Shinomori Aoshi

Lore & Background

Shinomori Aoshi is a ninja of the Oniwaban, who worked for the Shogunate government during the Edo period. 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. As a member of the Oniwabanshū, he helped to raise Makimachi Misao from childhood. Misao, who was his protegee, developed a strong admiration and romantic feelings for him. Aoshi's weapon of choice is a kodachi, a sword described in the series to act like a shield because its light weight makes it easy to block with. He originally used only one of these short swords for defense and relied mainly on kenpo for his offense, but later used a two-sworded style. Among several from his Kodachi nito Ryu, the Kaiten Kenbu Rokuren (回天剣舞・六連; "Spinning-Heavenly Sword-Dance Six-Series" or "The Dance Of The Wheeling Sword Six Successions") is the strongest. 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. During the early chapters of the manga, the Oniwabanshū work to capture doctor Takani Megumi under orders from Kanryu for his opium business. This leads them to clash with Kenshin and his allies. As the oniwaban are defeated by Kenshin and his friends, Kanryu betrays them and tries to kill them. Aoshi is the only survivor who escapes to become stronger to kill Kenshin and obtain the title of the strongest in favor of his dead subordinates.

In Their Own Story

Following his training, Shishio Makoto's forces hire Aoshi to aid them in their fight against Kenshin, who is now aided by the remaining retired Oniwabanshu. This leads to Aoshi having to personally confront and nearly kill Okina. Misao is shocked to see how coldblooded Aoshi has become and tells Kenshin to kill him. Kenshin refuses, claiming that the Kaiten Kenbu should have killed Okina but Aoshi is still retaining his humanity. During their rematch, Kenshin wakes up Aoshi's past persona, telling him that his late partners would only be depressed and that Misao started crying of relief when he decided to bring back Aoshi. Despite being defeated by Kenshin, Aoshi feels relief but advises his enemy to be careful when using a recently learned technique. When Kenshin is defeated by Shishio, Aoshi briefly replaces him as he states that Kenshin only lost due to his previous wounds. After Shishio dies in combat, the former Okashira stays in Kyoto meditating in regards to his actions but promises Kenshin he will gladly share tea with him the next time they meet. In the final arc of the series, Aoshi and Misao are requested by Okina to take Yukishiro Tomoe's diary to Tokyo in hopes of reaching her brother's feelings, revengeful Enishi who seeks to torture and kill Kenshin. Once they reach Tokyo, Aoshi solves Yukishiro Enishi's trick of having orchestrated the fake death of Kamiya Kaoru. He then joins Saito Hajime in finding his hideout. After they are successful, Aoshi and Misao join Kenshin's group to rescue Kaoru from Enishi, which Aoshi contributes by defeating one of his bodyguards. Following their victory, Aoshi and Kenshin share their promised tea meal, where the latter asks the former to follow a pacifist path like he did when he stopped being an assassin, which Aoshi agrees. He and Misao then return to Kyoto but make a brief shortcut to plant flowers in their late allies' graves.

Reader's Guide

Shinomori Aoshi is a grandmaster and Okashira of the Oniwabanshū shinobi. His weapon of choice is a kodachi, a short sword that acts like a shield due to its light weight. He originally used only one kodachi for defense and relied mainly on kenpo for offense, but later adopted a two-sworded style. His strongest technique is the Kaiten Kenbu Rokuren (Spinning-Heavenly Sword-Dance Six-Series). Aoshi's character was created by Nobuhiro Watsuki as a new rival for the protagonist, based on Hijikata Toshizō, the Vice-Commander of the Shinsengumi. Watsuki describes the version of Hijikata that inspired Aoshi as "a bundle of raw combat-instinct who keeps fighting until the very death." The addition of the Oniwabanshū occurred during the "last minute," and Watsuki found difficulty writing Aoshi since he had not resolved a "concrete image" for him. Watsuki used no specific design model for Aoshi, but added fringes (bangs) to his design as the image of Hijikata grew stronger. Aoshi's coat was based on a Western comic Watsuki refused to specify. In the animated adaptation, Shinomori is voiced by Yoshito Yasuhara in Japanese and Terrence Stone in English. For the live-action films, Yusuke Iseya portrayed him, training with two swords for four months before his debut in shooting Kyoto Inferno. Iseya found several challenges when acting and fighting at the same time, and the superiors told him to make a calm Aoshi.

Did You Know?

• Shinomori Aoshi was given the position of Okashira at the age of fifteen, at the suggestion of Kashiwazaki Nenji (Okina).
• Watsuki based Aoshi on Hijikata Toshizō, the Vice-Commander of the Shinsengumi, specifically the version who 'killed his gentler feelings and buried his human weakness.'
• Aoshi's coat was based on a Western comic that Watsuki refused to specify.
• Yusuke Iseya, who portrayed Aoshi in the live-action films, trained with two swords for four months before shooting Kyoto Inferno.
• In the final arc, Aoshi solves Yukishiro Enishi's trick of having orchestrated the fake death of Kamiya Kaoru.