Chapter 275

## Tokyo Love Story

**Tokyo Love Story** (東京愛物語, *Tōkyō aimonogatari*) is the 275th chapter of the *Golden Kamuy* manga.

## Synopsis

Back in 1901, in Kanagawa, Toraji asks Sugimoto what he is planning on doing now. Sugimoto recalls what his father told him before—to search for a place where he can become happy. Sugimoto says that up until now he was staying at places that didn't have many people, but this time he wants to go to Tokyo.

In Tokyo, Sugimoto is walking down the city, enjoying the view, running and singing. However, he quickly gets into a fight with some Officer Candidates at the Army Academy. The Officer Candidates alert their instructor Mokutarou Kikuta, who comes to investigate the commotion. Kikuta orders the officers to get off the boy and then chastises them for their unbecoming behavior. Sugimoto, who is still pinned to the ground by the Officer Candidates, starts growling, and the officers warn Kikuta that it might be dangerous to let him go. Kikuta takes a look at Sugimoto and offers him a bowl of rice he was eating. Sugimoto eagerly eats the rice and calms down, and Kikuta concludes that he was just hungry. The officers had told him that Sugimoto had been running wild with ten men trying to take him down, so he was wondering what kind of monster the boy might be. Kikuta tells the Officer Candidates that he is taking Sugimoto with him and invites the young man to follow him, promising he'll feed him.

Kikuta takes Sugimoto to a cheap restaurant and asks him why he got in the fight with the officers. Sugimoto answers they were glaring at him, which Kikuta calls a stupid reason. He warns Sugimoto that, had they taken him away, he could have got himself in a big trouble. Kikuta then tells him to not forget it and calls him a Vagrant Boy. Sugimoto is confused by the name, so Kikuta explains that the phrase Vagrant Boy sounds a lot like the name of Norabou vegetables from the place where he is from.

Sugimoto asks Kikuta what he wants him to do. Kikuta tells him that he will need to go on a marriage interview instead of an Officer Candidate at the Army Academy named Yuusaku Hanazawa. He explains that Yuusaku's father, lord Hanazawa, wants his son to become the regimental flag bearer. However, his mother, Hiro Hanazawa, opposes it due to the high death rate among flag bearers. Since she can't openly go against her husband's decisions, Hiro secretly contacted a marriage agency, where she fixed her sights on a young girl. The girl is named Kaeko Kaneko, her father is an executive in Mitsubishi zaibatsu, and she attends the Peeress' School, a school where girls typically drop out once their marriage is decided. Any girl who stays enrolled up to her graduation is treated like she has lost her chance to get a husband. Kaeko still hasn't found a marriage partner, and she is getting desperate. Sugimoto wonders why she is still single if she is wealthy and good-looking, but Kikuta replies that the men looking for a wife in the Peeress' School are already wealthy themselves, and Kaeko's stern personality is written on her face and is likely the reason she is still alone.

Kikuta reveals that Hiro Hanazawa and Kaeko were sending each other letters where the line "steal Yuusaku's virginity" was written. Sugimoto is taken by surprise, and Kikuta tells him about the unspoken rule of flag bearer's virginity. If Yuusaku sleeps with Kaeko, impregnates her, and then marries her, he will be taken from the Regiment and kept in safety within the zaibatsu. However, Koujirou Hanazawa found out about it and secretly tasked the First Division Commander to deal with the matters. The Commander, in his own stead, ordered Kikuta to manage the situation. When Sugimoto questions the reason for such complex schemes, Kikuta replies that if this goes public it might affect the morale of the Division and even casts doubt on the patriotism of Hiro Hanazawa.

Later, Kikuta and Sugimoto leave the restaurant and go to another place. Sugimoto shaves his head and puts on the Army uniform Kikuta gave him. He asks Kikuta if the uniform belongs to him, but the man ignores the question and tells Sugimoto to put some stars on his collar to look like an Officer Candidate. Sugimoto wonders why Kikuta picked him and not some other guy from the Academy. Kikuta explains that if they asked someone from the Army there would be rumors going around; he then gives Sugimoto a cap and tells him to put it on. Once Sugimoto has fully transformed into an Officer Candidate, Kikuta looks at him with a smile, complimenting him and saying he has a touch of elegance to his face, something convincing of his nobility that he's spotted right when first saw the young man. Sugimoto dreamily wonders if joining the Army will mean he won't need to worry about food anymore. Kikuta, who is closely watching Sugimoto, sees a memory of his younger brother, visibly sick, asking him to take his cap with him; once the memory has faded, Kikuta's face grows somber.

Kikuta announces that there will be fancy food at the marriage interview, so Sugimoto needs to be training his table manners. For the next days, the two men engage in intense training, with Kikuta teaching Sugimoto the proper chopstick etiquette. Finally, Kikuta says that there's nothing else he can teach Sugimoto and it's time to begin Operation Defend Hanazawa Yuusaku's Virginity.

Sugimoto and Kaeko meet at the Imperial Hotel, where they have a fancy table prepared for them. Sugimoto is anxious and trembling, but he is then served food which turns out to be fried shrimp. Kikuta, who has climbed a tree outside and has been watching them all this time, is shocked, as he didn't expect the hotel would serve Western food. Because he is unfamiliar with Western dishes, Sugimoto uses two forks to eat the shrimp. Witnessing Sugimoto's mistake, Kikuta cries out that Kaeko is going to see through them and their plan will fail.

## Character Appearances

* Umeko Kenmochi *(Mentioned)* (In Caption)
* Toraji Kenmochi *(Flashback)*
* Saichi Sugimoto *(Flashback)*
* Sugimoto's Father *(Cameo)* *(Flashback)*
* Mokutarou Kikuta *(Flashback)*
* Yuusaku Hanazawa *(Cameo)* *(Flashback)*
* Koujirou Hanazawa *(Cameo)* *(Flashback)*
* Hiro Hanazawa *(Cameo)* *(Debut)* *(Flashback)*
* Kaeko Kaneko *(Debut)* *(Flashback)*
* Kikuta's Younger Brother *(Debut)* *(Flashback)*

## Trivia

* The lines "Tokyo, Sugi-Woogie" are a parody of a song Tokyo Boogie-Woogie, performed by Kasagi Shizuko.
* Sugimoto dancing around the town and climbing the lamppost while singing is a reference to an iconic scene from an American musical romantic comedy Singin' in the Rain.

## References

1. ↑ #EHScans, Golden Kamuy Chapter 275 Glossary