Hachirou no Kaa-chan

Hachirou no Kaa-chan is caring, talkative and intensely maternal. She enters the Yorozuya office and immediately prepares breakfast, scolding everyone for speaking with food in their mouths and instructing them to chew properly. Her behavior is familiar enough that the Yorozuya briefly seem to have acquired a mother without knowing who she is.

She is also remarkably fearless. Edo's delinquents and criminals do little to intimidate her, and she can wander into dangerous situations while maintaining the same practical attitude she uses when worrying about meals and manners.

Her devotion to her son is paired with unusual emotional perception. She does not demand that he remain the person he was before leaving home; what matters to her is knowing that he has found a life in Edo.

Hachirou no Kaa-chan has no supernatural powers or formal combat training. She nevertheless demonstrates composure in situations that frighten ordinary civilians and is capable of standing up to people who appear physically threatening.

Her maternal instincts are occasionally exaggerated into near-superhuman competence for comedy. When she encounters one of Kurogoma Katsuo's puppies in distress, she successfully resuscitates it.

Her most important ability within the story is recognizing her son despite the extraordinary change in his appearance. The Yorozuya rely on superficial clues; she understands him through details accumulated over years of raising him.

Hachirou no Kaa-chan arrives at the Yorozuya looking for her son Hachirou, who left for Edo five years earlier to earn money after the death of his father. She has since lost contact with him and asks Gintoki's group to investigate.

The search leads to Takamagahara, where the Yorozuya encounter Hachirou, whose name and bizarre appearance convince them that they have somehow found exactly the man depicted by their wildly inaccurate reconstruction of the missing son.

The actual son is Honjou Kyoushirou, Takamagahara's owner. He underwent extensive plastic surgery and changed his name after coming to Edo. Kyoushirou avoids revealing himself because he fears how his mother will react to the person he has become.

After the conflict with Katsuo's men, she returns home without openly confronting Kyoushirou. A package of sliced pumpkin accompanied by a message later reveals that she recognized her son all along. Rather than expose him, she quietly lets him know that his mother still understands him.

Honjou Kyoushirou is Hachirou no Kaa-chan's son. Although his appearance and name have changed completely, she recognizes him and accepts the life he has built in Edo without forcing him to reveal himself.

Sakata Gintoki, Kagura and Shimura Shinpachi are hired to locate her missing son. She quickly begins treating all three with the same maternal nagging she directs toward her own family.

Hachirou is initially mistaken by the Yorozuya for her missing son because his name and heavily altered appearance happen to fit their assumptions. He is actually Honjou Kyoushirou's friend and employee.

Kurogoma Katsuo becomes involved after his group clashes with Takamagahara. Hachirou no Kaa-chan's encounter with his men places her directly inside a dispute she barely understands.