did a samurai called battosai exist?

he was a legendary slasher who later decided to change his ways . did he ever exist?

You have been watching to much Rurouni Kenshin. Just remember that the characters of historical anime usually dot exist. But, there were 4 Hitokiri in Japans past, all of which are in history and are dead. Try not to bring anime questions here please, thank you. Go to the other or entertainment board please.

Mangas and animated arts are reasons for many interested in Japan. So questions in these interests should not be discouraged. Let those good at such interests answer the questions.

u c there actually was a period called the tokugawa era and the meiji govt. in samurai x, japanese history has sort of been retold. may be there was no person called battousai, but there may be someone like him. i have read about ieyasu tokugawa and in samurai x his name comes up a lot. there are many many similarities!

As mentioned earlier there were 4 Hitokiri of the Bakumatsu. Kenshin (or the battosai) is loosely based on Gensai Kawakami, an assassin who worked for the Choushu Clan. He was one of the four Hitikiri.

thanks dave

Well...Kawakami Gensai, the historical personage for the character Himura Kenshin, did in fact exist and is very similer to the Character of Nobuhiro Watsuki's great masterpiece of Japanese historical fiction. Whether ther was an actual samurai named Battosai can not ever be completely known, as there is no possible way to account for every single samurai that lived in that time period. Especially when you take into account not only the numerous amounts of samurai at the time, but also the fact that nvery few ronin had any records of them at all. It's entirely possible that a samurai known as Battosai existed, but whether he was like Nobuhiro Watsuki's Battosai is impossible to know.

Hi there! i'm a fan of rurouni kenshin and made a lot of searchs about it and i know that kenshin-the main character- is really based on KAWAKAMI Gensai one of the 4 greatest hitokiri in japanese history! he's said to look exactely like kenshin -he was easily mistaken for a woman- but he's said to be very clever and kinda mysterious. It's also said that he developed a unique and strong style (It's called furanui-ryu or shiranui-ryu), he mastered the furanui battojutsu -nothing to do with kenshin's Ama Kakeru Ryu No Hirameki :)- that used to cut down Kuma Shouzan in broad daylight!! i wanna know if someone has a picture of him cauz i tried but in vain :(
Hope this was interesting!

thanks rurouni kenshin fan. i'd like to know more about rurouni kenshin and everything you know about him.
if u don't have any problem , plz email me at nightshadow111991@yahoo.co.in
and do write about the different sword styles and samurai

Yume Yumemiru your are right Kawakami Gensai was the main modle when Nobuhiro Watsuki whenhe made Kenshin. He was also the most dreaded among the 4 great hitokiri. That why I love this show cuz all of the charaters many not be really but it give you a look of how it was in its era.

anybody, translate please.

http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%B2%B3%E4%B8%8A%E5%BD%A6%E6%96%8E
http://www2u.biglobe.ne.jp/~matsuba/bakken/tokusyu42.htm

translation of your first line, because my PC can not read the words of the second line.

Kawakami Gensai. 25th Dec 1834-13th Jan 1872. He was samurai of Higo-han. (han is a name of the political territory of local feodal lord. bY TOSHI). His political opinion was pro-emperor/contra-occidentals. At the age of 30, he was elected as director of gurdians, as higher level as that of Miyabe Teizo (prononciation Teizo ?). After this time, he was called Hitokiri Gensai, one of four hitokiri of later periode of Tokugawa shogunat, and he killed many people who were pro-Tokugawa shogunat. After the political event of Higo-han, he left there and went to Choshu-han, where he gurded Sanjo Sanetomi. After the Ikedaya-inn (in Kyoto) attack, by Shinsengumi, where Miyabe Teizo became one of victims, he went to Kyoto to revenge. Later, he killed Sakuma Zozan (Shozan ?)whose political opinion was to open the Japan to foreign (and occidental) countries, for the last time. At the second Contra-Choshu campaign by Tokugawa regime, he participated for Choshu, and they won the battle. Later, he went back to Higo-han where he was imprisoned because then Higo-han was pro-Tokugawa. Later Tokugawa gave the political ruling power back to the emperor, and Kawakami Gensai was freed. In 4 of Meiji era, he was arrested and the head cut off, cos he was supposed to have killed Counselor Hirosawa Maomi (Maomi ?).
N.B. He is the model of Himura Kenshin, in the anime Rurouni Kenshin.

