How closely does Rurouni Kenshin resemble real life?


_Rurouni Kenshin_ is an anime based on several historical facts. How
accurately are the events in the series portrayed?

I don't mean just historical events used in the series, such as the
Shinsengumi, but how accurate is their real life portrayal of the art of
swordsmanship. Is it really possible to obtain such power with dedication to
daily training portrayed in the series?




This question is tricky, since the author (I believe) masterfully incorporated
real-life events/characters (Imperialists, Shinsengumi, etc.), while basing
some of the fictional characters on real life people (Kenshin), and mixing in
some pure fiction. Also the response would be too long for this thread. I
would read the [Kenshin Wikia](http://kenshin.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page) which
usually has trivia under each characters about who they are based on or
influenced by.

It should be noted that he did some clever things like rework Saito/Aoshi to
be more like Hijikata Toshizō, and Seta Sojiro is heavily influenced by Okita
Soji (even has Okita's named katana).

Fighting style wise, in the manga/TV series, while some of the styles like
Gatotsu were based on real moves various factions used, they were exaggerated
or made up and completely unrealistic in real life. However, it's worth noting
that in the OVAs and the new movies, the fighting is realistic (which means
the fight scenes are **a lot** shorter but the higher animation quality
definitely makes it more fun to watch).




Since your question is remarkably broad (historical facts, events, the art of
the sword, the base for all of the characters & plot points), and since some
aspects of _Rurouni Kenshin_ 's historicity have already been answered in
other questions on this SE
[here](https://anime.stackexchange.com/questions/541/who-is-kenshin-based-on),
[here](https://anime.stackexchange.com/questions/18547/why-does-okita-souji-
did-not-appear), and
[here](https://anime.stackexchange.com/questions/19525/are-guns-in-kenshin-
historically-accurate), and there are useful fan websites like
[this](http://hanyaiseng2.blogspot.jp/2012/03/hitokiri-battousai-really-
there.html), [this](https://shinsengumisadaptations.wordpress.com/),
[this](http://spressivo.com/isa/TenThings2009/1428.htm), and
[this](http://www.oocities.org/rainforestwind/meiji2.htm), I will collect here
some of the _mangaka_ Nobuhiro Watsuki's own comments in a number of
interviews about how historically-accurate the series is.

Interview at AnimeExpo 2002 convention in 2 different fan translations (he was
speaking in Japanese):

[#1](https://rozzychan.wordpress.com/2012/04/15/interview-with-watsuki-
nobuhiro-at-anime-expo-2002/):

> Hmmmmmmm, _Rurouni Kenshin_ started as a short story, so I didn’t do much
> research on it, but in the year and a half between the story and the start
> of the series, I spent a lot of time reading [books about Meiji]. I did the
> manga because I wanted to draw kimono and swords, so don’t count on all of
> the details to be completely accurate. . . . Also, I am a big fan of the
> Shinsengumi. . . . The model for Kenshin was one of the old _hitokiri_ of
> the Bakumatsu. This man was an assassin and slayed … He had a tough life,
> and in his last years he started to repent for all of the killings, but he
> kept his will and was executed by the government. So he is not very well
> respected in Japan. . . . Some moves are based on actual moves. Sanosuke’s
> _fuwai no kuwami_ is just an exaggerated double punch. The other half of the
> moves are created by him swinging his sword around in the privacy of his own
> room. A third category pays homage to his favorite shows like _Sunrise
> Showdown_. Shishio’s final move is just a big-ass _homoro dama_.

and

> I have practiced Kendo, but I am very weak. That is where my love of sports
> comes from, but I am very weak. If I were good at Kendo, I wouldn’t be
> drawing manga.

[#2](http://www.crunchyroll.com/forumtopic-65909/interview-with-nobuhiro-
watsuki-about-rurouni-kenshin):

> _Kenshin_ started as a shot story without much research. In the year and
> half, he had between when the series started he read a LOT of books. He
> wanted to draw kimonos and swords, so its not very accurate to the Meiji
> period. . . . He is also a big fan of the Shinsengumi, but he couldn't do
> the actual revolution since he wanted to do more human drama. . . . There
> was a _hitokiri_ of the revolution [name missed], who had his own mind, and
> never really bent to the government. He did end up repenting for his
> killing, however he DID get executed for never submitting to the government.
> . . . A lot of the moves are based on real martial arts moves, just over-
> exaggerated. The other half are created by him flinging a sword around in
> the privacy of his room. Others are homages to favorite games, like _Samurai
> Spirits_ . . .

and

> Watsuki has practiced Kendo and his love of sword comes from that. He's very
> weak thought, and if he was a good kendo practitioner he wouldn't be drawing
> manga.

