Taizo Kitakata

Taizo Kitakata (, Kitakata Taizō), is a supporting character in Yakuza 5. He is the patriarch of the Kitakata Family, a yakuza group that controls Tsukimino, a region of Sapporo, Hokkaido.
==Profile==
=== Appearance ===
Kitakata is a portly man, both fat and muscular. Due to his old age, his hair is graying and balding and his face is lined with very noticeable wrinkles. He typically wears a pinstriped suit over a white dress shirt with a gold/yellow tie.
=== Personality ===
Kitakata appears to be a reasonable, calm, and collected person. His position as a yakuza patriarch makes him a well-known figure among the local populace. Despite his frequent attendance to public events and ceremonies, Kitakata can't stand that type of social event and gets easily bored while participating in them.
Kitakata believes in people's duty to help those in need, but also believes that said help has to come in the form of opportunities for people to help themselves. Kitakata demonstrates this belief when he encounters a homeless Ryuji Goda in 1999; offering him a job as a restaurant attendant in exchange for food and telling him repeatedly that "If you don't work, you don't eat".
== Involvement ==
=== Ryu ga Gotoku Online: 1999 ===
In 1999, Ryuji Goda travels to Sapporo on a whim after being expelled from the Go-Ryu Clan by his own father, Jin Goda, for his constant insubordination. 
Since Ryuji did not plan ahead for the trip, he finds himself wandering the streets of snowy Tsukimino without a coat and without enough money to pay for a hotel room. While asking for free food, he picks a fight with the cook at a fried seafood restaurant, prompting Kitakata, who owns the place, to intervene. Kitakata offers to give Ryuji free food if he covers the night shift for restaurant server. Ryuji agrees and serves as the restaurant's attendant after getting his free meal. During his shift, Ryuji impresses Kitakata by getting rid of a rowdy patron who refused to pay his bill, prompting Kitakata to let him spend the night at his home when he learns Ryuji is technically homeless.
The next morning, Ryuji learns of Kitakata's role as patriarch of his own yakuza family after one of Kitakata's subordinates rushes to his home to warn him that their rivals from Aomori, the Yawata Family, have attacked a few of their businesses. Kitakata tells Ryuji that the Yawata have been trying to muscle their way into Sapporo for the past few months, but have been covert about it, since they don't want to look like the aggressors in case other families from Hokkaido decide to intervene. Kitakata offers Ryuji the chance to stay at his guest house for longer if he joins his men in patrolling Tsukimino at night, to which the young yakuza agrees.
A few nights later, Ryuji badly beats some Yawata Family thugs when they make trouble at Kitakata's seafood restaurant. This gives the Yawata Family the excuse they needed to fully invade Sapporo, since it looked like one of Kitakata's men attacked them unprompted. Kitakata's men try to kill Ryuji for the trouble he caused, but Kitakata stops them, saying the incident was his fault for letting Ryuji stay as his guest. The patriarch tells Ryuji to leave town, since he wants to negotiate with the Yawata Family and his presence might complicate things even further.
The following night, Kitakata meets with Yawata, Patriarch of the Yawata Family, and tries to smooth things out between their organizations. However, Yawata has marched into town with an army of his men, fully intent on battling Kitakata and his forces. When the battle begins, Ryuji makes his presence known and joins Kitakata in battling Yawata and his thugs. Once the invading family is driven back, a grateful Kitakata thanks Ryuji, saying he's surprised he decided to help, given his reputation. At that point, Ryuji realizes that Kitakata knew who he was all along, but kept it secret because he knew Ryuji would be too stubborn to accept help if the person giving it knew his true identity.
=== Yakuza 5: 2012 ===
Kitakata's family is approached by Majima to form an alliance with the Tojo Clan. Majima says he does not want the Kitakata Family to be a subordinate of Tojo Clan, but rather an equal alliance, symbolized by an exchange of brotherhood oath between him and Daigo. However, Majima states he feels they may be walking into a trap, and he is supposedly killed during the negotiations, making Kitakata the prime suspect of Majima's murder. 
During the opening ceremony of the annual Snow Festival, Saejima kidnapped him to gain information about Majima's supposed murder and the deal between Tojo Clan and Kitakata Family, to which he said that the he didn't have any reason to murder him due to the considerable benefit of a partnership with Tojo Clan. He then recounted that during another meeting with Majima, he told him that the Kitakata Family shouldn't accept the alliance due to Majima suspecting a foul play behind the alliance's negotiation. When he was about to reveal about who was behind the suspected foul play, he was shot, but later he was confirmed alive and should make a recovery by the police.
Kitakata is able to recover in time for him and his family to confront Kamon Kanai and subdue his Omi Alliance collaborators in Kamurocho.
==Gallery==
Taizō Kitakata.jpg
== Notes ==
Category:Kitakata Family
Category:Yakuza 5 Characters
Category:Ryu Ga Gotoku Online Characters