Ask John: How Much of Rurouni Kenshin is Based on History?

Question:
I heard that from a friend that some of the characters of Rurouni Kenshin are actually based on people that once existed in Japan in the late 1800s. Is this true? And in a related question from a different reader, did Kenshin’s sakabatou style sword ever exist?

Answer:
I apologize for any lapses in my answer in advance. Rurouni Kenshin isn’t a show that I’m very familiar with, but from what I’ve been able to research, the Shinsengumi defense force, as presented in Rurouni Kenshin, did actually exist and are historically considered one of Japan’s greatest police/military forces. Several of the characters in Rurouni Kenshin are loose adaptations of historical members of the Shinsengumi. Aoshi was based on Hijikata Toshizo (vice captain), Sanosuke was based on Harada Sanosuke (captain of the 10th troop), Kanryuu was based on Kanryuusai Takeda (captain of the 5th troop), Shishio was based on Serizawa Kamo (chief officer), Soujirou was based on Okita Souji (captain of the 1st troop), and Saitou Hajime, the historical captain of the third troop, was actually presented in Rurouni Kenshin relatively unchanged.

While several characters in the series, and the political setting of the series, are all broadly historically accurate, Himura Kenshin’s reverse blade sword is a fictional invention created by Rurouni Kenshin author Nobuhiro Watsuki. Historically the reverse blade sword never existed, but I have heard of prop replicas of Kenshin’s sword being produced and sold in Japan within recent years.