Sanosuke used to follow a group called the Sakihora; this was a group of swordsmen who acted as a militia during the battle to westernize Japan. They were used as "a voice of the govt.", but held no official rank. The Sakihora were setup by the Ishin govt. which Kenshin was a part of. They were exicuted for spreading false information, "which the Ishin govt. told them to spread", promises were made that could not be kept in order to insure that the people didn't lose faith in the Ishin - the Sakihora took the blame and were exicuted. Sanosuke could not forgive the Ishin for what they had done; he became a gangster - building his strength and breaking the laws of a govt. that killed his master and framed him as a traitor. He later does battle with Kenshin, placing all of the blame on him. Kenshin finally manages to get him to understand that he has lived a life of destruction and is dishonoring the memory of his former master - taking away hope from innocent people for his revenge. Sanosuke joins the others to protect others and to right the wrong he has done. He still has a rebellious streak in him and holds a grudge against the new govt.
He continues to wear the "BAD" symbol on his back to remind him of where he came from - he is stubborn and jumps into things with little thought, but his extraordinary strength and stamina make up for his lack of caution. He sticks to Kenshin like glue and gets really pissed if Kenshin leaves him out of a fight.
© 1998 michabar@concentric.net
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