Kenshiro (Japanese: ケンシロウ, Hepburn: Kenshirō) (Japanese pronunciation: [keɰ̃.ɕiɾoː]) is a fictional character and the protagonist of the Fist of the North Star manga series created by Buronson and Tetsuo Hara. In the story, Kenshiro is the rightful successor to an ancient art of assassination called Hokuto Shinken, which allows him to defeat his adversaries through the hidden meridian points. Kenshiro's appearance and characteristics were primarily based on martial artist and actor Bruce Lee and action film star Yūsaku Matsuda, while his outfit was loosely based on Mel Gibson's costume from Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior. Through the course of the original manga, Kenshiro fights against various ruffians who threaten the lives of the post-apocalyptic survivors, as well as numerous rival martial artists, including his three honorary brothers trained in the art of Hokuto Shinken.
Concept and creation
Manga artist Tetsuo Hara was a fan of Hong Kong martial artist Bruce Lee as well as action manga series and the Japanese action film star Yūsaku Matsuda. He combined the appearance and character traits of Lee and Matsuda when he came up with the character design of Kenshiro. Hara and his editor Nobuhiko Horie realized they needed a secret signature martial arts technique, but were at a loss for ideas until Horie browsed a used Chinese book store on Suzuran Street in Jinbōchō, Tokyo. He found an anecdote of a medical student in China, who, after overstimulating an acupressure point in order to help an eye issue, had instead made the condition worse. Horie believed that destroying bodies by attacking pressure points was perfect for a shōnen manga, as it allowed someone small to take out a much bigger opponent. The editor also derived the manga's title and the name of the technique from a Chinese constellation myth that features two sages, Hokuto and Nanto, the gods of death and life respectively. Horie pictured the manga's protagonist, Kenshiro, as the son of Hokuto. In Hara's two-part prototype version of Fist of the North Star, Kenshiro is a young man who fights against the rival martial arts school of the Taizanji Kenpō in 1980s Japan. This version of the character has the full name of Kenshiro Kasumi (霞 拳四郎, Kasumi Kenshirō), based on the name of the fictional martial artist Sanshiro Sugata. In this setting, Kenshiro is the 23rd successor of Hokuto Shinken, preceded by his unnamed father, who in turn learned the art from the 21st successor, Master Liú Zhèng (劉正, Ryūshō). This Kenshiro is much more cheerful than the Kenshiro of the serialized manga, having yet to experience the same hardships at the start of the story. After Kenshiro's girlfriend, Yuki is murdered and he is framed for her death, Kenshiro becomes a wanted fugitive who sets out to overthrow the Taizanji organization. The character was revised by author Buronson when Fist of the North Star was picked up for weekly serialization. Now turned into a full-grown adult, Buronson has stated that he based the revised Kenshiro primarily on Bruce Lee. He also cites the Mad Max film series as an influence. Buronson had asked Hara to give Kenshiro seven scars in the shape of the Big Dipper for no reason other than their cool aesthetic. But when they then began thinking of Kenshiro's backstory and the reason he wanders the wasteland, Buronson devised that they came from the man who stole the woman he loved. The character is only referred by his given name in the series, which is always written in katakana in Japanese. The full name Kenshiro Kasumi was reused for the main character of Fist of the Blue Sky, a predecessor of the Kenshiro from Fist of the North Star, although his given name is spelled differently (拳志郎).
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