Yahiko
is a samurai descendant. Yahiko's father died during the Battle of Ueno
during the Boshin War, slain at the Keneiji Temple. His mother died of
syphilis in a brothel to put food on their table not long after giving
birth to her son. Yahiko was originally forced to live as a thief for
the local Yakuza, who tricked him into believing that he still had to
pay off the money the gangsters gave to his mother to buy medicine. With
the help of Himura Kenshin and Kamiya Kaoru, he becomes an apprentice
of the Kamiya Kasshin-Ryu style.
Yahiko has a friend/rival, Tsukayama Yutaro and a sweetheart, Sanjo Tsubame, who works at Akabeko.