Toshiyuki Kadokura/Story

Overview
**Story**
Gallery

## Background

Kadokura was born in Mutsu province, in the modern day areas of Fukushima, Miyagi, Iwate, and Aomori prefrectures. During his youth, Kadokura's house was the only one that had burned down during a controlled burn in his neighbourhood. In junior high school, Kadokura's class went for a walk and he was the only person that ended up walking into a pool of manure hidden under the snow.

During his time as the head jailer of Abashiri Prison, Kadokura became acquainted with a prisoner named Waichirou Sekiya, who had used poison to kill thirty people. Kadokura found out later on that, as a test, Sekiya put poison into one of the miso bowls and offered them to one of the prisoners, who died from it. He also saw the other cellmate, Kiichirou Wakayama, getting furious at Sekiya.

On one occassion, Sekiya had brought an aconite plant and snuck it inside with him. Since then, everytime Sekiya would leave his cell to do some outside labour, it fell to Kadokura to check every part of his body including his anus to find anything that he may have brought and hidden on him.

## Plot

### Blind Bandits Arc

When a new guard that Kadokura is leading stops to stare at Noppera-Bou, Kadokura tells him to get over to him and tells him not to get involved with Noppera-Bou. Sometime later, Kadokura reports to Shirosuke Inudou that the new guard is actually a spy for the 7th Division. When ordered to deal with the traitor, Kadokura begins to complain about having to do the dirty work.

### Pet Monster Arc

Some time later, Kadokura, Nagakura, and Kirawus gets separated from Hijikata and Ushiyama, both of whom goes missing. As the three men stays at an inn near Lake Akan, Nagakura wonders if something has happened to the other two and Kadokura jokes that they must've found some nice girls. He then tells Nagakura that even if something were to happen to Hijikata and Ushiyama, the both of them are still powerful men. However, Nagakura isn't convinced by his words so Kadokura and Kirawus heads out to find Hijikata and Ushiyama.

As they begin their search, Kirawus noted that Hijikata and Ushiyama went to find a prisoner in the Lake Akan area and wonders if the prisoner had somehow gotten them. Kadokura scoffs at this suggestion but does say that Waichirou Sekiya is a crafty person. He then tells Kirawus about his relationship with Sekiya and that he had to regularly check his anus for anything hidden on him. Kirawus laughs at him, saying that aconite plant would've done some harm to his body and that he checked his anus for no reason.

On Lake Akan, they ask some of the fishermen there if they had seen Hijiakta and Ushiyama and Kadokura asks one of them if he had gotten anything only to be shown some pond smelts. Kadokura then calls out to Kirawus to speak to some more Ainu but Kirawus gets irritated with him, calling him a butthole peeker. He notices a young pudgy boy skating on the ice and asks if he had seen Hijikata, describing his appearance to him.

The boy just ignores his question and asks what he thinks of his skating and Kadokura begins to walk away until the boy says that he saw Hijikata yesterday around the area. Kadokura then notices some silkworm coccoon on the ice and begins to momentarily examine it before quickly giving up. Kirawus brings him some pond smelts that he had gotten from a fisher but Kadokura slips, dropping the fishes into the pond. As Kirawus is shocked about what had happened, Kadokura explains that he has always had bad luck, saying that it must have been the star he was born under.

Kadokura and Kirawus returns to the inn where Kadokura decides to sleep for the time being. He is woken up by the inn proprietress who gives him Hijikata's sword and a letter from Sekiya. Kadokura calls out for Nagakura but Kirawus tells him that Nagakura got frustrated with him and decides to look for Hijikata by himself. Kadokura reads the letter which demands that they hand over their tattooed skins in exchange for Hijikata's whereabouts.

Kirawus is uncertain if Hijikata is still alive but Kadokura tells him that Sekiya always makes sure to keep his hostages alive until he gets the ransom money. Kadokura then notes that Nagakura is the one with the tattooed skins and that they must find him. However, he backpedals, since they have no time left until the exchange and that they must meet up with Sekiya immediately, otherwise Hijikata will die.

