Katsura, Kogorou

桂小五郎

Katsura Kogoro was the legendary young leader of the Chōshū Ishin-Shishi. Along with Ōkubo Toshimichi and Saigō Takamori, he became one of the three key figures of the Meiji Restoration after forging an alliance between the former enemies Chōshū and Satsuma. After witnessing the impressive performance of the young Himura Kenshin in the Kiheitai, Katsura recruited the fourteen-year-old swordsman into his service as a hitokiri in Kyoto. He acts as the Battōsai's immediate superior during the Bakumatsu.