Higashiyama Ryuusaburou

東山龍三郎（ひがしやま りゅうざぶろう）、히가시야마 류자부로

Simplified Name: 东山龙太郎

On his way back from Amakusa to Tokyo, Kenshin Himura stopped at a ryokan in Hakone, where he met a young man studying Western art in Tokyo. This young man was in pursuit of the ultimate beauty, but he had lost his self-confidence as he struggled to find it. In the midst of this, Kenshin lost his travel funds, so Kaoru Kamiya ended up working at the ryokan. The youth instantly fell in love with Kaoru and decided to paint her. Shockingly, he tried to secretly sketch her from a tree while she was bathing. The young man wished to date Kaoru and approached her several times, but was rejected every time. Taking Misao Makimachi’s advice, Sagara Sanosuke proposed a condition: if the youth could land a single hit on Kenshin, he could date Kaoru. The youth took on the challenge several times, but failed each time. In the end, he accidentally plunged into a hornet’s nest and was rescued at the last moment by Kenshin and Sanosuke. Ultimately, the youth regained his self-confidence and handed Kaoru his finished painting before leaving. The first portrait he drew closely resembled Kaoru, but the painting he finally gave her reflected his understanding of her heart; it had a unique style reminiscent of Picasso.