Hiko Seijuro

Hiko Seijūrō XIII (比古 清十郎 十三代, Hiko Seijūrō Jūsandai) is Himura Kenshin's master in the anime/manga series Rurouni Kenshin. As a potter, he uses the assumed name of Ni'itsu Kakunoshin (新津 覚之進).

History
The thirteenth successor to the sword art of Hiten Mitsurugi-Ryū, Hiko serves as Kenshin's teacher and surrogate parent. They first met on the day that Shinta (Kenshin's true name) traveling companions are under attack by bandits. He comes upon the scene by chance and saves the young boy from being killed but arrived too late to save anyone else. He tells the boy to go to the nearby town and tell them what happened, assuming that they would help him. He later receives news that nobody matching the boy's description had been seen in town, and assumes that he committed suicide. He then decides to journey back to the site of the massacre to bury the dead. When he arrives, he is surprised to find that, not only did the boy not commit suicide, but he had stayed behind to bury the dead himself. When he comments on this fact, assuming that the boy's companions had been his family, he reveals to Hiko's further surprise that his companions were in fact slavers. After his parents died of cholera, he had been captured and was to be sold when the slavers came under attack by bandits. He also tells Hiko of the three young women who he had wanted to protect, but who instead sacrificed themselves for him. Hiko then pours sake on their gravestones as a tribute. Impressed by the boy's inner strength and kindness, Hiko asks him for his name. When the boy tells him that his name is Shinta, Hiko gives him the name of Kenshin, stating the name Shinta sounded too soft to be the name of a swordsman. He then takes the boy as his apprentice, and trains him for the next six years.

Kenshin proves himself a worthy apprentice until the news of the war reaches them. This event causes a heated argument between master and apprentice because of their different view points on the war. Hiko believed that someone wielding Hiten Mitsurugi should not attach themselves to a political entity because the power of the style would ensure victory for that entity, whether it's ideals were right or wrong. Moreover, he understood that as an independent swordsman, the decision to kill was the swordsman's alone and that way, the swordsman could kill only those who deserved death. As a soldier however, he knew that many of the men Kenshin might be ordered to kill would not deserve to die, and he understood the effect that would have on his idealistic, kindhearted student. However, Kenshin would hear none of it, believing that it was his duty as a powerful swordsman to stop people from being hurt however he could. Kenshin therefore left, and as a result did not complete his training. This became a source of anger and disappointment for Hiko, who knew that, at only 14 years old, Kenshin was not prepared mentally or emotionally to deal with what he would have to do and see as a soldier. Hiko would occasionally hear rumors of Kenshin's exploits during the war, though he made no effort to contact him. One day, as the war drew to a close, he was in Kyoto and was shocked when he went to the graveyard. There, he finds a freshly made grave with a woman's kimono around the grave marker. He infers much of what happened to Kenshin from this grave and sadly realizes that his student finally learned his lesson.

Hiko and Kenshin do not meet again until about fourteen years later when Kenshin comes to finally complete his training. Initially, Hiko simply refuses point blank to have anything to do with him, but as Kenshin begs him, he sits down to listen to Kenshin's reasons for returning. However, his story does not sway Hiko, who condemns Kenshin's choices and actions in the strongest terms. He reiterates to Kenshin that while Hiten Mitsurugi-Ryū is used to protect people, it can only do so effectively if the wielder is independent of any political power. He then tells Kenshin that, because he appears to be incapable of understanding that, he does not deserve to learn the style's final secrets. He then tells Kenshin to leave, going as far as to say that his apprenticeship had been a mistake. However, Yahiko, Misao, and Kaoru arrive to see Kenshin, the former two kicking Hiko's door down in anger over his treatment of Kenshin. He then sends Kenshin off to fetch some water as a pretext for questioning the three new arrivals about Kenshin's past without him there. When Kenshin returns, Hiko realizes that, though Kenshin made a mistake in joining the war, his years spent as a wanderer demonstrated that Kenshin understood both his mistake and the teachings of Hiten Mitsurugi-Ryū. He agrees to complete Kenshin's training, spoiling the moment somewhat by mentioning that he only agreed to do it because he didn't want to be bothered with killing Shishio himself.

