor Shinta was picked up by a bunch of slave traders and ended up befriending three older girls named Akane, Sakura, and Kasumi. One day, the slave traders were attacked by bandits and everyone traveling with Kenshin were killed except him. He was protected by the three girls, who gave their lives to save his, and finally was saved by a swordmaster named Hiko Seijuro.
- Growing Up -
Hiko was impressed by Shinta after he saw the boy dig graves for everyone who was killed. When asked, Shinta told Hiko that everyone deserved to be buried respectfully regardless of whether they were slave traders or not. Hiko, being impressed by the kid's thought process, decided to take Shinta in and teach him the sword technique of Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu. He then proceeded to change his name to Kenshin which means "heart of sword" because he thought that Shinta was too sweet a name for a swordmaster. So Kenshin went home with Hiko and became his shishou's "baka deshi". ^_^ At the age of 14 Kenshin was distressed by the suffering that resulted from the constant war and fighting. He wanted to go out and fight in the war also, but Hiko refused. Hiko told him that Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu masters always kept aloof from wordly matters because with their sword technique, the side they joined would probably come out the winner. However, being the stubborn and selfless person that he was, Kenshin refused to listen and decided to leave his master without having perfected his sword fighting technique.
- During the Bakumatsu -
After leaving Hiko Seijuro, Kenshin then met up with the right people and joined up with the Ishinshishi, working as a shadow assasin. He was so quick and could read his opponent's moves in advance, and as a result he was given the nickname "Hitokiri Battousai". He served as an assasin for a couple of years. Then Yukishiro Tomoe came into his life, seeking out the Hitokori Battousai in order to get revenge since he murdered her fiance. Things got complicated, and Tomoe and Kenshin ended up getting hitched. However, she tried to break up a fight that Kenshin was participating in and ended up getting herself killed in the process (If you're interested in the whole sordid affair, check out The Battousai Shrine - it's a wonderful site!). Kenshin then went on to fight in the final battle at Toba Fushimi, and then promised never to kill again, becoming a wandering swordsman or rurouni.
- Sessha wa Rurouni -
Kenshin wandered all over Japan and kept a low profile for a long and lonely ten years. However, one morning in downtown Tokyo an eighteen-year old girl named Kamiya Kaoru cornered an unsuspecting short, red-haired, violet-eyed traveler carrying a sakabatou. She accused him of being the Hitokori Battousai who had been defaming her school, but then got distracted when the real killer made an appearance. Of course the killer was a fake and Kaoru was right on the money! So after a lot of fighting and a few misunderstandings related to the bath house, Kaoru offered the wandering Rurouni a home and declared that she didn't give a care about his past (awww!). And so the rurouni found a home and the anime series of RK began.