Warning: Major spoilers ahead~! O_O Unless you have seen somewhere near the end of the series and know the extent of Soujiro’s insanity, all of this will be a spoiler to you. You have been warned, so read on at your own risk and disappointment. ^^

Disclaimer: First of all, this character belongs to the creator of Rurouni Kenshin, Watsuki Nobuhiro, Jump Comics, and any other person I have failed to mention who has rightful claim to this creation. If in any way I offend the creators or the many fans of this series, I apologize. However, I thought that my views and perceptions might be welcome to others who wish to understand. Please keep that in mind, and know that I mean no harm. First of all, these are my perceptions and they might have no truth to them when compared with the creator’s initial intention. Secondly, law suits would break my heart, and I would rather extreme language sent in emails. ^^() With all of this said, please enjoy.

When I first saw Soujiro, without understanding the language in the manga, I thought that he was hidden behind a mask. But I believed his smile was genuine to some extent. Never could I have guessed how much that mask concealed. My older sister had mentioned that he was scary and evil. She never elaborated, and so, with two manga in the middle of the series (^^;;;), I began to wonder. How could such a person be scary? It was not that I could not believe it - I just could not determine in what way. Years later, I discovered Rurouni Kenshin DVD’s. Here, I obtained more information and my curiosity was instilled again. I began to understand how he could he scary; however, I still couldn’t fear. Surely the explanation in the series provides enough information for most people to understand his character. I, on the other hand, cannot understand a character until I know what they feel. Finally, today, I was able to put the majority of the pieces of the puzzle named Soujiro together.

When Soujiro was a child, with a mind still as malleable as fresh snow, he found himself in a home filled with family who treated him as a slave. Physical, verbal, and spiritual abuse were not completely uncommon occurrences. Every time Soujiro tried to express his emotions, such abuse worsened. As a result, he believed that if he suppressed them, the people would loose interest in his unchanging mood and move on. They did. This life was really all he knew of the world, until he met Shishio.

He saw Shishio, an exaggerated image (almost even foreshadowing) of his half relatives. Shishio murdered, in front of Soujiro’s eyes, two police. This moment presents another instance that Soujiro must cope with in his own way. Before he has the chance to do so, however, Shishio catches Soujiro and threatens to kill him. Soujiro starts smiling. Shishio says that Soujiro is happy to face death. Others say that it’s because of his reflex created by his relatives. Shishio’s opinion may fit Shishio’s perception of the world, but, in my beliefs, a child of that age could not yet conceive of what death is and would certainly not look forward to it. Other people’s belief that it is a reflex makes the reaction too shallow and unexplained. Instead, Soujiro saw Shishio’s strength and subconsciously understood that he had no choice to fight for his life of run to save such a life. As a result, the boy trembled with pure fear. That pure fear, in turn, provided confusion, visible in the child’s eyes. When confusion confronts Soujiro, he resorts to his mask of smiles and uses it as a shield. Again, this is all I have been able to derive with my own beliefs and interpretations.

Shishio spares Soujiro’s life in exchange for shelter, bandages, and food. Soujiro asks if he is a bad man and demonstrates fear, especially when discussing the death of the two policemen. Destroying Soujiro’s hopes that Shishio is a good man, Shishio answers that he is a truly bad man. Soujiro can’t understand how such a bad man could be so strong, though. I would like to think that when Soujiro was with his real mother, he might have been influenced by a few fairy tales or stories where good always wins. In other words, having a bad orientation is a mistake. If Shishio is bad and he has won, then maybe being bad is not a mistake. Also, the definition of “bad” becomes more blurred. (Shishio does the things he does in order to repay the Meiji government with vengeance. He believes that he is just in doing so, even if he does not believe he is right or good.) As a result, Soujiro ended up burying the dead bodies of the policemen as his subconscious respect for Shishio grew.