They run around town trying to find Nagakura but Kadokura has to stop in order to catch his breath. When Kirawus voices his concerns, Kadokura says that they have no time to find Nagakura and that they will have to bluff their way through with Sekiya. Kirawus is not convinced which causes Kadokura to get upset and ask if he has any better ideas while insulting him. The two men then begins to argue and insult each other.

The both of them then comes up with a plan where Kadokura will deliberately fail the exchange so that Kirawus can follow Sekiya to where Hijikata and Ushiyama are. Kirawus decides to give Kadokura a knife carved by his father so that he can fight against Sekiya. Afterwards, Kadokura goes to meet Sekiya who tells him to take off his clothes so as to make sure he came unarmed.

With Kadokura naked, Sekiya asks him where the tattoos are and Kadokura says that they are in his overcoat that he just took off. Sekiya warns him that if he makes any suspicious movements, the deal is off but notices Kadokura looking behind him. He wonders if Kirawus is waiting on the shore and if Kadokura had borrowed the knife that is hidden in his butt from him. Sekiya realizes what Kadokura is trying to do and takes off his coat to reveal a pair of *gerori* skates.

As Sekiya skates away from Kadokura, he pretends to give chase while noting that everything is going exactly as planned. Just then Ushiyama pops up from a hole in the ice, surprising everyone as Kadokura screams why he is appearing in front of them. Ushiyama's sudden appearance causes Sekiya to turn around and skate towards Kadokura who attempts to grab his jacket but fails. Kadokura gets up and curses the miscalculation and their awful luck as Sekiya skates away.

Kadokura pulls Ushiyama out of the freezing water, asking him where Sekiya had been keeping him but Ushiyama cannot remember. As Ushiyama picks up his coat, a cocoon pops out of it, which Kadokura notices and Kirawus identifies as being a silkworm cocoon, saying that there are a couple of silkworm farms nearby.

Kadokura runs to one of the farms and encounters Sekiya, pushing him to the building and demanding where Hijikata is. Sekiya leads him inside to show him a cocoon sorting device, telling him that Hijikata is buried in one of the buildings on the farm and that he wants to give Kadokura a little test that will consists of them eating cocoons diagonal from each other on the device.

Sekiya says that if he eats a poisoned cocoon, he will tell him where Hijikata is buried but swears that he will free Hijikata if Kadokura takes a poisoned one instead. Kadokura proceeds to stab him in the thigh, demanding to know where Hijikata is but Sekiya says that Hijikata does not have much air, and thus not much time left in the coffin. Sekiya tells him that he is interested in the fate of others, including his and Kadokura realizes that he does not care about the tattooed skins.

The two men then takes a cocoon and consumes them, with Kadokura swearing to lay his life down for Hijikata. Sekiya begins to tell Kadokura about his past and how his daughter had died, which led to him questioning his own beliefs. He notices Kadokura sweating profusely, which meant that Kadokura had taken a poisoned one. Kadokura tells him to keep his word and let Hijikata go before falling over.

As he lay in agony on the ground, Kadokura knocks down the sorting device and eats one of the cocoon, while apologizing to Hijikata for dying. The cocoon that Kadokura had taken turned out to be a poison that would cancel out the effect of the poison that he had consumed earlier, thus saving his life. Kadokura then gets up, noticing that he is fine now.

Kadokura heads outside where he sees Hijikata standing over Sekiya's dead body, saying that he must've been trying to reconcile his own faith with the death of his daughter and that by committing murders, had turned himself into a truly evil monster, as if to say that his daughter's death must've been god's punishment against him. Hijikata replies that he doesn't know much about gods and that the only world he is interested in is this world. Kadokura then notes that they can now collect Sekiya's tattoo.

## References

1. ↑ Character profiles from the Golden Kamuy fanbook