Itsuki Kitaooji

Itsuki is fiery beneath an otherwise controlled and analytical demeanor. He prefers to understand how an opponent fights before committing himself, approaching swordsmanship as a discipline governed by technique and logic rather than uncontrolled instinct.

His devotion to ketchup is one of his defining eccentricities. When he encounters Toushirou Hijikata, the two temporarily put aside their hostility while eating because Itsuki's enthusiasm for ketchup mirrors Hijikata's notorious love of mayonnaise.

That brief compatibility disappears once they begin discussing combat. Itsuki takes pride in the refined Yagyuu school and dismisses the rougher, instinctive swordsmanship Hijikata developed through real fights.

Itsuki is one of the Yagyuu Four Devas, placing him among the household's strongest trained swordsmen. His style emphasizes analysis, formal technique and predicting an opponent's actions.

Against Hijikata, Itsuki quickly recognizes that his opponent relies heavily on instinct. He exploits that tendency and initially controls the duel, using the technical advantages of Yagyuu swordsmanship to push Hijikata onto the defensive.

His weakness is closely connected to that strength. A fighter who refuses to behave according to the patterns Itsuki has analyzed can disrupt his calculations. Hijikata eventually turns the environment and his own unpredictability into weapons against him.

Itsuki appears with Ayumu Toujou, Tsukamu Nishino and Sui Minamito when the Yorozuya and Shinsengumi enter the Yagyuu estate to challenge the arrangement involving Kyuubei Yagyuu and Tae Shimura.

He becomes Hijikata's principal opponent. Before fighting, the two share a meal and discover their mutual devotion to condiments, but their agreement ends when the subject turns to swordsmanship.

Itsuki initially gains the upper hand by analyzing Hijikata's instinctive style. Hijikata eventually abandons the kind of predictable exchange Itsuki expects, concealing his sword in the water and using deception to create the decisive opening.

Much later, Itsuki returns alongside the other Yagyuu retainers to defend Edo during the Altana Liberation Army's invasion, joining the broader resistance alongside Kyuubei and the clan.

Kyuubei Yagyuu is the Yagyuu heir Itsuki serves and protects as one of the family's Four Devas.

Ayumu Toujou, Tsukamu Nishino and Sui Minamito are Itsuki's fellow Four Devas and the other elite fighters defending the Yagyuu household.

Toushirou Hijikata is Itsuki's principal opponent during the Yagyuu conflict. They briefly bond over their respective condiment obsessions before clashing over both their loyalties and radically different philosophies of swordsmanship.