As they start their training, it becomes apparent to Hiko that Kenshin's skill has deteriorated due to his wanderer years, and spends a few days getting him back up to par. However, after that training is complete, Kenshin still does not manage to perform to Hiko's satisfaction. He then tells Kenshin he has only one more chance to hit him or he would not learn the final technique, and Kenshin subsequently manages to graze Hiko's bracer (though he forgets to land properly and passes out). After commenting on how pitiful Kenshin's hit was, Hiko begins to teach him the final technique. He starts by demonstrating to Kenshin the Kuzuryūsen, a nine-strike stabbing attack which he indirectly implies to be the final technique of Hiten Mitsurugi-Ryū. When Kenshin uses this technique on Hiko to demonstrate his ability, Hiko counters with his own Kuzuryūsen, and bests Kenshin. He then tells Kenshin that, because of Hiko's superior weight and strength, Kenshin's Kuzuryūsen would never be as effective as his own. Then, as Kenshin laments his inability to use what he believes to be Hiten Mitsurugi-Ryū's final technique effectively, Hiko reveals that there is a technique that can break the Kuzuryūsen. After getting a few laughs out of Kenshin's confusion, he tells Kenshin to think about how to break the Kuzuryūsen, which can neither be blocked nor dodged. Kenshin's answer is battōjutsu; to land an attack before the Kuzuryūsen can hit. Hiko states that a battōjutsu of such incredible speed that it surpasses the god-speed is indeed the answer; the basic form of the Amakakeru Ryū no Hirameki. When Hiko mentions that it will be difficult to use a battōjutsu fast enough to break the Kuzuryūsen with a sakabatō, Kenshin unconsciously reverts to his battōsai persona to gain the power he needs. Displaying a total lack of regard for his own life to learn the final secret, the battōsai prepares to attack, but Hiko sheaths his sword and walks away. He tells Kenshin that, as he is now, he cannot master the final attack, and tells him to spend the night in contemplation and introspection.

The following morning, Kenshin reveals that he has not been able to discover what is it is that he lacks. In response, Hiko tells Kenshin that he is a broken, unstable swordsman who is doomed to live the rest of his life alone and in pain, and that he would inevitably revert to the battōsai he once was. Hiko then sheds his weighted cloak, and tells Kenshin that he must kill him to prevent the battōsai from re-emerging, and for Kenshin's own good. Faced with the absolute certainty of death, and the realization of how much his death would affect his friends, Kenshin incidentally performs the Amakakeru Ryū no Hirameki to save his life. As the duelists stand after the clash, Hiko reveals to Kenshin that, because Kenshin had taken so many lives, he had come to unconsciously believe that his own life was absolutely worthless. This belief served as a foundation for Kenshin's misery, and only by overcoming it could he overcome the battōsai and find peace in life. As he finishes telling Kenshin this, he loses consciousness and falls to the ground, having been hit by the full force of the Amakakeru Ryū no Hirameki. Kenshin rushes Hiko back to his house and gives him what he believes to be powerful medicine, hoping to save him. The following morning, Hiko, fully recovered, wakes Kenshin up by kicking him and tells him to get a move-on. Kenshin, extremely relieved, leaps at Hiko to hug him, only to crash into a set of shelves as Hiko dodges. After mentioning (somewhat unnecessarily) that he doesn't want a hug from Kenshin, he reveals that "medicine" Kenshin gave him was just water that Hiko used as a placebo to stop Kenshin from panicking over a bite he received from a non-venomous snake. He reveals that, rather than the medicine saving his life, a lose nail in the hilt of Kenshin's sakabatō caused the power of the Amakakeru Ryū no Hirameki to be decreased when Kenshin used it. He then offers Kenshin the weighted cloak as testament to the fact that Kenshin had learned the succession technique, but both quickly agree that it would look ridiculous on Kenshin. Kenshin answers that he has no intent to carry the title of Hiko Seijuro XVI, but then asks a favor Hiko to protect his friends while he goes to fight Shishio, and Hiko does insult his "idiot apprentice" for asking him to clean up his mess, but still does so as they part ways.

He is later seen arriving at the Kyoto branch of Oniwabanshu just in time to save Yahiko from the giant Fuji. He manages to both block a strike from Fuji, who was capable of cleaving the Aoi-Ya inn in half, and push Fuji's sword aside. He then asks Yahiko if he is injured, and while Yahiko seems to be fine, he is annoyed that Hiko seemed to arrive at the most dramatic possible moment. Hiko blames Kenshin for this, saying that Kenshin never actually gave him directions, so he had to wander all over Kyoto before he found where he was supposed to be going. After a short talk with Fuji about how, despite his size, Fuji was a warrior and not a monster, the two face off. After dodging an incredibly powerful, two handed strike from Fuji, Hiko defeats him with the Kuzuryūsen, but does not kill him due to using the blunt side of his sword. After Kenshin returns and recovers, he is seen at Tomoe's grave with Kenshin, who had finally overcome his woes and accepted his dark past as part of himself, despite his sins.

