Crosses does not equal christianity... plus [Japan had Christianity](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianity_in_Japan) before Meiji. The article mentions being "formally banned" in 1612, so 218 years before Shinta was born.
Christianity came to Japan in 1549 and was banished/abolished during the Edo period (1603–1868), however there were still Japanese people who converted themselves to the religion even after persecution.
Rurouni Kenshin happens during the 11th year of the Meiji period in Japan (1878). Take a decade or so back so we're back at when Kenshin was still a child and Seijuro saves him as Shinta.
Now, I don't know if Kenshin is a christian or not. I don't recall this ever being mentioned, alluded or explained at all, *however*, Kenshin himself does mention that he "looked for good rocks for Kasumi, Akane and Sakura but couldn't find appropriate ones to make a nice grave for them" and it is shown that he indeed buries them with one rock each, and no cross for them.
I never saw your original post so I'm missing context but I am genuinely fascinated how on earth you think Kenshin is Irish.
I swear to God, if it has something to do with him having red hair...
Dude... dude... duuuude. Stop it. If Kenshin was a foreigner-looking guy in an, until recently, isolated country with a homogeneous population he would stand out.
When he returns to Kyoto during the Shishio arc, he covers his scar for fear of being recognized by people. If he was indeed foreigner, covering a scar for anonymity would be like trying to hide an elephant behind a lamp post.
It is a known trope to give characters in anime outlandish hairstyles and colors for them to stand out. Sawagejo Chō from the juppongatana had blonde hair yet no one said he was Swedish.
Why are you so obsessed with making Kenshin Irish? The Irish never went to Japan. The only foreigners allowed during their isolation period were the Dutch.
You should probably delete this post out of embarrassment again...
You can also probably watch something like Shogun to see how Christianity made its way to Feudal Japan well before the events of Rurouni Kenshin (and even before the events of that show).
The Shogunate banned it publicly, but there were many who still practiced it privately and out of the public eye. It wasn't literally eradicated from the entire country.
The explanation is that Japanese writers LOVE using Christian symbolism because they think it looks cool.
That's it. That is literally it. They did the same thing in Evangelion, and the head writer later admitted that they had no clue what the symbolism meant, they just really liked the look of it.
Again, Shinta's peasant mother did not sneak out of Japan, get knocked up by an Irish dude, and then sneak back into Japan to have her secret Irish baby. The borders were CLOSED. The only people who could get into Japan were very specific Dutch traders, and only on the highly controlled island of Dejima.
If thinking of Kenshin is Irish makes you feel good, have at it. But there is absolutely zero canonical evidence and NOTHING EVER said by Watsuki to support that. The author is not going to write this big love letter to the Meiji Revolution and its aftermath and then make his star character some random Irish dude. He's just not.
Christianity was introduced in Japan centuries before the events in Rurouni Kenshin took place. Although it was outright banned after the Shimabara rebellion failed, Christians went underground and would not reconnect with the rest of the Christian world until the Meiji era. In pop culture, various creators used Christian symbolism in places it would have no reason to be in, with the usual reason being that it looked cool. They're making fictional stories with fictional characters with fictional backgrounds. Looking different sometimes doesn't mean anything deeper than an artistic choice.
That's pretty much it: Kenshin had red hair because Watsuki wanted him to stand out, and he drew crosses because to him it looked cool and associated it with graves. Watsuki had talked about Kenshin extensively throughout the years. If he had foreign ancestry, he would have said it a long time ago. I'm not sure how familiar you are with anime and manga, but Japanese characters having non-Japanese characteristics is pretty normal.
>and he drew crosses because to him it looked cool and associated it with graves
You guys have such a hard time admitting possibilities because of your fear of being wrong
You could very well be correct. But it’s a fun theory for me to entertain
Sorry if it takes the fun out of things for you. But as a theory, it's just too "out there" for me to consider. I'm not against fan theories or head canons, but only if they're at least plausible. In this case, it just isn't. Foreigners aren't just cast out, they're outright killed. And that went on even after Japan supposedly opened. Imagine what they'd do to a mixed heritage.
Also, the faction Kenshin will eventually work for were hardcore xenophobes at least until after the Shimonoseki Campaign. Their literal slogan was "Revere the Emperor, **Expel the Barbarians**".
A lot of people get defensive about this but I feel like it’s heavily implied if not spelled out. At the end of the day, it’s fiction and we’re allowed to fill in the gaps ourselves and see the story as we like and prefer
What do you mean wtf? It's commonly debated that Genghis Khan had red hair and green eyes, and Red Hair naturally occurs amongst Mongolians and other parts of mid-asia
Crosses does not equal christianity... plus [Japan had Christianity](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianity_in_Japan) before Meiji. The article mentions being "formally banned" in 1612, so 218 years before Shinta was born.
Christianity came to Japan in 1549 and was banished/abolished during the Edo period (1603–1868), however there were still Japanese people who converted themselves to the religion even after persecution. Rurouni Kenshin happens during the 11th year of the Meiji period in Japan (1878). Take a decade or so back so we're back at when Kenshin was still a child and Seijuro saves him as Shinta. Now, I don't know if Kenshin is a christian or not. I don't recall this ever being mentioned, alluded or explained at all, *however*, Kenshin himself does mention that he "looked for good rocks for Kasumi, Akane and Sakura but couldn't find appropriate ones to make a nice grave for them" and it is shown that he indeed buries them with one rock each, and no cross for them.
I never saw your original post so I'm missing context but I am genuinely fascinated how on earth you think Kenshin is Irish. I swear to God, if it has something to do with him having red hair...
It had to do with the hair lol
Haha, oh lord.
Dude... dude... duuuude. Stop it. If Kenshin was a foreigner-looking guy in an, until recently, isolated country with a homogeneous population he would stand out. When he returns to Kyoto during the Shishio arc, he covers his scar for fear of being recognized by people. If he was indeed foreigner, covering a scar for anonymity would be like trying to hide an elephant behind a lamp post. It is a known trope to give characters in anime outlandish hairstyles and colors for them to stand out. Sawagejo Chō from the juppongatana had blonde hair yet no one said he was Swedish.
I always thought Cho was implied to be American lol
Now I'm just convinced you're trolling.
[удалено]
Better than being wrong.
We're here to have fun. No personal attacks, rudeness, or insults.
Why are you so obsessed with making Kenshin Irish? The Irish never went to Japan. The only foreigners allowed during their isolation period were the Dutch.
You should probably delete this post out of embarrassment again... You can also probably watch something like Shogun to see how Christianity made its way to Feudal Japan well before the events of Rurouni Kenshin (and even before the events of that show).
You can watch something like Silence to see how adamantly eradicated Christianity was from Japan afterward
The Shogunate banned it publicly, but there were many who still practiced it privately and out of the public eye. It wasn't literally eradicated from the entire country.
He's based on a real person from that era...Kawakami Gensai...
The explanation is that Japanese writers LOVE using Christian symbolism because they think it looks cool. That's it. That is literally it. They did the same thing in Evangelion, and the head writer later admitted that they had no clue what the symbolism meant, they just really liked the look of it. Again, Shinta's peasant mother did not sneak out of Japan, get knocked up by an Irish dude, and then sneak back into Japan to have her secret Irish baby. The borders were CLOSED. The only people who could get into Japan were very specific Dutch traders, and only on the highly controlled island of Dejima. If thinking of Kenshin is Irish makes you feel good, have at it. But there is absolutely zero canonical evidence and NOTHING EVER said by Watsuki to support that. The author is not going to write this big love letter to the Meiji Revolution and its aftermath and then make his star character some random Irish dude. He's just not.
Christianity was introduced in Japan centuries before the events in Rurouni Kenshin took place. Although it was outright banned after the Shimabara rebellion failed, Christians went underground and would not reconnect with the rest of the Christian world until the Meiji era. In pop culture, various creators used Christian symbolism in places it would have no reason to be in, with the usual reason being that it looked cool. They're making fictional stories with fictional characters with fictional backgrounds. Looking different sometimes doesn't mean anything deeper than an artistic choice. That's pretty much it: Kenshin had red hair because Watsuki wanted him to stand out, and he drew crosses because to him it looked cool and associated it with graves. Watsuki had talked about Kenshin extensively throughout the years. If he had foreign ancestry, he would have said it a long time ago. I'm not sure how familiar you are with anime and manga, but Japanese characters having non-Japanese characteristics is pretty normal.
>and he drew crosses because to him it looked cool and associated it with graves You guys have such a hard time admitting possibilities because of your fear of being wrong You could very well be correct. But it’s a fun theory for me to entertain
Sorry if it takes the fun out of things for you. But as a theory, it's just too "out there" for me to consider. I'm not against fan theories or head canons, but only if they're at least plausible. In this case, it just isn't. Foreigners aren't just cast out, they're outright killed. And that went on even after Japan supposedly opened. Imagine what they'd do to a mixed heritage. Also, the faction Kenshin will eventually work for were hardcore xenophobes at least until after the Shimonoseki Campaign. Their literal slogan was "Revere the Emperor, **Expel the Barbarians**".
I could see Kenshin/Shinta being foreign born or some kind of half blood. Actually liked the crosses for the graves. Very interesting possibilities.
A lot of people get defensive about this but I feel like it’s heavily implied if not spelled out. At the end of the day, it’s fiction and we’re allowed to fill in the gaps ourselves and see the story as we like and prefer
Forcing an ill-conceived willful interpretation onto a text doesn't suddenly make it valid.
>we’re allowed to fill in the gaps ourselves There is no gap.
I never saw a cross 🤷🏽♂️
I've always thought Kenshin was likely part Mongolian
Lol wtf
What do you mean wtf? It's commonly debated that Genghis Khan had red hair and green eyes, and Red Hair naturally occurs amongst Mongolians and other parts of mid-asia
Lol I figured you were joking that's all.
I'm not, you should educate yourself
[удалено]
We're here to have fun. No personal attacks, rudeness, or insults.