was a Japanese warrior (samurai) who lived in the late Edo period. He was the 10th unit captain of the Shinsengumi, and died during the Boshin War. Background Harada was born to a family of chūgen, or low-ranking quasi-samurai, who served the retainers of the Iyo-Matsuyama Domain (now the city of Matsuyama). He trained in the spear technique of the Hōzōin-ryū style, and usually used that weapon in battle instead of a sword. During his time in Matsuyama, he was once ridiculed by a Matsuyama retainer as being a peon who was unfamiliar with how to properly commit seppuku. Harada, wishing to prove the man wrong, immediately drew his sword and attempted to commit seppuku; however, the wound was shallow, and he survived. Harada later boasted of his scar to his fellow Shinsengumi men, and the incident of his near-disembowelment is said to be the origin of the family crest he chose, which depicted a horizontal line within a circle (). Later leaving the Matsuyama domain's service, he went to Edo, and trained at Kondō Isami's Shieikan dōjō. Shinsengumi period In 1863, Harada, together with Kondō and others associated with the Shieikan, joined Kiyokawa Hachirō's Rōshigumi and departed for Kyoto. Shortly after reaching Kyoto, the Rōshigumi was disbanded and most of its members returned to Edo. Harada, Kondō, Serizawa Kamo and several others remained behind and formed the core of the group known as Mibu Rōshigumi, which later became the Shinsengumi. Later, Harada became the Captain of the Shinsengumi tenth Unit. He was trained briefly under a dojo run by Tani Sanjūrō, whom he introduced into the Shinsengumi. In 1865, Tani became the seventh Unit Captain. In Kyoto, Harada married a local woman named , and briefly had a private family residence near the Shinsengumi headquarters at Nishi-Honganji. The couple had a son, whom Harada named , taking the second character from the shōgun 's name. 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 Hikojirō's assassination, the Ikedaya incident, and the Sanjo Seisatsu incident. Harada became a hatamoto, together with the rest of Shinsengumi, in June 1867. At one time he was accused (by former Shinsengumi member Itō Kashitarō) as one of the assassins of the Sakamoto Ryōma