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1860s
Japan was at war
The forces sided with the Meiji Emporer set their eyes
On toppling the shogun-ruled feudal system
Japan shall modernize, industrialize
There shall be no more samurai elites
No more class divide
"The era dominated by fear and violence is over"
Himura Kenshin is an idealistic young swordsman with unparalleled skills
Believing in the abolishment of the class system
And hoping to fight for the good of the people
Kenshin sells his soul to the emperor
For years, he carried out numerous political assassinations
Earning him the name "the Manslayer"
But with each kill, his inner monster takes a bite from his heart
Pushing him one step further into being a mindless killing machine
Finally, at the end of the Battle of Toba-Fushimi
He won
The emperor won
"It's here"
"A new era has come"
And so began the Meiji Restoration
But instead of celebrating
Kenshin simply abandoned his sword
And walked away quietly
Never kill again
He swore to himself
If that sounds at all interesting to you
I strongly recommend you to go binge this film series right now
Not only are they one of the most exhilarating sword movies ever made
They are also visually stunning
Star-studded, very well acted
And most importantly
Amazingly well-written
And that's what we are going talk about today
The writings in the Rurouni Kenshin films
Specifically, the way they write metaphors
How a sword represents a character
How a character represents a group of people
And how the story of Kenshin represents post-war Japan
Each metaphor builds itself on top of another
Layers upon layers
Enriching the narrative beyond the seemingly simple action-movie format
With that out of the way
Let me show you the story hidden beneath the surface
In Rurouni Kenshin
After the war
Kenshin became a wanderer
Having sworn to never take a life again
Kenshin now bears a sword that doesn't kill
Sakabato, the reverse-blade sword
"You see..."
"The cutting edge is on the backside"
This sword is, in essence, a distilled representation of Kenshin's character
"I guess it's impossible to kill with that"
Now, new viewers of the series often have this question
On why Kenshin even have a sword to begin with
Why not just wander around with no swords at all?
That's because Kenshin's oath to pacifism
Is not about depriving himself the ability to kill
Kenshin can kill most people without the need of a weapon
Kenshin's journey is to atone for his sin
And to do that, he must be active in helping others
Remember, his one skill in life is swordsmanship
Having a functional sword that doesn't kill
Allows him to utilize his ability for good
Without killing
Now the next question would be
Why even have an edge at all
Why not just have a dull sword
Well, that is why the Sakabato is such a great metaphor for Kenshin
You see, Kenshin has two sides
The pacifist, who wanders the country
And manslayer, the assassin with no remorse
During the war
Kenshin's manslayer persona is the dominant one
Each swing of his blade is a swing to kill
Each swing also cuts into his conscience
Just like the regular sword he was wielding
Kenshin's killing edge is pointing outward
After the war, Kenshin chooses pacifism
His dull edge is now on the outside
"What's with that sword?"
Each swing has the cutting edge staring back at him
Tempting him
Reminding him of his past sin
The dull edge protects whoever he fights
And the sharp edge is dangerous to the wielder
To truly become a changed man
Kenshin must learn to control his monstrous side
Facing this temptation is part of the journey for atonement
This metaphor extends to nearly every character in the series, too
Shishio, a major antagonist of the series
Lived a very similar life to that of Kenshin's
Fighting for the same government, the same ideology
But unlike Kenshin, who managed to walk away from the war
Shishio was burned alive by his own government
For he is too skillful, too ambitious
And knew too much about the Meiji government's dark secrets
Narrowly survived
Shishio is now this vengeful being without skins
Exposing his inner monster
Showing Kenshin who he is, underneath his pacifist facade
With his rage
Shishio's sword conjures flame with each swing
Now that's poetic
Wasn't that cool?
Reading deep into your favorite films like that?
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Just as a sword can represent an entire character
The characters can represent an entire group of real-life people
Kenshin is a reluctant hero, whose first instinct is always to de-escalate
But due to his notoriety
Trouble from the past keeps catching up to him
On one side, the Meiji restoration left a lot of people disenfranchised
Past elites like samurai were essentially abandoned by society
For their skills for warfare are no longer useful
"Look at these people..."
