Samurai X essays

Samurai X essays The Tokugawa Era ended with the surrender of their loyalist forces. Royalist forces called the Ishinshishi rebeled against the Tokugawa Shogunate because they were not contented with the countrys current state. But Yoshinobu Tokugawa didnt have any choice when the mysterious Black Ships (Western) of Commodore Matthew Calibriath Perry arrived in Japan. The government was afraid of an invasion. So Tokugawa was forced to sign a treaty of trade with U.S. which led to more trouble which caused its down fall. The Meiji government replaced the military regime of Tokugawa and placed Emperor Meiji in power. The government wanted to modernize Japan by learning from the West. During the period the carrying of swords was banned. So the samurai had no place in the new society. Some became farmers, others became bandits. Here is where kenshin steps in. Rurouni Kenshin is the story of a wanderer called Himura Kenshin (with Himura meaning, of the village, and Kenshin meaning Sword Heart). During the Bakumatsu (end of Edo Dynasty in Japan), he was known as the Hitokiri Battousai, which meant, Assasin of Sword-Drawing. Kenshin killed with a single stroke, quick and painless. He was a member of the Choshu Ishin group, and was a Hitokiri (Assasin) for them. Later, Katsura Kogoro transferred him to the front to fight against the Shinsen Gumi. After a period, he left the Choshu, and began wandering throuhout Japan. He took a vow never to kill again, and replaced his sword with a Sakabatou (reverse-blade sword) so that he may still use his fighting skills but not to kill. Now, Kenshin perceive life as a precious gift and therefore, he treats people with cheer and love and his enemies with respect. ...