Harusame

was a Kirigakure shinobi and the former master of Utakata.

Background
Harusame was a powerful shinobi of Kirigakure, who at some point became the master of the jinchūriki of the Six-Tails, Utakata. At one point on a mission for Harusame, Utakata had returned with a scroll, saying a shinobi should carry out and complete his mission swiftly. Frustrated at his student, Harusame angrily said that Utakata's job was to track and locate the scroll; not return it. He would go on to say Utakata's life was precious, mentioning that a ninja should not run away from conflict nor should he involve himself in a battle that was unnecessary. None-the-less, he was grateful for his student to be safe and alive.

Some time later, Harusame had attempted to extract Saiken from Utakata, believing the tailed beast would only cause trouble in his student's life, thinking he would be better off without it. Since there was no known way to extract a tailed beast without killing the host, Saiken promptly took control of Utakata and killed Harusame, in an effort to prevent itself from being extracted. Since then, Utakata has held a great grudge against Harusame and made him think that the bond between master and student is not something to be counted on. Tsurugi states that Harusame tried to remove the Six-Tails to save Utakata, but the jinchūriki believed otherwise until he remembered that he had, in fact, heard Harusame's words to him.

Appearance
Harusame was a bespectacled man with long, black hair which was tied back into a loose ponytail, a long moustache and grey eyes. He wore an elaborate kimono similar to the one his student wore — blue with orange trimmings — over which he wore a purple vest and a grey scarf around his neck along with simple sandals on his feet.

Abilities
Though very little is known of his skills, Harusame was at least very skilled in fūinjutsu having been stated to be the one that had sealed the Six-Tails into his student and was even able to attempt to extract it, without the fear that it would kill his student. He also carried a bubble pipe and bamboo jar, so it can be assumed that he was also skilled in Soap Bubble Ninjutsu.

Trivia

 * "Harusame" (春雨) means "spring rain" or "thin noodles made from bean or potato starch". It was also the name of the first class of destroyers built in Japan.

Quotes

 * (To Utakata) "The most important thing is your life! Don't waste it! No shinobi flees from a battle he must fight. Nor does he fight when he doesn't have to! Still... I'm relieved to know you're fine."
 * (To Utakata) "This power... it's far too much to contain in you."
 * (To Utakata) "Utakata. Live. With this power."

Harusame