Name: Katsura Kogoro & Takasugi Shinsaku
Age: 18
Style: Unknown
Other: She...smells like HakuBaikou.


>Basics
   These two were some of the leaders of the Choshu- In Watsuki's adaptation Katsura was more of the quiet and smart type, who kept to himself until needed, and Takasugi was more outgoing and playful, all the while quite serious. They only appear in the Jinchuu arc-- so not too much is known. They are based on real historical figures though.

History
  This section was referenced, and sources include Sakabatou Zanbatou, and this site.

  Katsura is the leader who created the Satsuma-Choshu alliance with Saigo and Okubo. In terms of Kenshin, he sees the young Himura on the training field, and notes him for his talent. Quickly afterwards he approaches him and asks him to become an assassin for him. Hence, Kenshin joins the Ishin Shishi. Katsura, when he meets Tomoe, encourages her relationship with Kenshin, thinking that she will be able to control and bring back the "human" inside the Battousai, that Katsura, by hiring him, had killed off. When Tomoe dies, Katsura says Kenshin can fight in the open, and hires Shishio to be the next assassin-- and we know what happens after that. Takasugi was an envoy for peace negotiations, but after the Choshu he took his clan and converted them to anti-shogunate. He died of Tuberculosis at the end of the Bakan in 1867. In Kenshin, he is the one Kenshin works under until Katsura takes him under his wing. He plays some roles in the historical input in the Jinchuu arc, as in advising Katsura (about Kenshin also), but he doesn't do much else...

Watsuki's Character Notes
The following is quoted off of Shonen Jump's RK graphic novel translations of Watsuki:
  "The two huge Chosu stars of the Bakumatsu that everyone knows. They have already appeared in many works in different forms, both taking off on their own directions. So, what are their forms in Ruro-Ken? They are 'the intellectual Katsura, and the free Takasugi,' the most orthodox forms they take. Watsuki has the image of Katsura as a strategist who has more deep thoughts and calculations, and of Takasugi as a snapped madman. But since the rememberance episodes are centered on the story of Kenshin and Tomoe, those were all cut out. Reading back, I regret that they seem too bland and lacking in flavor.
  If I ever have a chance to write something really set in the Bakumatsu, I would like to bring out the Katsura and Takasugi I have imagined. A violent and picaresque pair that will bring in many letters of objections, like the time Saito first appeared.
  In terms of design, I quickly drafted Katsura from photos remaning of him, but adjusting to make him a gente, good-looking man with an accent added by the forelock. Like I have stated above, I just meant to make him the most orthodox image, but Takei-sensei of Shaman King complimented it, saying, 'A great design with the simple forelock adding to the character expression,' which made me happy, but at the same time a little embarassed. The senses of each individual person are not the be taken lightly.
  Takasugi is made of a rejected design for Nagaoka Mikio in volume five. When I created this design for Nagaoka, I felt, 'He's too wild and cool! Too good to use for a villain,' and switched it out. When looked at closely, they look very much alike. I had actually wanted to use it for a brotherly figure in my next work, but I thought 'Why not?' and went free falling with it. Recently, I tend to like these wild outlaw types more than the gentle good-looking types.
  I am a bit tired of drawing the good-looking types now."