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The Oniwabanshū were the protectors of Edo Castle during the Edo period. In Rurouni Kenshin, they are comprised of the following members: Shinomori Aoshi, Han'nya, Shikijo, Hyottoko, Beshimi, Makimachi Misao, Okina, and various former members of the Oniwabanshū.

After Watsuki first discussed the "Megumi arc" with the editor, the editor replied with the opinion that, in Watsuki's words, "having a swordsman of Kenshin's caliber fighting a group of punk-thugs still coming into their first facial hair mi-i-ight not make for the most epic of manga." To solve this, Watsuki modified the Oniwabanshū to make them onmitsu (ninja; Watsuki does not like using the word "ninja" as he feels that using it "like that" is "cheesy" ), and added details as publication progressed. Watsuki created various shapes and temperaments for the various Oniwabanshū characters. Watsuki describes the addition of the Oniwabanshū as a "last minute" choice.

Shinomori Aoshi

Shinomori Aoshi was raised a ninja of the Oniwabanshū, who worked for the Shogunate government during the Edo period. He helped to raise Makimachi Misao from childhood as a member of the Oniwabanshū. At the suggestion of Kashiwazaki Nenji (better known as Okina), Shinomori was given the position of Okashira at the age of fifteen, in time for the Oniwabanshū to defend Edo Castle.

After the revolution, since a few members of the Oniwabanshū were unable to adapt to life in the Meiji era, Aoshi and these members worked for the corrupt, power-hungry business man, Takeda Kanryū instead. Aoshi's Subordinates included Beshimi, who specialised in darts and poison, Hyotoko, whose name literally means "Fire Man" and uses flint-and-steel teeth to breathe fire. Also were Han'nya, a skilled martial artist and deft ninjutsu practitioner, and Shikijou, a "muscle man".

Makimachi Misao

is a fictional character in the manga and anime series Rurouni Kenshin created by Nobuhiro Watsuki.

Misao appears in the story after Himura Kenshin leaves Kamiya Kaoru and his friends and goes to Kyoto alone. In the Media Blasters dub of the television series, she is known by her western order name, Misao Makimachi. Her seiyu is Tomo Sakurai, her English voice actress is Philece Sampler and her Spanish voice actress is Nancy Cardozo (Latin America).

Kashiwazaki Nenji (Okina)

Kashiwazaki Nenji (柏崎念至?), also known as Okina, is a strong fighter and a talented strategist. He is said to be the only one who can equal the former Oniwabanshū leader in a fight. Okina was to become the next leader but refused the position, saying that it was the time for the young, not the old and recommended Aoshi to be the next leader. He was then made an agent in Kyoto for gathering information. Upon retiring, he gave up his fighting ways (although he was seen fighting Aoshi) and now lives peacefully in Kyoto at the Aoiya (House of Malva), the headquarters of the Oniwabanshū (which is now a hotel), where he raised Misao. Although old, Okina still possesses a quick mind and knows all of the outer and inner workings of Kyoto since the old intelligence network of the Oniwabanshu is still active. He uses this network to help Kenshin find Arai Seikū and Hiko Seijūrō. Okina tends to like drinking games and pretty girls.

Han'nya

Han'nya (般若 Hannya?) is a pupil of Aoshi. The village he was born in was poor, so he was abandoned at birth to reduce the number of people to feed. Han'nya survived, but he could not return to the village so he wandered around like an animal until Aoshi found him and gave him a position in the Oniwabanshū.

Han'nya is the master of disguise within the group, an ability he gained by removing all his prominent facial features (lips, nose, cheekbones, and ears), which is why he wears the demonic mask on his face.

As Aoshi gave him something to live for in the Oniwabanshū and was the only one to look past his gruesome appearance and train him without discrimination, he is very loyal to him, and would die for him, as was proven at the end of the Kanryū arc, giving his life to allow Kenshin enough time to retrieve his sakabatō to defeat Kanryū and save Aoshi.

Han'nya was always the one to look after Misao and in the Kyoto arc, his ghost appears in front of Misao during her fight with Kamatari to "check" on her.

Han'nya's style of combat evolves primarily from his discipline from Aoshi. However, he adds his own bit to it by having painted his arms in horizontal stripes, giving them the appearance of being shorter than they actually are, thus luring opponents into a false sense of security regarding distance of attacks. Kenshin defeats this tactic by using the sakabatō in a manner to act as a ruler of sorts, allowing him to see through the optical illusion.

