「再び京都へ」 (Futatabi Kyōto e)
“To Kyoto, again”
Honestly, I'm not sure how long it's been since I've read or watched the Kyoto Arc (although I'm pretty sure “watched” is more recent). It's been many years, that's for sure. At least a decade. But it's one of those stories that is so important to my understanding of the novel that the details flood back with surprising clarity as events unfold. I'm not sure I can call any shounen arc better than Chimera Ant. But I can say that “Kyoto” is more perfect. Structurally, thematically – it's a refined and elegant work, with no real flaws (something I can't really say about Chimera Ant).
The dynamic between Kenshin and Shishio is of course at the heart of all of that. And it's an extremely complex problem. Above all, Shishio is Kenshin's successor as hitokiri. They both took on similar foul roles for the Imperial side during the Boshin War, and it hurt them both in profound ways (quite literally with Shishio, obviously). They understand each other in a way that no one else can, not even Saitou. Shishio mocks Kenshin for his rurouni aspirations, but the air of respect there is unmistakable. Shishio is an ungrateful man who doesn't please anyone, but he treats his senpai with kid gloves. He understands what it means to be a hitokiri.
That's why Shishio refuses to fight Ken now. Pushing him into Soijirou could have been seen as disrespectful, but in reality it was quite the opposite. Shishio will not take on Kenshin until he has fully qualified him – and until that measure includes returning to his former role as murderer. Currently, Kenshin is someone who shows empathy even to the likes of Senkaku, using one of the lesser moves in the Hiten Mitsurugi arsenal to end their uneven fight. Not only that, he then stopped Eiji before he had a chance to kill the helpless Senkaku (much more gently than Saitou).
Soujirou is an odd duck in every way. Always smiling, he shows no signs of bloodlust or fear, making him immune to Kenshin's attempts to read and influence him using his own sword aura and training. Therefore, he wordlessly challenged the young swordsman to battoujutsu, a simple test of their speed. Galloping with Yumi Shishio declares that in his current state, Kenshin cannot win such a contest. But he underestimated his predecessor. Ken may not have won, but he also didn't lose. His sakabatou was split in half, but in the process he shattered Nagasone Kotetsu (a true master swordsmith), one of the “31 Great Swords” and priceless. Technically, this battle was a draw, but considering that Kenshin did it with sakabatou, I think it's clear who is the stronger swordsman.
After that, Soujirou rushed off to pursue Shishio and Yumi and Kenshin turned their attention back to Eiji. There are times when I truly feel the purity of Kenshin's pathos, and this is one of them. No one can “walk the walk” more authentically than this man. He did unspeakable things and he never asked forgiveness for them. All he seeks to do is redeem himself, day after day, even as the world tries to pull him back into the darkness. Never more so than now, with an opponent seemingly so powerful waiting for him in Kenshin's current state. Even as he walks a path that could lead to his own existential destruction, Kenshin never steps forward to help those, like Eiji, whom he meets along the way.
If Shishio is angry about the condition of his priceless sword, he does not betray it. At great cost, he learned an invaluable lesson about the measure of the man he knew he would eventually have to face. He gave Soujirou a new mission, to collect the Juupongatana (Ten Swords)—just hearing the name sent shivers of anticipation down my spine—to Kyoto in a hurry. This is Shishio's inner circle, the heart of the threat he represents – and another epic element of the Kyoto Arc that rivals anything in shounen.
As for Eiji, Saitou announced that he would leave the boy in the care of Tokio's wife – and the fact that Saitou had a wife was quite a shock to Kenshin and Misao. He urges Ken to quickly return to his old self and proceed to Kyoto in the same manner. Misao remains by Kenshin's side, not forgetting why she started following him in the first place. As for Sanosuke, he's lost somewhere in the mountains with no idea which way to get out (let alone Kyoto), waiting for fate to intervene (which in this arc always leads to epic results).
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