The next day, two of his relatives threaten Soujiro, suggesting - probably more joking - that he was hiding the escaped criminal (Shishio). A barrel of rice gets destroyed in a rather blatant act of spiritual abuse: one of the relatives wanted to show Soujiro what he could and would do if the suggestion was true. The other relative blames the damage on Soujiro, and Soujiro gets beaten rather soundly. Later, Shishio sees the damage caused to Soujiro. He then sees Soujiro’s developing belief that it is better that he hides behind his mask of smiles. Whether or not Shishio develops a plan here, or it’s just fate is beyond my understanding; however, Shishio explains his belief to Soujiro. The strong must live, and the weak must die. (He leaves out how the strong must feed off of the weak, because that is awfully harsh to explain to a child. Even though Soujiro obtains that conclusion subconsciously and on a smaller level. ^^;;) Shishio presents a sword to Soujiro as payment for shelter, food, and bandages. This gift subconsciously presents an ultimatum to the boy. He can either remain weak or become strong. As a child, it is extremely hard to see the other choices available. Soujiro ponders on the ultimatum for an entire day. Many things along the way prove Shishio’s statement to be true; however (and mark this), none of the examples deal with humans. Humans have the ability to choose the way they act, and while they may prey on weaker beings such as animals, they have the choice when it comes to a fellow human being. And, while most people may step upon weaker people to achieve their goals, they do not take it to the level Shishio does. Remember, this truth is Shishio’s way of coping with what the Meiji government and the Revolution has taught him.

Thinking about the sword, the boy rationalizes that being slain by a sword hurts as much as being hit. Although the sword provides Soujiro with the proper revenge, he does not want to live that life and become the image of his relatives. In the end, hurting people is not something that he has wanted to do. As a result, Soujiro decides that being weak cannot be as bad as Shishio says and that he will return the sword to Shishio, answering the ultimatum. In other words, one can survive in the world as being weak. If the only way for one to be strong is to step upon weak people, Soujiro does not truly wish to be a part of that. Then Soujiro’s relatives figure out that Shishio is hiding, and they automatically turn to Soujiro. They plan to kill him in order to obtain a reward, even if he truly is not hiding Shishio. Soujiro has no time to deal with the demanding situation presented to him. He asks for help, from Shishio, from anyone. Finding none, Soujiro must protect himself. All of his relatives at that house died by Soujiro’s hand.

These incidents happened too quickly for Soujiro to cope with in his own fashion. He has not had the time to develop his own belief, and very few can accept the raw truth of death and disasters. His relatives had never taken the time to treat him properly, let alone provide an explanation of such happenings, let alone guilt. His mother most likely would have wanted, but could not keep him long enough to do so. The only truth he could shield himself with was Shishio’s. The incidents have also happened so quickly that Soujiro cannot face himself and what he did. He never wanted to step on people to become strong, let alone kill them. He truly does not believe Shishio’s truth, though, because if he did, he would explain it with more depth than reciting it in a mantra. “If you are strong, you live; if you are weak, you die.” What does that truly mean? Soujiro never got the chance to find out and can’t because he doesn’t believe in it. It is a shield like his mask of smiles. Only after less than 10 years of hiding are Soujiro’s emotions finally provoked out into the open world by Kenshin. Kenshin’s actions do not follow Shishio’s truth, so either Shishio’s truth or Kenshin’s truth must be wrong, according to Soujiro who still thinks of things in a childlike manner. He can’t see that there are alternatives as well as the apparent opposite ends of the spectrum.

At first, Soujiro wants Shishio’s truth to be right, and refuses to believe that Kenshin might win. He keeps stating that a sword that protects the weak is a mistake. Two reasons exist for his stubborn views. If protecting the weak with one’s sword was right, then someone would have saved Soujiro when he was young. Even if only Kenshin protected the weak, Kenshin should have been there to protect him. Soujiro did not want to hurt people, let alone kill them. Cornered, he had no choice and committed an act he never had the intention to commit. The second reason lies completely with Soujiro. If Kenshin’s way is right, then what Soujiro had done in the past was unnecessary and wrong. Ever since then, for about ten years, all of the boy’s actions have been mistakes. While a person can usually forget the small mistakes, these mistakes were extreme ones that have continued on for long amounts of time.

Near the end of the battle, however, Soujiro begins to loose his complete faith in Shishio’s truth. Instead, this fight with Kenshin has become more than the superficial battle it seems. In fact, it’s become even more important than the in depth reason it contained before it had begun. (This reason is the continuing test of Kenshin’s skills and will to live and to see if he has truly surpassed the level he had attained previously.) Now, the reason for this battle has become to discover the truth behind the world. Soujiro must find out if his actions were mistakes, or if Shishio’s truth does, in fact, prevail. In a sense, it will either define Soujiro’s character stronger or redefine it completely.

Through a test of the strength of each combatant’s Battoujitsu stance, Kenshin wins the long battle against Soujiro. The boy then thinks that everything he had ever believed was a complete mistake. He feels that the action he must take now is to tear down all of the beliefs and rebuild it correctly. While he is not far from this, Soujiro does not realize that there is no one true belief that surpasses all others.

