Kamiya kaoru

Kamiya Kaoru (神谷 薫, Kamiya Kaoru^?), and later Himura Kaoru after marry Himura Kenshin, is a fictional character from the manga and anime Rurouni Kenshin. It could be said that she is the second main character of that animated series due to the importance that she has throughout the series, sleeves, film and ovas, where she is always recognized as the partner of the main character, Himura Kenshin. Kaoru is the heiress and teacher of the Kamiya Kasshin-Ryu kendō school, inherited by her father, a noble kendo warrior master who had to go to war, leaving her alone when she was barely a teenager. Her mother had died when she was just a child.

Character

Appearance and personality

Kaoru is a sweet, beautiful, determined, and very cheerful young lady. She has long black hair, which according to the author, Nobuhiro Watsuki, is a typical feature of kendoka girls. Her style of wearing her hair with her bow collected by colored scarves has made her an icon in the world of styling within the animated series. She generally wears colorful and varied kimonos or her basic combat clothing for kendo practice: hakama (wide pants) and keikogi (shirt with wide sleeves, at elbow height). Her character is inspired by Sanako Chiba, Ryoma's friend. The author also stated that she had in mind the strong personality of Fuyumi Sasaki, a character from Kenkyaku shobai, a story by Shotaro Ikenami for the making of the character.

The kanji in her name mean "fragrance" or "essence" 薫 (Kaoru, 薫^?) and "Valley of God" 神谷 (Kamiya, 神谷^?). His last name & # 34; Kamiya & # 34; comes from the Kamiya district in (what is today) Nagaoka.

Being an orphan and running a dojo has made her a lonely person, so she considers Dr. Genzai and her two granddaughters, Ayame and Suzume as part of her family. Her character is very sweet but strong, and her spirit of sacrifice and love is very great, but she tends to get angry very easily. She is in love with Kenshin and suffers from each fight that she is present.

She is a strong warrior, but a very bad cook, which is why Yahiko and Sanosuke are always pestering her. Most of the time Kenshin cooks for everyone.

Skills

As the daughter of the creator of the Kamiya Kasshin-Ryu style, based on the principles of Kendo, Kaoru is a master of this discipline. The name of the school means in Japanese, something similar to 'Reinvigorated Heart', also known as 'The Sword that Protects'. The weapon used for this technique developed by Kaoru's father It is the bokken sword, although Yahiko and Yutaro use a bamboo one, called a shinai. There are four techniques that Kaoru teaches her students in the manga. Two of these are succession techniques or "ougi".

• Hadome: a tactic of succession and defense. If the person is attacked, he performs the Hadome crossing his arms over his head taking the sword with the reverse of his hands. This allows the person to keep the position of the sword while taking the enemy at the same time. Kaoru rarely uses this technique because it requires a lot of precision or the attacker can penetrate the barrier fatally.
• Hawatari: is an offensive technique of succession. It is a counterattack and can only be done by using the above-mentioned technique. From Hadome's position, the person who defends himself rotates his wrists by removing his gun from his hands and possibly throwing it to the ground.
• Hadachi: this technique is considered a secret teacher of this school. It is a counterattack after the opponent softens his sword. The blade of the opponent's sword is captured with one hand, between the fingers and the palm of the dominant hand. Cut the palm of the person who defends himself but not enough to stop him in the struggle. Yahiko, not Kaoru, uses this attack in the chapter Yakiko no Sakabatou.
• Tsuka no Gedan, Hiza Hishigi: This attack can only be used once the practitioner's shinai or bokken breaks. It looks on the sleeve and anime, against Kamatari, a member of the Juppongatana. The attacker swells at the knees of his opponent, clashing the grip against his knees. The pressure applied with both hands on the ends of the grip breaks the opponent's kneecap.

Kendo, a martial art of Japanese origin that has as reference the principles of handling the Japanese sword (katana) and the mysticism and discipline of samurai warriors.

Kendo means "Way of the Sword" and etymologically it comes from two Japanese words: ken (剣), sword, and do (道), path.

The origins of kendo are lost in the past of Japanese history, but its heyday was in the feudal era until the beginning of the Meiji era (late century XIX), where the legendary samurai dominated the arts of war and the concept of life and death were defined by whoever wielded the sword best.

History

His first encounter with Kenshin was while trying to defend his dojo, even at the cost of his life which shows his love for this art. Kenshin is a drifter, but Kaoru tells him that she didn't care about his past, so he decides to stay. He agrees to stay with her, forging a strong friendship and mutual camaraderie. Later, the orphaned Yahiko becomes her disciple, reluctantly at first but recognizing the value of the Kassihn-Ryu technique over time. As the series goes by, he establishes a relationship with Sagara Sanosuke and Takani Megumi (although with the latter they often have quarrels in relation to Kenshin).

Kenshin considers Kaoru his partner and is capable of sacrificing even his own life on several occasions for her, however the advancement of their love for each other is not seen until the Jinchuu arc, where in the end of this both they marry and have a child. This part of the manga was also animated in the Ovas, albeit with a rather different plot and ending.

During the story, Kaoru defends herself and even fights successively presented enemies to defeat the protagonist and his group of friends. She is a strong-spirited and analytical girl in some ways.

She herself has implied that the strength of her convictions and the desire to live is to make Kenshin happy, even though he himself is more modest in his feelings. On the other hand, Kenshin and his friends firmly believe in the philosophy of practicing with the sword without the need to kill that Kaoru has implemented as a Kendo teacher.

As the series progresses (especially in the manga) we see that Kaoru matures considerably, especially in her relationship with Kenshin, both decide to be together and leave the past behind.

