Saito Takagi Tokio

Takagi Tokio is known as the Flower of Aizu. Hailing from an Aizu-domiciled samurai family, Tokio is well-do-to, well-educated and well-respected. She is a woman of strategy who is strong of wit and will. Her loyalty is unmatched and unwavering. She enjoys archery, poetry, sewing, and discussing politics and philosophy. She is the type of woman who thinks things through although she follows her heart before her head at times. She is quite smart and is an avid reader and writer, having been a scribe during the Shinsengumi era. She is soft-spoken except for matters that hurt her or are unjust. Tokio was courted by Saito Hajime for ten years, beginning in 1864 when he entered the Shinsengumi as its third unit captain. They finally married in 1874. Tokio is described by her husband as a good and capable woman and although he is hesitant to speak of her, she is his pride and joy, as well as of the rest of her family. She is well-mannered and polite, but she enjoys sarcastic humor and can have a quick, biting tongue. She is unafraid to speak her mind and be upfront about her feelings. She gives her all in everything she does. She is a great self-advocate, although she can obey authority to a fault at times. She never backs down from a challenge. She is very academically, politically and socially intelligent. She can be fiercely independent but sticks up for those she loves. She is petite, about 5'4" and rather slender. She has dark, thick, and silky black hair which is usually pulled back into a bun or braid, but she keeps it down occasionally. Her dark eyes contrast with her ivory-like tone; her lips are slightly thick and full. She has an elegant and soft beauty, and she dresses modestly in traditional Aizu women's clothing.