In the Meiji Era, the first half of the Empire of Japan , the period where Japan was freed from an isolated feudal society, Kenshin Himura , a former legendary assassin known as "Hitokiri Battōusai" (人斬り抜刀斎) "Sword-drawing Manslayer", meanders the streets of Hokkaido with his now reversed blade on his hip, and an intention of protecting the country's citizens. Kenshin has spent years traveling Japan as a rurouni (wandering, masterless samurai) in search of vindication, bearing a sakabatō with the vow to never kill again and then his promise was put to test to fight for his country's liberty. One windy day, he had no choice but to take shelter under a bridge near an old household where he was eventually welcomed with much warmth.