Sugawara Masa

Sugawara Masa is an 18 year old girl from a merchant family who lives in Kyoto. Though Masa considers herself ugly, Harada Sanosuke develops a large crush on her and tried very hard to win her affections. She appears in Volume 15.

Story
Masa, also known as Omasa, is the youngest daughter of a wealthy kimono merchant in Kyoto. Her feisty attitude and non-conventional looks cause Masa to consider herself as ugly. She endures the teasing of her older brother, whom she resembles, and constantly compares herself to her beautiful older sister.

Though Masa has long since considered herself to ugly for marriage, a chance encounter in a Kyoto bathroom causes Sanosuke to fall head over heels for her, despite (or perhaps because of) her freckles and frizzy hair. Masa is not impressed, and immediately rejects him, thinking that he is only teasing her.

Sanosuke returns to the Shinsengumi headquarters to tell everyone about the “tago” (or urine bucket) girl he met in town. Sanosuke tells them he plans on marrying her - or at least making her his mistress, since different classes were often not allowed to wed at that time.

Despite going back many times, Sanosuke is unable to find the “tago” girl. He decides to pray in the temple and, as luck would have it, finds himself right next to his “tago” girl. Masa’s maid is happy to provide him with her name and history, and soon Sanosuke is proposing marriage. Masa is not amused, though she seems to be slowly changing her mind when her geta straps break and Sanosuke offers her up his own.

Later that night, a flustered Masa sighs in despair as she peers at her reflection (and her frizzu hair) in the mirror. Her thoughts are suddenly interrupted by Sanosuke, who has managed to find where she lives. Sanosuke tells her that, if he survives the battle tomorrow, he will come back and ask for her hand in marriage.

The next morning, Masa angrily confronts Sanosuke for not considering her future if he indeed did not come back alive. Nevertheless, Masa accepts his proposal.

Though at first it appears tha Masa, due to her marchant family status, and Sanosuke, a simple bushi, would not be able to wed, a simple visit to Masa’s brother by Kondo Isami reveals that the former is more than happy to accept the proposal (as, in his words, he never believed his sister would ever marry).

The happy couple are soon wed.