Relationship with Kenshin Himura

At the beginning of the animated series she intends to put an end to the fearsome Battousai, since the Hiruma brothers want to keep their dojo and one of them pretends to be the hitokiri. This same subject had been injured by Kaoru's father by making it impossible for him to use his right hand for life and he wanted revenge. However, the homeless man ends up killing the impostors and helping her. In gratitude, she invites him to stay at the dojo in exchange for doing trades and protecting him from criminals. After 10 years of aimlessly wandering around Japan, the drifter agrees to stay with her to protect her from her. He would later tell her that his name is Kenshin Himura.

She is glad that ever since her father left to fight in the war and then died, she has been alone with no family, just like Kenshin. Despite realizing that Kenshin is Battousai, she lets him stay and tells him that she doesn't care about her past. It is this same need for protection and distance from loneliness that leads them both to ally themselves. Finally other feelings are growing in them. Kenshin's protective, fierce, affectionate and kind character wins over Kaoru's heart, while her sweetness, beauty and courage make Kenshin fall in love with Kaoru.

In chapter 7 of the animated series we already see that Kaoru and Kenshin's feelings have changed. She does not want him to leave nor does he want to leave because he has become attached to her friends and especially to her, but he feels that it hurts him to be by her side because of her countless enemies as a result of the her life as Battouisai. One of them, Jinei, kidnaps Kaoru when she is standing by a river and gave Kenshin her favorite scarf, the indigo one, to give it back to her when he returned and he tells her that he will return to her. Jinei had planned the kidnapping so that Kenshin would awaken the Battousai within him and he actually succeeds. When Kenshin finds them he tells Jinei that only because of Kaoru and her touching tears would he be able to become Battousai again. She hears that confession dismayed and then listens in her thoughts when he tells her that he loves her. Due to her love for Kenshin she was able to get out of Jinei's spell and stops Battousai just as he was about to finish off the fiend. This scene also appears in ova 5 and is of vital importance because it is the first time that Kenshin transforms into Battousai.

We also see in chapter 31 of the animated series that before leaving for Kyoto for his fight with Makoto Shishio, the only person he says goodbye to is Kaoru in a very sentimental way.

Apart from the Ova, in a special extension edition of the animated series or Video Ending of Rurouni Kenshin that went on sale we see an ending where the Himura family is even shown together, being young, with their son Himura Kenji.

Unlike the OVAs, we see that in the animated series the ending is different. They stay together and happy.

OVA

Kaoru's design in the OVA changes a bit. She is presented as an adult, with a child and very ill in the last episodes. Her jovial and happy spirit disappears, giving rise to the abandoned and expectant wife for the arrival of her husband.

Kenshin returns from China, he manages to arrive badly injured together with Kaoru, who receives him calling him by his real name: Shinta. While she tells him everything he lived through when he wasn't around, Kenshin dies in her arms under a cherry tree.

Let's just say that unlike the Anime and Manga, the OVA is kind of sad. But in the chronology of the original manga, the OVA Seisohen does not exist and the story has a happy ending, with the main characters having a picnic, Kenshin no longer traveling and living together with his wife Kaoru and 5-year-old little Kenji. In addition, the original author did not participate in the OVA script since he thought that Kenshin deserved a happy ending.

It is worth noting the great amount of criticism that the OVAs have generated among fans. The difference in character of the characters compared to the series (A depressive Kenshin or Kaoru as a submissive and subdued woman), the lack of dynamics and the lack of action scenes at the level of those of the series, have been poorly received among viewers. followers.

Her Marriage to Kenshin Himura

Something that I really liked within the plot of the Ovas about Kaoru's life was the Director's cut, where beautiful scenes of the Himura family are clearly seen, including their wedding and later giving birth to their son Kenji.

The design of the costumes attached to the Japanese tradition of Shinto weddings is impressive. The beauty of the costumes, the color and the ceremony itself are worth admiring. There we see the tea ceremony within the wedding program, specifically when Kaoru takes three sips of this drink. Her closest friends accompany them.

Throughout the history of Japan, marriage as an institution has undergone innumerable changes due to the successive social events that have conditioned the country. In the Middle Ages it was the bride's family that had to accept the new husband into the family, becoming part of it and almost breaking the ties that united him with her biological family.

Shinto weddings are held at a Shinto shrine or temple. The priest first purifies the place where the ceremony is to take place. The bride and groom wear traditional kimonos, which will later be changed for the reception. Only the closest relatives of both parties attend. During the ceremony they drink sake and both read their vows. After the ceremony, a reception is offered to the guests, attended by not only the family, but also more distant relatives, friends and acquaintances. Nowadays, many hotels have special chapels for the celebration of weddings.

During the celebration, friends and family make small speeches about the newlyweds, and it is finally these who take the floor to thank the guests for their attendance. At the reception, many western elements have been introduced: the bride's dress, the wedding cake, etc. This elements

For a long period of time, the bride continued with her biological family, until the birth of her first child. Only when this happened or her parents died did she directly become part of her boyfriend's family. It was the man who had to ask his wife in marriage.

In Japan, the legend of Fukakusa, a court nobleman, who for 100 consecutive days went to his beloved's home in Kyoto to get a "yes" answer, is well known, and he never got an answer. At this time, marriage was used for political purposes, to resolve disputes between different clans.

In the case of Kaoru and Kenshin, they decided to get married of their own free will. Kenshin had told her that what he wanted most in her life was to see Kaoru-dono's smile and that he would do anything for her. Kaoru tells him that what he wants most is a family.