"Lost their jobs as samurai in the Meiji era"
Some swordsmen find their purpose in challenging Kenshin
Or impersonating the Manslayer
Symbolically challenging the new way of life
The new era in which swords don't kill
On the other hand, the Meiji government isn't done with Kenshin
They continue to want to enlist him
Or rather, they want the Manslayer to serve them, again
A quote-unquote "offer" that Kenshin repeatedly rejects
Interestingly
The newly established Meiji police force is filmed in this oddly... evil way
Resembling propaganda films of the past
Showing that, in the eyes of this series, and thus Kenshin
The Meiji government isn't exactly the good guy, either
The young and idealistic Kenshin was fooled into selling his soul
Only to come out the other side
Realizing that the more the times are different
The more they stay the same
The nobles are gone, but the capitalists took over
The shoguns are gone, but the politicians are now in control
The true motive behind the Meiji restoration
Is just another selfish power struggle on the top level
"If the public knew the Manslayer..."
"Was acting on orders of the Meiji Government"
"Trust in the government would evaporate"
Kenshin's backstory is a possible representation of soldiers
Or even the Japanese general public Post-WW2
After the surrender of Japan
The fierce nationalism began to fade
Just as Kenshin had to reflect on all the innocent lives he had taken
The entire nation now had to confront the reality of war
The idealistic vision of a prosperous future he was given
Was nothing more than a facade for ugly politics of greed and cruelty
All Kenshin got was a form of "pop culture PTSD"
That is, PTSD as depicted by pop culture media at the time
When provoked
His raging murderous personality often takes over
While this seems wildly inaccurate to how real PTSD works
It may have been intentional
As it may be a representation of Japan's continuous struggle
With its nationalism
Like Kenshin, post-war Japan seeks pacifism
By outlawing warfare
And prohibits any military establishments
Japan's current Self-Defense Force is an extension of the police force
And, in theory, is not large enough to sustain modern warfare
The Self-Defense Force is the Sakabato
A blade that doesn't kill
Similar to the debate on if Kenshin really needs a sword
There has been an ongoing debate about the Self-Defense Force
And on this debate, there are still major political factions
Who prefers Japan to go back to its "Manslayer" way of life
Just as Kenshin's PTSD
Japan's inner rage never truly went away
Kenshin's struggle IS Japan's struggle
Once you noticed that
The series' central message falls into place
In one of the most powerful scenes in the series, yet
Kenshin is captured by the Meiji government
In a makeshift public trial
They begin reading out loud, the names of innocent people
Who were assassinated by the Manslayer
But just the innocent ones
The crowd goes silent
And the list... goes on and on
Many victims are police officers
Servants of noblemen
And housemaids...
17 in total, killed by his hand
Everyone loves Kenshin
We, the audience, love Kenshin
But this is the first time we truly begin to understand
The magnitude of Kenshin's crime
All committed in the name of a prosperous future
Rurouni Kenshin as a series
Especially its cinematic incarnation
Is deeply political
It not only represents post-war Japan
But makes its own statements
Addressing the pros and cons of holding a pseudo-military force
Warning Japan of the dangerous line it is walking along
When this film was being made
Shinzo Abe had just become the Prime Minister of Japan
He is a controversial figure, widely considered as a right-wing nationalist
Holding revisionist views on Japanese history
And advocates revising Article 9 of the pacifist constitution
So that Japan can maintain an actual military
Kenshin doesn't deny any of the crimes he had committed
He doesn't try to find excuses for what he did
He only seeks redemption, atonement
And when given a second chance
"It's my oath to not kill"
"Sakabato"
The film is urging Japan to do the same
The world loves Japan
As we love Kenshin
But the world also knows what Japan had done
As Japan knows itself
And in the eyes of this film series
The only way for Japan and Kenshin to move forward
Is to do good
To never kill again
Now, I don't know enough about Japanese and Asian politics
To make any sort of commentary on the film's political stance
So, I'll refrain from sharing my political opinions here
These are just my personal interpretations
Of what the films are trying to say
If you are more into Japanese politics than I am
Please leave a comment, and let us know your thoughts!
The Rurouni Kenshin film series
While not exactly popular in the west
Has been, as far as I know, fairly universally loved by fans
We love the thrilling action scenes, for sure
But, deep down I think we can all feel that there is something special about it
It is more than meets the eyes
I hope my reading of the series today opens up the films for you
If only just a little bit
The layers upon layers of metaphors are what enriches the viewing experience
At the same time, though
I think there is something to be said about that gut feeling
The reason we love the films
There is just something about Kenshin's character that makes us fall in love with him
I guess we just have an innate love for pacifism
Regardless of politics
After all
That's one of the defining features of all of our greatest heroes
Isn't it?