Interview from _Kenshin Kaden_ guidebook in 2 different fan translations:

[#1](http://users.skynet.be/aoshihomepage/Kenshin/Author.htm)

> The _sakabatou_ is something original that I came up with. The reason for it
> is very simple: I didn’t want my main character killing anyone. But a bamboo
> sword or wooden sword isn’t intimidating enough, so I came up with the idea
> of a sword that has its sharp and blunt edges on reversed sides. That way
> the main character is able to fight the way he always does, and still be
> able to refrain from killing anyone. [laughs]

[#2](http://users.skynet.be/aoshihomepage/Kenshin/Author.htm)

> It's an original idea, a weapon like that didn't exist at that time. Right
> before the beginning of the series, I told myself that it wasn't a good idea
> to have a main character who killed his opponent in every fight, but I also
> didn't want to give him a _bokuto_ (wooden sword), or a _takemitsu_ (sword
> with a normal hilt but a wooden blade). Then I got the idea to create a
> sword with a sharp back, so that it could be used effectively against
> opponent, but it wouldn't be lethal. And that's how the _sakabatou_ was
> born!

Interview from [_Kenshin Hiden_](http://kenkaku.free.fr/interview.html)
guidebook:

> I practiced [kendo] in jr. high but only to an elementary level. Then I
> stopped practicing during high school, since I was devoted to drawing manga
> by then. I didn’t want my time limited by extracurricular activities. . . .
> It started when I read the new _Moeyo, Ken_ by Shiba Ryuutarou (another very
> famous and popular history in Japan). I loved the book and decided to use
> the end of the Bakufu era as a historical background. Later, the story
> spread to the Meiji era, which is due to another book I read in that same
> period: _Shuugata Sanshirou_ by Tsuneo Tomita. Designing a story set at the
> end of the Bakufu perid is quite a complicated job, and therefore the short
> history presented is inadequate. The end of the Bakufu and the beginning of
> Meiji is filled with chaos and instabilities, so I chose Meiji years 10 to
> 20, a more stable era for the background of a short story. Due to various
> limitations, I couldn’t draw real historical figures. So I created my own
> characters. . . . This is because of the Satsuma Rebellion. Before the end
> of the Satsuma Rebellion in the tenth year of Meiji, there was always a lot
> of turmoil and rioting in Japan. Most people are familiar with the end of
> the Bakufu and the Meiji Restoration, not recognizing that the end of the
> Bakufu as the exact beginning of the Meiji era. Instead, the Meiji truly
> began in Meiji year 10, after the Satsuma Rebellion ended. For the same
> reason, I chose Meiji year 11 for the background story of _Rurouni Kenshin_.
> . . . No, I didn’t take [Ookubo Toshimichi’s assassination] into
> consideration at that time. Initially, _Rurouni Kenshin_ was only intended
> to be pubished for 30 weeks. Though I hadn’t thought of it beforehand, I
> thought it'd be very interesting to add this into the plot. . . . No, I
> wasn’t very confident [laughs], especially when the series was first
> published, I was really worried. . . . My interest in history began with the
> start of the _Kenshin_ series. I learned all of this history along with my
> readers. I had to look for references at the same time as I was drawing the
> series; I knew very little about the Shinsengumi. I like the Shinsengumi
> since I created _Sengoku no Mikazuki_ in the year that I finished _Rurouni_
> and started _Rurouni Kenshin_ , the only book that I read was about the
> Shinsengumi [laughs]. . . . My favorites are Hijikata Toshizou, Okita Souji,
> Saitou Hajime, Harada Sanosuke, Serizawa Kamo, in fact each of the units. I
> also like Takeda Kanryuu and Nagaruka Shinpachi. I always want to somehow
> arrange an appearance of Nagakura Shinpachi in the manga. . . . Yes, I also
> like Ookubo Toshimichi. Things related to Katsura Kogorou have an
> interesting feel as well. Apart from the Ishinshishi, it's boring to study
> the life of Enomoto Takeai after the Battle of Hakodate. I like that. There
> was also a swordsman appointed in the late Bakufu period, Sakakikara
> Kenkichi. He was a master of the martial arts school established by the
> Bakufu government. His title required being the strongest swordsman of the
> Bakufu. He insisted on wearing a cape to his death; he was really a stubborn
> person. I also considered adding him into the manga. I’m interested in
> Sakamoto Ryoma recently, but I don’t intend to add him into the manga
> [laughs]. . . . Although I don’t have time to read these days, I read a lot
> in the beginning. The writers that I like include Shiba Ryotarou, Ikenami
> Shoutarou, Shibata Renzaburou, and more. Covering the Shinsengumi, Shimo
> Zawahiro (a writer of novels chronicling the Shinsengumi) is very famous.
> His writing is interesting and serves well as references and historical
> novels.

[Interview at Made in Asia 3 convention](http://www.manga-
news.com/index.php/actus/2011/03/28/Nobuhiro-Watsuki-Conference-et-Interview)
(I'm translating from the French, since it took place in Brussels):

> It’s true that at the beginning of _Kenshin_ , I wasn’t a specialist in this
> period, even though I liked a lot of aspects, especially the Bakufu. It’s
> really as I was drawing the story that I became more knowledgeable. At that
> time, the internet was not at developed as it is now, so I had to deepen my
> knowledge by finding out through old books.

