Sekihara Tae is the 20-something manager of the beef hot pot (gyūnabe, or sukiyaki) restaurant, the Akabeko. She has a twin sister named Sae managing in a similar restaurant called the Shirōbeko in Kyoto. Sanosuke also owes her a seemingly large sum of money in which interest is accounted for. In the anime, and somewhat in the manga too, she tried to push forward the relationship between Kenshin and Kaoru since it wasn't moving along fast enough for her taste.