THE MEIJI RESTORATION
However, many argue that it was this very act that prompted the beginning of the revolution. People saw their government as weak, since they did not refuse the United States. Still others were afraid that renewed contact with the outside world would have disastrous results. The Ishin movement was born from these concerns, and it wanted to take back to a more "refined" time in Japan's past. Their motto was "Sonno Joi" ("Revere the Emperor and expel the barbarians!"), and that is what they planned to do.

Fights between the shogun's troops and the reformists were common.

But they only got as far as the first part. The Ishin movement (of which Kenshin and Shishio were both a part) claimed its legitimacy through the Emperor, and restored him to the throne. The Shogun could do little to stop them, as the government was a shambles. After taking the reins, however, the Meiji officials decided that modernizing Japan was the best way to go. After all, Imperialism was running rampant in Asia, and Japan did not want to become a colony of a European nation. So they decided the best way to compete was to play their game on their terms.
This move shocked and dismayed many who had once supported the Ishin movement. After all, the whole idea behind restoring the Emperor was to return Japan to a more golden time. But it was not to be. Japan, as a nation, was confused. A few political leaders steered Japan towards modernization and dragged the nation, kicking and screaming, into the Industrial Age.
The Meiji Era also marked the elimination of the samurai class. With no feudal lords to serve anymore, many of the samurai joined the army or local law enforcement offices, just as Saito did. Others attempted to become bureaucrats in the newly-formed government. They were also forbidden to carry swords anymore, something they had done since before the Tokugawa period. In one of the early episodes, the Meiji police warn Kenshin that it is illegal for him to carry a sword. Without a doubt, since their income had suddenly dried up and they were suddenly displaced, there was cause for much dissension.

National pride could not hide the fact that the nation was still confused over its direction.

The politics of the Meiji Restoration are felt in Kenshin, but serve as background rather than as the main story. Many of the actions of the characters are motivated by what the Meiji government or its officials have done to them in the past.
Kenshin is no longer fighting for the Ishin, but for himself. He does not want to fight at all, and will only do so to defend himself or those he cares about. He is no longer interested in the political power struggles and squabbles that were once a part of his past. Yet for a while he is plagued both by those who would have him join the Meiji government and by those who would exact their revenge for his past actions. Sometimes it seems that Kenshin will never find peace in Meiji Japan.
Saito is a different story. Since his days as part of the Shinsengumi, he has followed the credo of "San Zoku An" ("Destroy Evil Instantly".) It is this credo that allows him to justify changing sides after the Restoration and joining the Meiji police force. After all, he will still be allowed to carry out his quest for eliminating evil. It is this ideal that brings him first to Kenshin as an enemy, and later as an ally. In his case, politics is second to his particular brand of morality; they are a means to an end.
As a child, Sanosuke saw his squad leader and mentor brutally executed by the Meiji officials when his group was no longer of any use to them. As a result, he despises the Meiji government and what it stands for. Before Kenshin and Kaoru change his mind, he is obsessed with vengeance against those who dishonored his squad and killed his friend.
The character most personally affected by the Meiji government is, naturally, Shishio. As Kenshin's successor to the title of Hitokiri, he was invaluable to them while the battles raged. However, after establishing the legitimate government, the leaders decided that Shishio knew too much; his knowledge was dangerous and could destroy the Meiji government while it was still in its infancy. So they arranged to have Shishio wounded and set on fire. Shishio harbors an intense hatred for the Meiji government because of this (and who wouldn't?). He views those in power as liars who are unfit to rule, just as many did at the time, but his reasons are much more personal. He becomes willing to sacrifice any and everything to get the power he feels he deserves.

THE MANGA
The manga began running in WEEKLY JUMP in 1994. It was the first published continuing series of author Watsuki Nobuhiro. According to Watsuki, the story was only supposed to run for ten issues of JUMP, resulting in a series of approximately three or four volumes. However, it was obviously more successful than that, as there are currently 23 volumes of tankuobon available to date.
KENSHIN came to be when Watsuki decided that he wanted to do a fantasy-type manga. After some consideration, he chose to set his manga in the Meiji era, partially because he was inspired by historical novels he was reading at the time. When he was planning the manga to be only a ten-installment series, he decided to use the eleventh year of the Meiji Period because things were less tumultuous. Before then, there was too much going on, too much background that would be required to tell a good story, he believed.
However, there is still plenty of historical background that comes to play in RUROUNI KENSHIN, which is perhaps one of the reasons that the series continues its run. After all, there were a lot of political factions at the time, and the transition from an isolationist feudal nation to a fully-modern industrial power was not an easy one.