In fact, no need to translate into English. I have found lots of pages interested, in English. Type Yahoo.jp. Type Kawakami Gensai. You will have more than 180 pages, in English and in Japanese.

Thank you very much, Toshi.
You're great.

i have the information on the man that was the manslayer of fuedal japan, if u email me just put "sword" as yr subject title
Komori Genjiro, he changed his name into Kawakami Gensai(Hitokiri-Gensai). He changed his name further into Takada Genbe He was short, his jaw and cheekbone was sharp. He was always calm and he was unyielding. And, he was very gentle Though He was born in Komori Family in Kumamoto, he became a foster-child of Kawakami Family, and became a Buddhist priest. (When there was a big earthquake and all people were running away, he extinguished the fire of a brazier, and he was accepted by many people. It was said that it was regrettable that He's a Buddhist. Buddhist priest's position was convenient to study. Then, a study of the soldier was learned by Miyabe Teizo, and literature and swordsmanship were learned by Todoroki Muhe. He didn't get the permission of his clan though he tried to do overseas inspection to know the circumstance of foreign countries. If a foreign circumstance can't be known, he thought that he should exile a foreigner from Japan, and he recommended the thought of "Sonno-jyoi(Reverence for the Emperor and expulsion of the foreigner)". Then, he fought to overthrow the shogunate together with "shishi of kinno" which his mind was suitable for. Though he killed many people, a clear record about his assassination does not exist.(The incident that a Sakuma Syouzan was assassinated at midday is famous.) Then, many battles were finished, and He succeeded in overthrowing the shogunate admirably. However, he became bothering existence for new government because his thought wasn't changed after the Restoration.(The government completely changed a policy suddenly.) Then, he was killed by the follower of "Kido Takayoshi" who was gensai's company. At this time, he didn't have the crime which was worth the death penalty

hey akakaji (is that what u wrote?) thanx a ton . what's ur email? and if any of u have some info, you can email me at nightshadow111991@yahoo.co.in
thanks

This was from a game "Samurai Warriors" I just want to know if it was true that Yukimura fought at the summertime battle of Chausuyama, and that he broke through the enemy army and reached Tokugawa’s flag three times, making Tokugawa pull back a few times until Yukimura's dying day?

The fact that some people refuse to believe it possible for a lightning fast style to exist irritates me. And So also a Kenshin nut I did some digging. If you look up the Name Gensai you will find al lyou really need to know about the REAL hitokiri batousai and the REAL name of the Hiten Mitsurugi style. That is all I wish to say.

In the chaos after the Onin War and the collapse of the Ashiga shogunate, the Sanada clan allied with with the Toyotomi. In 1590, Yukimura (@1570 - 1615), was part of Hideyoshi's attack on Odawara castle, portrayed by Yoshitoshi.

Yukimura had an impregnable fortress at Osaka Castle. In 1614, the Tokugawa army unsuccessfully laid seige to it. Ieyasu then proposed a reconcilation, conditional upon the destruction of the outer moat of Osaka castle. His envoys destroyed not only the outer, but also the inner, moat, leaving the castle defenseless. On May 6, 1615, Ieyasu attacked again. Though Yukimura's army was outnumbered, it withstood the attack, and, the next day, Yukimura and a few soldiers invaded Ieyasu's camp directly. Legend has it that Yukimura wounded Ieyasu in the kidney, but was killed by a Tokugawa samurai who came upon him after the attack. The sources I have consulted believe that this print is intended to portray Sanada making his way to Ieyasu's camp before this incident.

YOU HAVE A LOT OF MISTAKES...
AND A LOT OF TRUES...
GUES WHICH IS WHUCH...