Name: Shakku Arai

Age: ?

Height: 5'7"

Weight: 146 lbs.

Body Size: B 40"-W 31"-H 33"

Hair: Brown

Eyes: Black

Blood Type: ?

Weapon: Sakabatou-Shinuichi, Katana

Shakku Arai is a famous blacksmith well-known in Japan for creating some of the country's best swords, and is most noted for forging the reverse blade sword known as the Sakabatou-Shinuichi. He had given it to Kenshin as a parting gift when he had converted to a rurouni, just to see how long Kenshin could abide his oath not to kill. Shakku had mentioned to Kenshin that if the sword would broke, to come visit him in Kyoto. When it did in a duel against Soujirou, it was discovered by Kenshin that Shakku had passed away, but handed down his skills to his son, Seikuu. Although Seikuu never did create a similar sword to the Sakabatou-Shinuichi, it was later learned that the final masterpiece of Shakku, a new and improved Sakabatou-Shinuichi created for the Meiji Era, which was given to Kenshin afterwards, was entrusted to a samurai shrine. All his life, Shakku had been creating weapons that stole lives, but his final work was created to protect them.

It seems as though Kenshin was not the only person to use one of Shakku's swords in series, but others as well. Being a sword collector, Chou was fond of Shakku's works, and even went as far as to kidnapping Shakku's grandson Iori to try and get his hands on the blacksmith's final creation. Shishio also had a handful of swords produced by Shakku. His Mugenjin was the other half of the principal forge of the Sakabatou-Shinuichi, and Soujirou used a sword from his collection to break the original Sakabatou-Shinuichi.