The are a group of ten elite assassins founded and commanded by Shishio Makoto for the purpose of assassinating Meiji government officials upon their planned revolution.[ch. 76] Based in Mount Hiei,[ch. 87] they are the primary antagonist group of the Kyoto arc. Although he does not officially join them, Aoshi works with the Juppongatana in order to fight Kenshin again, even allowing them to attack Aoi-Ya.[ch. 87] Watsuki said that several of his assistants suggested ideas for the Juppongatana and that many of the characters grew out of these ideas. In Watsuki's original concept, with the exception of Sōjirō none of the Juppongatana were intended to be lookers. The author added Kamatari and Fuji at a later point. When Watsuki felt that Saizuchi, had not been used to his full potential, in retrospect he wondered if having six or seven members of the organization would have been sufficient instead of ten.