Shikijō was a member of the Oniwabanshū and the "muscle" of their arsenal.
Appearance[]
Shikijō is a very tall man, incredibly muscular and large, heavily scarred and as tough as Sagara Sanosuke.
Personality[]
Even though Shikijō has a frightening appearance, he seems to be a disciplined and centered person. In flashback scenes he has been seen speaking in a kind and gentle way. He also has a strong sense of group work and offered Sanosuke a chance to join the Tokyo Oniwabanshū when he saw Sanosuke's potential.
Relationships[]
- Shinomori Aoshi: The Oniwabanshū okashira and the person who gives commands to Shikijō. He highly respects Aoshi and arrived to protect him from Takeda Kanryū's Gatling Gun, sacrificing his life for Aoshi.
- Tokyo Oniwabanshū : Han'nya, Beshimi and Hyottoko are his teammates under the command of Aoshi. Shikijō respects his teammates and they work together as Aoshi orders.
- Makimachi Misao: The grandaughter of the previous Oniwabanshū okashira. She loved Shikijō (alongside all the Tokyo Oniwabanshū), and cried a lot when they left the Aoiya to search for work as shinobi.
- Takeda Kanryū: The employer of the Tokyo Oniwabanshū, who grew dissatisfied by the way Shinomori Aoshi treated him and decided to kill him using a Gatling Gun. Shikijō sacrificed his life trying to protect Aoshi from the Gatling Gun.
Abilities[]
Shikijō is really good at hand to hand combat, but also wields a very big iron ball with chain. though he discards it as Sanosuke has no weapon.
History[]
At the end of the Bakumatsu Shinomori Aoshi and 4 of his followers (Shikijō included) decided to leave the Aoiya in Kyōto to work as shinobi by themselves, because they felt they couldn't get accustomed to the new era of peace where the Oniwabanshū Onmitsu where no longer neccesary. Eventually they ended up in Tokyo working for Takeda Kanryū.
Tokyo Arc[]
Shikijō was posting in a hall inside Takeda Kanryū's mansion when the Kenshingumi stormed in to rescue Takani Megumi from Kanryū. Shikijō was commanded by Aoshi to stop them, so he fough Sanosuke. Even though Shikijō had his iron ball and chain to fight, he discarded them when he saw that Sanosuke did not have any weapons. He is impressed by Sanosuke's endurance and ability, and offers him to join the Tokyo Oniwabanshū, with the promise to become much stronger with the muscle enhancing medicine Shikijō used.
He is defeated when Sanosuke lands a heavy blow to his head, with Sano collapsing shortly after as a result of injuries sustained during that battle. Shikijō later regains consciousness and is the first of the four Oniwabanshū to be killed when he defends the Okashira, Shinomori Aoshi from the treacherous Takeda Kanryū's gatling gun fire. His head was severed and buried by Aoshi, on the mountainside, along with the rest of his comrades.
Development and Reception[]
To be added
Trivia[]
- There are differences in the graphical depiction of Shikijō in the different itterations of the story:
- Shikijō's depiction in the 1996 anime is closer to his original manga appearance.
- In the 2023 anime Shikijō is depicted with their graphical appearance as illustrated in the 22-volume kanzenban edition and 14-volume bunkoban edition of the manga covers (with a kinda saturated color in the skin and slightly more ellaborated clothing than normally).
- In the manga, Kenshin and his friends encounter Shikijō after they break into Kanryū's mansion, where Sanosuke stays to fight him. In the 1996 anime only, Sanosuke encounters and fights him, and does so outside the front door of Kanryū's mansion, while protecting Takani Megumi.
- In the 1996 anime, they omit any reference to the muscle enhancing medicine Shikijō used. Instead, his musculature is supposedly the results of his training.
Gallery[]
