Seijuurou Hiko

Hiko is proud, sarcastic and deliberately aloof. He has enormous confidence in his own ability and has little patience for false modesty, particularly because his claim to superiority is generally accurate.

Beneath his abrasive manner, he possesses a strong moral code. Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū exists to protect ordinary people from suffering without allowing political organizations to control its power. Hiko therefore considers Kenshin's decision to join the Imperialists a fundamental misunderstanding of the school's purpose.

His relationship with Kenshin combines genuine paternal concern with constant criticism. Hiko rarely expresses affection directly, preferring insults and harsh training, but his actions repeatedly demonstrate that Kenshin matters deeply to him.

Hiko is the complete master of Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū and is portrayed as one of the strongest, if not the strongest, swordsmen in the series. Unlike Kenshin, whose smaller physique places substantial strain on his body when using the style, Hiko possesses the physical build required to employ its techniques at their intended power.

He has extraordinary strength, speed, reflexes and perception. The white mantle he wears is deliberately weighted, meaning that even his ordinary movements are performed under additional resistance.

Hiko knows the complete Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū system, including Ryūtsuisen, Ryūkansen, Doryūsen, Kuzuryūsen and the school's ultimate succession technique, Amakakeru Ryū no Hirameki.

His experience also gives him exceptional analytical ability. Hiko can identify flaws in a swordsman's mentality and technique almost immediately, and his training focuses as much on psychological understanding as physical execution.

Hiko discovers the young Shinta after bandits attack a group of travelers and kill the people accompanying him. He rescues the child, renames him Kenshin and begins training him in Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū.

Kenshin leaves Hiko before completing his training because he wants to use the style to support the Imperialist revolution. Hiko opposes the decision, warning that attaching Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū to political ideology will turn Kenshin into a killer. The warning proves painfully accurate.

Years later, Kenshin returns during the conflict with Shishio and asks Hiko to complete his training. Hiko teaches him Kuzuryūsen and then forces him to discover the secret behind Amakakeru Ryū no Hirameki: Kenshin must develop the will to preserve his own life rather than treating himself as expendable because of his guilt.

During the attack on Kyoto, Hiko intervenes at the Aoiya and defeats Fuji of the Juppongatana, preventing the giant swordsman from destroying the defenders.

Kenshin Himura is Hiko's pupil and effectively his adopted ward. Hiko rescues him as a child, gives him the name Kenshin and trains him in Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū.

Kaoru Kamiya meets Hiko while searching for Kenshin's master in Kyoto and helps demonstrate to him how deeply Kenshin has become connected to other people.

Misao Makimachi accompanies Kaoru during interactions surrounding Hiko and Kenshin's retraining.

Fuji faces Hiko during the Juppongatana's assault on the Aoiya. Hiko recognizes Fuji as a genuine swordsman rather than merely a monster and defeats him without killing him.

Kenji Himura trains under Hiko as a teenager in the separate Reflection OVA continuity, though this is not part of the original manga's canonical ending.