Harada Sanosuke
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Harada Sanosuke (原田 左之助, 1840 - July 6th, 1868) was the 10th unit captain of the Shinsengumi which were a special police force for the Tokugawa regime.
Background
He was a samurai born in Matsuyama-han in the Iyo Province (now the city of Matsuyama, Ehime Prefecture in Japan) in the Bakumatsu or the end of the Edo era. He was a low-class samurai like many active samurai during the Bakumatsu and worked as a chugen which is like a role of a servant for a samurai when he was younger.He was a spear user of the Hozouin style and he usually used a spear in battle instead of a sword. He was truly fearless in battle but he had a short temper. Once, he tried to commit suicide by seppuku just from a small argument but failed. It left a scar on his abdomen. It is said that he was very caring to his subordinates and his wife Masa and their child Shigeru.
Shinsengumi period
He was friends with Kondo Isami when he was just running the Shieikan dojo in Edo (now Tokyo.) Later he joined the Kiyokawa's Roushigumi with Kondo along with Hijikata Toshizo, Okita Soji, and Nagakura Shinpachi in 1863. Then, shortly after, Kondo separated from the Roushigumi along with Serizawa Kamo which later became the Shinsengumi.Harada later became the 10th Unit Captain of the Shinsengumi. He trained briefly under a dojo run by Tani Sanjurou, whom he inducted into the Shinsengumi. Tani eventually became the 7th Unit Captain. Harada was very trusted by vice-commander Hijikata. He was involved in many of the crucial missions the group faced and was very likely involved in the Serizawa Kamo (original commander of the Shinsengumi) assassination. He was involved in the Uchiyama Hikojiro assassination, the Ikedaya Affair, and the elimination of Ito Kashitaro group.
At one time he was accused as the one who assassinated the famous Sakamoto Ryoma but it is most likely that it was the Mimawarigumi was behind it.
In 1868, two months after the Toba-Fushimi battle Harada left the old Shinsengumi with Nagakura Shinpachi, after disagreements with long-time comrade and leader of the Shinsengumi, Kondo.
Death
After spilling from Seiheitai which he formed with Nagukura (because Harada wanted to meet his wife Masa and their child Shigeru, named after taking the kanji for 'mochi' of the 14th Shogun Tokugawa Iemochi,) Harada joined the Shogitai which also sided with the Tokugawa regime. He died at the young age of 28 in July 1868, from injuries received during the Battle of Ueno.There is a rumor that Harada did not die in 1868, but he survived and travelled to China and became a leader for a horse-riding military group. There was an old man in the military during the First Sino-Japanese War who named himself to be Harada Sanosuke. This was reported in a newspaper in 1965, but it is considered to be historically inaccurate.
Harada in Fiction
The character Harada Sanosuke appears in the anime series Peacemaker Kurogane, as well as in the manga it was originally based on, Shinsengumi Imon PEACE MAKER and Peacemaker Kurogane.Harada Sanosuke also appears in Shiba Ryoutarou's novels Moero Ken (Burn O Sword) and Shinsengumi Keppuroku (Shinsengumi Bloody Record). In addition, he is also depicted in NHK's Taiga drama series Shinsengumi! (played by Yamamoto Taro.)
The character Sagara Sanosuke in the anime series Rurouni Kenshin/Samurai X is based on Harada. In the manga, Harada is shown in flashback sequences, and the character designs for the two are similar.
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