Myōjin Yahiko (明神 弥彦), known as Yahiko Myojin in the Media Blasters English-language dub and Yoshi Mujin in the English Sony Samurai X dub,[5] is a fictional character from the Rurouni Kenshin manga and anime series authored by Nobuhiro Watsuki.

Nobuhiro Watsuki, creator of Rurouni Kenshin, says that he used no particular logic when drawing Yahiko except for the "defiant" eyes and "mussed" hair.

However, he failed to win in a league tournament, experienced frustration and felt he was "awful" despite his desire to succeed; he yearned to improve his kendo skills.

[6] As an "outlet" for Watsuki's kendo emotions, Yahiko "knows a pain that hero-types like Himura Kenshin and Sagara Sanosuke can never know".

However, the author found this hard to do, as the more time Kenshin was unwilling to continue to live, the worse Yahiko felt, leaving Watsuki a more negative feeling concerning the story.

He added Sanosuke's kanji of "evil" (惡, aku) to the back of his clothes, and was pleased that various readers recognized it.

Watsuki thought about writing a story in which Yahiko and Tsubame would have a son, Myōjin Shinya, who would become a skilled swordsman.

[1] In producing the English dub version of the series, Media Blasters chose Wendee Lee to voice Yahiko, but she was credited as Elyse Floyd.

As his yakuza bosses are about to beat him to death for his desire to quit, Kenshin arrives to save him and take him to Kaoru's dojo to learn swordsmanship.

[15] Back in Tokyo after Shishio's defeat, Yahiko notices Yukishiro Enishi's revenge plot against Kenshin.

[27] In Rurouni, Meiji Swordsman Romantic Story, he is known as Kamiya Yahiko (神谷 弥彦) and is the brother of Takani Megumi and Kaoru.

[33] He starts taking care of Kaoru when she suffers from an illness while Kenshin went to assist people injured in wars.

Shortly after Kenshin's family leaves, Yahiko remains in charge of the dojo and proposes to Tsubame when she realizes he feels lonely now.

[36][37] A plethora of merchandise have been released in Yahiko's image, including key-chains[38] wall scrolls,[39] and action figures in both his child and teenager appearances.

[42] Watsuki described Minami Takayama, the CD voice actor, as having "a lot of energy" and as being a "great fit" for Yahiko.

[44] While reviewing volume 15, Lavey praised Yahiko's development during the series as he becomes a good fighter and his courage shows a remarkable potential to become a powerful swordsman.

Anime Reviews criticized Yahiko for being "a bit annoying" during the start of the series but noted that he has his enjoyable moments.

[46] Matthew Warner from the Fandom Post stated that the reboot incarnation of Yahiko underwent a major character arc in his battle.

[47] In the Critical Survey of Graphic Novels: Manga, multiple writers acknowledged how both Yahiko and Sagara Sanosuke spend their time in the series searching for ways to become stronger.

[50] Ridwan Khan from Animefringe noted the fight between Yahiko and Kenji had been long awaited, it was mostly overshadowed by Kenshin and Kaoru's ending.