Kenshin tells him that he must find his own truth to believe in. No one truth has absolute truth for everyone - the person must believe in it for it to exist and function as it was meant to. Truths don’t shield and hide, they help people cope and deal with situations. Now sixteen, Soujiro must find his own truth as many try to find their own.

Before Kenshin had begun his journey to defeat Shishio on Mount Hiei, his master, Hiko-sama, told him that he could not bear all of the weight of the era on his shoulders. Kenshin cannot be the only sacrifice to buy every person’s happiness. Also, the Rurouni cannot save every single person whenever they need it; there is too much chaos in the world that cannot be vanquished. Soujiro is living proof that Kenshin is mortal and not a god. While the Meiji government was already established, Soujiro traded half of his innocence for his life. Kenshin was already wandering, however, he could not have saved Soujiro. On the other hand, Shishio had arrived to see the boy. In fact, he was the cause of the tragedy. Showing the complete difference in beliefs, Shishio would not help the boy and left him to his own defenses. Soujiro had to become strong by himself, through no help of Shishio nor Kenshin - one by fault and one by accident.

Even though this tragedy had occurred, perhaps it was for the better. Without the incident, Soujiro might not have been directed to look at life as seriously as he does when his seal is broken by Kenshin. We can regret incidents for eternity, or we can accept them and realize their value. Realizing their value does not mean that one looks upon the incident with little emotion or fondness. In fact, doing so would taint the moment from what it had been originally. Occasional tears or smiles are needed to recognize the beauty in everything. Throughout all of the highs and lows, smiles and tears, our sense of beauty has never left us.

(I received this information from Nozomi-san and I have also received her permission to use it. Tenken no Soujiro)

Soujiro’s Tenken - Literally meaning “Heaven Sword”, or perhaps heaven’s sword, this term is used when someone can achieve the ultimate level of swordsman ship. With a complete seal upon his emotions, Soujiro is not hindered by them in any large way. Thus, he can kill his victims and maintain his smiling mask. When considered, the Tenken seems to connotate that the swordsman makes no mistake. This idea probably helps confirm Soujiro’s belief that, given the path he had to take, he had made no mistake for killing his family or anyone else. The hardest person to face with guilt is oneself. Soujiro was part misled and part in denial of his actions.

Soujiro’s Shukuchi - Shukuchi literally means “Reduced Earth”. This ability allows Soujiro to close the distance between himself and his victim in an instant. While most of this deals with the movement of the legs, the rest of Soujiro’s body is fast as well. First, this speed ensures his offense superiority. Second, this shortens the amount of time Soujiro has to fight someone. The longest battle he has ever encountered is with Kenshin, and there he used the Shukuchi. All other victims had been much easier to kill, and it was not necessary sometimes to use it. This ability suggests that, somewhere in Soujiro’s subconscious, the boy knew that longer battles allowed for longer consideration. All the while, Soujiro had been thinking about how Kenshin could protect the weak, but he only allowed it to vex him in the battle with Kenshin. At least, that’s all I can think of at this point in time. It might be for different reasons, though.

Soujiro’s Shun Ten Satsu - Literally translated to “Instant Heaven Kill”, Soujiro named this attack himself. The victim dies instantly because of the speed and power of both the Shukuchi and the Battoujitsu combined. It resembles his subconscious wishes on how he wants to lead his life. Considering that Soujiro truly regrets killing anyone, killing people in a painless swift motion seems rather merciful in a world where one must kill to survive. It sounds odd, I know, but when thought about, the concept does make sense. The word “heaven” itself gives a merciful connotation to the attack, and, considering that Soujiro gave the attack its name, directly relates Soujiro’s subconscious wishes to the outside world.

Soujiro’s Mask - Soujiro’s mask at first, was a shield to protect him from his family. Later, he used it as a shield against the world. He lives his life with his mask, the closest he can get to who he wants to be subconsciously. With his mask, he hides from himself, his shame, and his guilt. He never confronts himself, unable to because of his emotional instability.

A Persistent Reminder - This analysis is not guaranteed to be completely accurate. The creator of the manga might have had different intentions. This analysis is only my odd attempt to make sense of things. In other words, all of this is practically fan fiction presented in a non-fiction format. ^^() Questions, comments, and - yes - even flames are welcome. I’ll just have to have my grain of salt when reading them. ^^()() Thank you for your patience, and please do not be offended enough to take legal action and sue. I would only end up broken hearted and broken walletted. ;_______;