Name: Aoshi Shinomori

Age: 26

Height: 6’6”

Weight: 213 lbs.

Body Size: B 43”-W 30”-H 33”

Hair: Black

Eyes: Blue

Blood Type: A

Weapon: A pair of Kodachi

The leader of the Oniwabanshuu, Aoshi Shinomori, became the group's leader at the young age of 15. During the final years of the Tokugawa Era, Aoshi had recruited men who were unwanted and underrated because he saw potential in them. Many of the men looked up to their young leader, but when the era ended, almost all of them gave up their fighting lives to move on with more peaceful related lifestyles. Only four men stayed with Aoshi till the bitter end, Hannya, Shikijou, Beshimi, and Hyottoko.

Because of those four, Aoshi had kept on living, since they were the only ones who had not turned their backs on their master. Aoshi and the Oniwabanshu were located in Kyoto, but due to little or no pay for warriors in the Meiji Era, the five men moved on to Tokyo where they were hired by a wealthy drug and weapons dealer named Kanryu Takeda. Aoshi had left behind the only one to ever love him, Misao Makimachi, the granddaughter of the leader previous to Aoshi of the Oniwabanshu.

Always, Aoshi wants to prove himself and his men to be the strongest. In Tokyo, the Oniwabanshu had gotten a bad name because they were affiliated with Kanryu, yet, Aoshi and his men kept their sense of pride. Kanryu thought he owned the Oniwabanshu, but Aoshi never showed any signs of being manipulated. Aoshi was his own individual and not a lackey. When Kenshin had raided Kanryu's mansion due to the kidnapping of Megumi, the Oniwabanshu had fought with Kenshin and Sanosuke. In the end, it was Aoshi against Kenshin. This was the biggest fight for Aoshi. If Aoshi could defeat the man known as Battousai, he would earn himself the title of the strongest. Unfortunately, Aoshi was lost in combat, but promised to fight Kenshin again another day. Shortly after, an enraged Kanryu tried to kill off Aoshi for disobeying him with a gatling gun, but instead, the loyal four to Aoshi protected their master with their bodies.

Aoshi buried Hannya, Shikijou, Beshimi, and Hyottoko's bodies in the mountains and lived there in solitude for quite some time. When word about Makoto Shishio’s plot to overthrow the government was heard of and Kenshin went off to Kyoto, that's when Aoshi revealed himself again. Over the period of time, Aoshi had turned into a devil, building up hatred for Kenshin because he wanted to earn the title of the strongest for his men. With some help from Soujirou, Aoshi returned to Kyoto in search of Kenshin.

Upon his return to Kyoto, Makoto Shishio met up with Aoshi and promised him that he will have a rematch with Kenshin. This led to a temporary alliance between the two. Possessed by his own selfish ambitions, Aoshi even went as far as to severly injure Okina, a well-respected Oniwabanshu member, and threatened to kill Misao and the others if they happened to get in his way. Later, in Shishio's base, Kenshin encountered Aoshi. The promise of another battle between the two was kept, but it was different than before. Although the battle had ended in the same way, Aoshi losing, there was a different result. Kenshin had hit Aoshi with the succession technique of the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu, the Amakakeru Ryuu no Hirameki, causing Aoshi to see the light. No longer was he possessed with the goal to become the strongest. He had finally realized what he did wrong and was sorry for embarassing his men.

After Shishio was defeated, Aoshi remained in Kyoto and resided at the Aoiya, where the other Oniwabanshu members lived. He spent most of his days in solitude, meditating in silence at a nearby shrine. It was not until he and Misao set off to Tokyo to deliver Tomoe's diary that Aoshi sprung back into action. It was Aoshi who had discovered that Kaoru had not died as everyone thought. Upon his departure from Tokyo after the whole deal with Enishi was resolved, Aoshi and Misao had relocated the bodies of the four loyal Oniwabanshu members. While it's location is unknown, Aoshi had promised it'd be somewhere nicer than their current plots.

Aoshi is an indivdual who needs only to speak a few words to get his message through. He keeps to himself most of the time, as he is that type of person. Never has a smile been seen from Aoshi by anyone. His weapon, the Kodachi, is a sword shorter than normal. The kodachi is used for defense, rather than offense. Because of its lighter than normal weight, Aoshi uses it to defend while he mixes his knowledge of kenpo in his fights. Later on, he upgrades and uses two kodachis, hiding them in one long sheath to fool his opponents in believing he uses a long sword.