The Historical Side of Rurouni Kenshin

Japan in the Edo and Meiji Eras
Have you ever wondered how the arrival of a few ships into the Bay of Edo could cause a civil war or wonder what the Battle of Tobu Fushimi is? This section of will attempt to give the history behind things that are mentioned in the Rurouni Kenshin series so that those fans who don't know the history behind it can understand some of the references made in the series.
  • Japan Timeline
  • A Short History of Japan
  • Samurai
  • Swordsmanship
  • Mythology
  • Festivals
  • Battles
  • Traditional Japanese Clothing
  • Japanese: A Small Dictionary
    Historical Locales
    There are many places of historical significance mentioned in Rurouni Kenshin and some of these have special significance to the various characters. Here is were you will learn some historic facts about the places mentioned in the series.
  • Kyoto/Tokyo
  • Tokaido/Nakasendo
  • Satsuma/Choushu/Aizu
  • Shimosuwa
  • Toba Fushimi
    Historic Persons
    If you look carefully at Rurouni Kenshin you will notice that there are several characters in it that are based on actual historic people. That's one of the things that I think makes it interesting. The following will give you historic information on each one of these characters as well as their relievance to the plot Rurouni Kenshin. Enjoy! The information on these pages comes from Sakamoto Ryoma and the Meiji Restoration by Marius B. Jansen and from Meiji 1868 by Paul Akamatsu. The rest came from information that one can learn by watching RK.
  • Katsura Kogoro
  • Okubo Toshimichi
  • Saigo Takamori
  • Sakamoto Ryoma
  • Takasugi Shinsaka
  • Tokugawa Yoshinobu
  • Saito Hajime
  • Okita Soushi
  • Yamagata Aritomo