In the OVA SeisōHen/Reflection, he also realizes that the Hiten Mitsurugi-Ryū no longer seems relevant in the changing world, as he remarks to Yahiko: "The only thing that doesn't seem to change is the moon," although it should be noted that the direction that "SeisōHen" went conflicts with what the author had originally intended as an ending to Rurouni Kenshin as Watsuki wanted Kenshin to live happily, not die as he did.

Personality
Hiko is shown to be very sarcastic, egotistical and a punishing taskmaster, often referring to Kenshin as "my stupid/idiot apprentice," and bringing up embarrasing incidents in Kenshin's past to provoke him into training harder. Kenshin describes his personality as "crude, cruel, and hateful." He dislikes socialization, and in order to avoid having to work with people, he makes his living as a pottery artist alone on a mountain (a profession that he is reported to excel at). He also comes off as somewhat lazy, professing to have retrained Kenshin to save himself the bother of dealing with Shishio, and complaining about protecting Kenshin's friends. Despite this rough exterior, he has a deep sense of responsibility to Kenshin and those he protects in the rare cases when he does get involved. He loves sake, himself, and teasing Kenshin, and while he is frequently seen drinking copious amounts of sake alone, he never becomes drunk. He and Kenshin frequently have bouts of slapstick conflict between them. His philosophy as a swordsman is that the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryū should be used to protect people from suffering, but only if it is used independently from any political power. Also, unlike Kenshin, he appears to have absolutely no compunctions about killing his enemies, as seen during his first meeting with Kenshin when he slaughters a group of murderous bandits in cold blood. Additionally, during his fight with Fuji, he seems to spare him somewhat incidentally, commenting that Fuji survived his attack simply because he was so large. He also seems to possess considerable insight, wisdom, and foresight. He was correctly able to predict exactly what would happen to Kenshin if he participated in the revolution, was able to correctly identify Kenshin's psychological problems during their second training, and was able to both explain to Kenshin what was wrong and help him overcome it. Also, during his confrontation with Fuji, he correctly identified Fuji's despair at being so freakishly large that people saw him as a monster and not a warrior, and helped him overcome it by giving him a respectful opponent that he need not hold back against.

Abilities
Hiko is the most powerful swordsman in the series, vastly superior to Kenshin, Saito, Shishio, Enishi, and Aoshi. In fact, during Kenshin's second training, Kenshin strikes at Hiko with his "entire body and soul" at one point (devoting so much attention that he fails to land properly and passes out), and only manages to graze one of Hiko's bracers (possibly because he was using a sakabatō). Although the two are comparable in speed when Hiko suppresses his true strength beneath his 90-kilogram cloak, Hiko possesses a superior sense of judgement in combat and the superhuman strength (hidden, and even suppressed, underneath his heavy cloak) to wield Hiten Mitsurugi Ryū to its maximum. Even though Hiko is 43 years old, he looks as if he were in his late twenties, looking the same as he did in a flashback to when he was only in his 20's. When Hiko told Yahiko and Misao his real age (43), the two were shocked and pondered if Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu is some sort of fountain of youth (as Kenshin, despite being about twenty-eight, looks as if he were in his late teens). Additionally, it is revealed late in the series that an abnormally muscular physique is in fact necessary to use the Hiten-Mitsurugi-Ryu safely. As it turns out, the Hiten-Mitsurugi-Ryu puts so much strain on a body that, if one does not possess a powerful musculature, the massive strain caused by moving so quickly eventually build up to the point that even a master eventually becomes unable to use the style at its full power, and perhaps even become unable to wield a sword ever again. Thus, Hiko is able to use the style without suffering its debilitating side effects.

Hiko does not hold back when he fights, is supremely analytical in combat, understands the nature of his opponents, and is at peak physical condition. Kamiya Kaoru stated that a master swordsman of Hiko's caliber makes his sword a barrier of sorts, stating that if one were to enter this barrier, Hiko would defeat them instantly. Nobuhiro Watsuki has mentioned in character notes that he is comparable to the Joker in a deck of cards because he is so powerful. As such, he ended up being difficult to include in the story because he could simply solve Kenshin's problems with little effort, and because finding opponents for him would be difficult without overshadowing Kenshin's own opponents. Due to this, his only fight in the series is with the giant Fuji, another "Joker" card that defeated Kyoto's entire police force single handedly, but was not involved in the story in a narrivite sense. Thus Hiko does not appear except in flashbacks once the Kyoto arc finishes, though he is featured in the OVA series and Watsuki has stated that he wished he could have used Hiko more often.

Hiko's weapon is a shirasaya nihonto(a katana with a wooden sheath and hilt).