Okita Sōji (沖田 総司 Okita Sōji, also Okita Sōshi), (1844 - July 19, 1868) was captain of the first troop of the Shinsengumi, an armed special security team in Kyoto during the late shogunate period.

Born Harumasa Sōjirō in 1844 from a samurai family, he started training in the Shieikan Dojo at the age of nine with Kondo Isami, a master of the Tennen Rishin Ryu. He proved to be a genius swordsman, and was a teacher of kenjutsu at 18. His signature technique being his Sandanzuki, which translates as "Three Piece Thrust", a technique that stabs the sword at the neck, left shoulder, and right shoulder. (This technique was said to have hit all three points almost simultaneously, but this is most likely embellishment.) Okita is usually considered one of the most talented and strongest out of the Shinsen-gumi, along with Saito Hajime and Nagakura Shinpachi. He was the 2nd youngest member in the group with Todo Heisuke being the youngest.

It was rumored that his tuberculosis was discovered when he coughed blood and fainted during the Ikedaya Affair, but some sources say that he contracted the disease after that. Both are reasonable, as tuberculosis can kill quickly (weeks), or very slowly (many years). After the Boshin War, he went into a tuberculosis hospital in Edo and died at the age of 25, on May 30th, 1869.

Okita is briefly mentioned and shown in the anime Rurouni Kenshin. This show takes place during and after the Meiji Revolution in Japan. He is a main character in the anime Peacemaker Kurogane, which takes far more liberties with history. Okita is also the main character in the manga Kaze Hikaru, which is a fictional story about the Shinsengumi during the late Tokugawa shogunate.

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Photograph of Okita