"Welcome To Anime House"

Gintoki was still a boy when the Amanto arrived on Earth and began to take over the nation of Japan. Little is known of Gintoki's teacher, who's name is Shouyou Yoshida, other than that he had great respect for him and he found Gintoki as a child calmly eating and hiding on the corpses from some unknown battle. He was classmates with two of his future "Joi" allies, Kotaro Katsura and Shinsuke Takasugi. It was at this time that he learned of the code of the samurai, which he keeps to himself even to this day (albeit in a more twisted manner than others). Many of Gintoki's views on life seem to be inspired by his teacher, one being that a teacher should be able to carry the burden of their student.

As Gintoki grew older, he began to take note of the way that the country and the world was changing due to the continued invasion and infiltration of the Amanto.As the samurai continued to fight against the Amanto Gintoki joined the Joi faction, choosing to make a stand against the invaders. Gintoki continued to fight against them, being proclaimed a "God of War".

However, Gintoki eventually gave up fighting, tired of spilling blood in order to protect people and his realization that the Amanto were "gloomy foreigners". Shortly after, swords were banned with some of the Samurai turning to other causes and others turning into terrorists continuing to fight the Amanto threat. Gintoki chose to open a freelance business where he could handle matters his own way, while continuing to live by his own samurai code.

Gintoki Sakata is a former samurai living in an era where Aliens known as the Amanto have come to Earth, and the Samurai have been defeated. In the Joi war, he was known as the "White Demon" (白夜叉, Shiroyasha?) due to his silver hair and white coat he wore in battle, which, combined with his impressive capabilities as a swordsman, made him famous among his comrades and struck fear into Amanto. Gintoki now lives with Kagura and Shinpachi, taking on odd jobs.

Gintoki has naturally permed silver hair, which he blames for his lack of a love-life. He has a crush on the TV's news weather girl, Ketsuno Ana. Though several female characters have shown an interest in Gintoki, he usually does not show any response back and merely puts up with them as annoyances and even attacks the ninja Sarutobi Ayame who tends to stalk him.

Gintoki has a sweet tooth and obsession with sugary, sweet foods such as parfait, ice cream, strawberry milk and cake. However, Gintoki has been warned by his Doctor to control his sugar intake. He is also obsessed with reading the manga anthology magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump. Gintoki will go to great lengths to get the latest Jump issue, including reckless behavior. His Jump obsession makes him dream of having supernatural abilities from other Jump heroes.

Despite his appearance and initial behavior, Gintoki has a great amount of pride for the old bushido code. He takes it upon himself to rescue or avenge not only his comrades and friends but also people he barely knows. Despite being a fearsome fighter with nearly unmatched skills, he avoids needless bloodshed after suffering the loss of most of his friends and allies during the Joi war.

Gintoki is trained and versed in the ways of the samurai, including the code of bushido. During the war against the Amanto, Gintoki was known as Shiroyasha, "the White Demon." On the battlefield, his merciless abilities and savage swordsmanship were so notorious that the mere mention of his name is said to have once struck fear in the hearts of every Amanto. Although not much is known of his past, several characters who fought with him have observed that his swordplay is self-taught.

His main weapon of choice is a bokuto with the words "Lake Toya" inscribed on it. Supposedly, Gin bought the sword in Lake Toya during a class trip. In reality, the bokuto he wields is a Hoshikudaki (星砕, lit. star destroyer?), a bokuto created from a ten-thousand year old tree from another planet that cuts through anything. Whenever one breaks or is stolen, Gin replaces it by purchasing it through a TV shopping program, asking them to inscribe "Lake Toya" on it prior to delivery, therefore replacing his old sword. Using this sword, he is often seen cutting, smashing and basically destroying all kinds of strong objects such as a metal cannon. Occasionally, though, Gin has used other swords, including real ones, in combat when he needs to due to a tougher encounter.

During battle, he is known to have displayed unusual strength. Although he is more than capable of fighting evenly against powerful Amanto warriors and various other samurai, Gintoki will not hesitate to use tricks and manipulation if it means a quick and easy victory. He does not like to waste time fighting when using a little brains over brawn will yield a much quicker ending.