Origin
Sait? Hajime (1844-1915) was an actual historic figure of the Meiji era, and much of the detail contained in the character are based on facts.
When creating the character, Watsuki used the concept of “anti-hero”, much like Frank Castle, The Marvel Comics Punisher, from whom he took inspiration. Watsuki considers Sait? as the “curse” of the villains in the series as he always ends defeating the enemies who believe they are the strongest. The Gatotsu sword technique that Sait? uses in the series is similar to the description of his original sword technique, but is purely fictional, and not entirely accurate to real sword fighting.
History
Former Captain of the Third Division of the Shinsengumi, he is the archenemy of Kenshin Himura since the end of the Shogunate. After the swearing in of the new government, he changes his name to Gorou Fujita and becomes a sub-delegation to continue fighting under the belief of “Evil Immediately Eliminated”. Later he join forces with Kenshin to face Shishio Kenshin and then Enishi, but without forgetting that the struggle between them is still pending.
Skills and Abilities
Hajime Saitou was a respected swordsman by many of the greatest warriors in the universe of Rurouni Kenshin for being able to face opponents like Battousai as equals. During the bakumatsu period he led a Shinsengumi squadron and was one of the few survivors of the group after the start of the Meiji era. He is a faithful follower of the philosophy of “Aku Soku Zan” (immediate cut of evil), which is a philosophy of never ignore evil and destroy it the first time, according to Kenshin, Saitou devotion of the Aku Soku Zan is what makes him strong. He is an expert in the art of Gatotsu, consisting of drilling long distance attacks executed with a swiftly moving towards the enemy.
