Leader of the Third Squad of the Shinsengumi during the Revolution. After the war was over he changed his name and became a member of the police.
One of the few people to have fought the Battousai and survived. He is Kenshin’s arch rival and the one sent to test Kenshin’s abilities before the Shishio incident to see if Kenshin was still as strong a swordsman as he had been ten years previous. Made an alliance with the former Hitokiri during the Shishio affair and later in the revenge arc.