Originally Watsuki wished to create Han'nya as an outcast like Joseph Merrick, the "Elephant Man." In the original concept, a person stepped on Han'nya's mother while he was in her womb. His deformities led to other people treating him "like a monster," so Han'nya flees to the mountains. There Aoshi discovers Han'nya living in solitude. Han'nya joins the Oniwabanshū, tells himself "Only in the Oniwabanshū am I able to live as a human being," and finds battles as his "raison d'être." Watsuki and his editor discussed the issue of the interpretation meaning "the shape of one's life is determined by how one is born." They discussed whether the concept is appropriate for a young men's (shōnen) magazine; Watsuki believes that the conversation was "the longest discussion ever" since the beginning of Rurouni Kenshin. In the end Watsuki decided to alter Han'nya's origin; Watsuki believes that developing and using the character was "challenging" since he felt an awareness of the "responsibility" for writing for young people." [5] Watsuki says that Han'nya could not be described as "evil." [6]

Watsuki based Han'nya on Yamazaki Susumu, one of the spies in the Shinsengumi. He used a skeleton as the design model. The difference in shape between the right and left eyes originates from Watsuki's original concept. As the outfit became more "blocky" as Watsuki continued drawing Han'nya, his assistants referred to Han'nya's outfit as "robot," "mobile suit," and "you name it." Many readers believed that a handsome face, a kagemusha for Aoshi, a kunoichi (female ninja), or other "interesting guesses" would be behind Han'nya's mask. Watsuki did not create a kunoichi idea, so the speculation seemed "interesting" to him and considered creating a kunoichi character.[5]

Hyottoko

Hyottoko (火男?) is one of the Oniwabanshū members that decided to go with Aoshi when he left Okina caring for Misao. His massive belly makes him nearly impervious to direct physical attacks.

Hyottoko mainly breathes fire at his opponents, by means of a large oil bag he keeps stored in his stomach and a nozzle he keeps in his mouth. He lights the flames by using his front teeth, which he replaced with flint.

Watsuki said he used no particular motif while designing Hyottoko. Using his rudimentary kanji knowledge (Hyottoko is formed by "Fire" (火) and "Man" (男)), he created a "fire-breather." As hyottoko is an onmitsu, Watsuki decided to make him "flashy" by giving him the ability to breathe fire. By the publication of Volume 4, Watsuki saw the character as somewhat out of place and not "organic" to his world.

According to the Rurouni Kenshin creator, fans, dōjinshi fanzine creators, and personal friends criticized Watsuki for using the fire breathing and Kenshin's victory over Hyottoko using the sword spinning technique. The critics labeled Hyottoko and Kenshin "circus freaks," leaving the creator with "puzzled sadness." Watsuki jokingly blamed "summer doldrums" for the scenario.

With the oil bag, Watsuki envisioned Hyottoko as fat.

Watsuki describes Hyottoko as a person who makes a grand entrance and sustains a grand defeat. According to Watsuki Hyottoko has overconfidence and is "a bit of an idiot." He sees the traits as "natural evolution" of the character.

Shikijō

One of the Oniwabanshū members. Shikijō (式尉?) was a soldier for the Satsuma faction until he was beaten by Aoshi (Aoshi created the scars all over Shikijō's body), who gave him a chance to join up with the Oniwabanshū and gain strength using Oniwabanshū training methods and "medicines." He is mainly a hand to hand fighter but he also swings around a huge ball and chain. He fights Sano at Kanryū's mansion and is defeated. He is the first to die at Kanryū's hand, protecting Aoshi from the Gatling Gun.

Watsuki said that he modeled Shikijō after Sanosuke by giving him the same philosophy, strength, and personality that Sanosuke possessed. By pitting Sanosuke against Shikijō Watsuki hoped to illustrate the differences between the two factions. As of the publication of Volume 4 in Japan, Watsuki commented that the scheme "may or may not have worked." Watsuki commented that even though the story sets Shikijō as a true villain, he sees his "noble" death as making him into "a cool guy." For the physical design Watsuki used no particular model. Watsuki gave Shikijō large muscles as Shikijō is a "power fighter." Since Watsuki believed that Shikijō did not appear to be "strange-enough looking," Watsuki added scars and an "superhero-like exaggerated musculature."

Beshimi

The smallest of the Oniwabanshū, Beshimi (癋見?) uses his speed to compensate for his lack of strength. His favorite weapons are darts, with which he poisons Yahiko, and later on in the anime jams Kanryū's gatling gun. He was gunned down by Kanryū shortly afterward to help Kenshin defeat him.

Watsuki, describing the character as "created on the spot," believes that there is not much of a motif. Watsuki described the sketched out character sans an already-created personality as being "kind of timid." Not originally intended to be a standalone character, Beshimi became shorter than Kenshin. Watsuki stated that some fans of Rurouni Kenshin adore Beshimi and write "Beshimi KAWAI'I!!" (Beshimi is cute).

 

 

 

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