Himura Kenji
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| Himura Kenji | |
|---|---|
| Rurouni Kenshin character | |
 Himura Kenji as a young boy |
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| Created by | Nobuhiro Watsuki |
| Profile | |
| Gender | Male |
| Occupation | Swordsman |
| Known relatives | Himura Kenshin (father) Kamiya Kaoru (mother) |
| Information | |
| Weapon | Sakabatō |
| Technique | Hiten Mitsurugi-Ryū |
Himura Kenji (緋村 剣路?), a fictional character of the anime and manga series Rurouni Kenshin/Samurai X, is the son of Himura Kenshin and Kamiya Kaoru.
[edit] Manga
Kenji appears in the final volume of Rurouni Kenshin, when Myōjin Yahiko returns to the dojo and Kenshin presents Yahiko with the sakabatō. Kenji is only a small child, but according to Yahiko, despite looking like a smaller version of his father, Kenji is quite troublesome (Yahiko goes as far as calling Kenji an idiot). He is fond of climbing up to high places, but cries when he is unable to get down. He also likes his mother more than his father; Kenji especially likes to pull Kenshin's hair. Kenji's subsequent appearances in the series are limited to Yahiko no Sakabatō, a side story featuring Yahiko, and the Kenshin Kaden's short story, Haru ni Sakura, where Kenshin and his friends are reunited in a spring picnic.[citation needed]
Nobuhiro Watsuki's profile of Kenji in the Secret Lives of Characters states that Watsuki would like to write another story about how Kenji learns to imitate Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu moves just by hearing about them. While Kenshin remarks to his young son in the chapter Kenji will one day inherit the sakabatō after Yahiko, Watsuki reveals in this spinoff story, Kenji would have to fight Myōjin Shin'ya, the son of Yahiko and Sanjō Tsubame, for the right to inherit sakabatō after Yahiko himself. It also states that Kenji would grow up to be "more twisted than Saitō and more egomaniacal than Shishio". Watsuki finishes the profile by saying that although he would like to write such a story, it is unlikely that he will ever do so.[citation needed]
[edit] Rurouni Kenshin: Seisouhen
The Rurouni Kenshin: Seisouhen timeline does not exist in the manga.
In "Seisouhen", Kenji is now in his adolescence, bearing an uncanny resemblance to his father (save his mother's blue eyes, and the absence of the cross-scar). By this time, Kenji has grown up harboring a fierce resentment towards his father, Kenshin, whom he believes neglected him and his mother.
Kenji would eventually leave for Kyoto to seek out Hiko Seijūrō XIII, hoping that he will teach him the Hiten Mitsurugi-Ryū; believing that, by learning it, he would acquire strength like his father's, and be able create his own legend. By this time, Myōjin Yahiko, current successor to the Kamiya Kasshin-Ryū, has tracked down Kenji at the request of Kaoru. Kenji's obvious delusion of his father's greatness is put to the test in a duel against Yahiko.
Throughout the duel, Yahiko came to admit Kenji's genius and natural talent as a swordsman. However, he knew that neither passion, discipline, nor skill would make Kenji superior to his father. So, in a one final strike, Yahiko lets Kenji experience the full blunt of Kenshin's Sakabatou; allowing Kenji to 'experience' the 'strength' of his father's philosophy firsthand. Falling to his knee, Yahiko presented Kenji with the Sakabatō as a late genpuku gift, hoping that now he would realize that Kenshin's strength lay not in his ability to kill, but in his appreciation of life, his devotion and self-sacrifice to those in need.
In the end, Kenji settles down with Raikōji Chizuru, who originates from Watsuki's original short stories; this girl appears strong willed and energetic and bears a striking physical and characteristical resemblance to his mother, Kaoru.
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