Kenshiro (Japanese: ケンシロウ, Hepburn: Kenshirō) is a fictional character and the protagonist of the Fist of the North Star manga series created by Tetsuo Hara and Buronson.

In the story, Kenshiro is the rightful successor of an ancient art of assassination called Hokuto Shinken, which allows him to defeat his adversaries through the hidden meridian points.

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.

[2] 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.

[2] 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.

[2] 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.

After surviving the nuclear war, he tried to live in peace with his fiancée Yulia, until Jagi instigates Shin, a jealous rival from the Nanto Koshuken school, to challenge, then defeat Kenshiro.

Throughout the course of the series, Kenshiro protects the weak and innocent from the numerous gangs roaming the post-apocalyptic wasteland, eventually gaining his reputation as the "Savior of the Century's End."

In the intervening years between Kenshiro last encountering his brothers, Toki decided to use his powers in a way that brought no pain, through healing and painless attacks, while Raoh became considerably more misguided, intent on becoming the 'Conqueror of the Century's End' through ruling the wasteland with an iron fist.

In the end, Kenshiro takes Raoh's orphaned son, Ryu, under his wing, before continuing on his own, the future of humanity finally sealed with the defeat of Kaioh.

[10] In 2022, game publisher Wizards of the Coast featured a playing card titled "You Are Already Dead" in its new Japanese-themed Magic: The Gathering set, Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty.