Jirotarou Takanosu

**Jirotarou Takanosu** (鷹巣 次郎太郎 *Takanosu Jirotarou*) is the Superintendent General of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department and operates the Central Office at Sakuradamon Station.

## Appearance

A heavy-set bald older man. Normally wears a dark suit and pants and walks with a golden handled cane.

## Personality

From his appearance Jirotarou is described as a scary and serious man. Despite his seemingly menacing behavior, the Superintendent General does show concern for his subordinates, which he masks using his authority and subtle acts of intimidation. He is surprisingly a collected man, as even when in face of an expected situation, such as being in the presence of a notorious troublemaker, Jirotarou appears to have full control of his emotions.

## Chronology

### Background

In the past he was associated with Miyabi Hosorogi. And shortly after the capture of The Grocer, arranged to have a direct line of communication from the troublemaker in order to procure his services.

### Central Office Conspiracy

Tsubaki Iwanome was summoned to the Central Office to personally meet the Superintendent General. Upon meeting the inspector, he mused that Iwanome looked less like a police officer and more like a host for a club. Though he guessed that Iwanome's appearance was for the sake of disguising himself, so he let his junior's appearance slide. He expressed interest in working with the inspector, hoping he would be a useful "gear" to the police organization.

When Iwanome promised the Superintendent General that his gears would mesh well with his, provided that there were no stones to jam them, Jirotarou immediately knew he was referring to the missing Inspector Miyabi Hosorogi, he reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder, asking the younger inspector whether Hosorohi was not merely just a stone to him. Iwanome calmly responded that his old mentor was not the stone, though inferred that he suspected that there was a giant sewer rat in the department who was responsible for driving Hosorogi to a corner.

Seeing that Iwanome did not swat his hand away in rage, and kept calm, Takanosu commented how collected he was. The Superintendent General though was satisfied that Iwanome seemed to be like a gear that would benefit the system, though warned him that he would not hesitate to discard him if he misaligned.

He then assigned Iwanome to handle the Tena Sorimura case since the man had a prior connection to the troublemaker.

Later his office at the Metropolitan Police Department, with documents related to Takeru Shinoyama on his desk, Jirotarou mutters expressed some concern of the Shinoyama's involvement in some of the incidents caused by the troublemakers, and wondered if she should withdraw Iwanome from the investigation.

In the his office, Jirotarou hears a knock at his door and invites his visitor inside. When he is met with silence Jirotarou leaves his desk to investigate the corridor, which is empty, and steps back to shut the door once more. Though he finds that Phantom Solitaire has appropriated his chair. Jirotarou Takanosu is then entertains by the magician, giving him some food for thought on people's attitudes toward police corruption in real life versus depictions of corruption in television serials. Though the Superintendent General expressed that he did not get what the magician was insinuating, to which, Solitaire clarifies to Jirotarou that they are playing at a table "already full of bad cards." Since no one can win with a hand full of jokers, what might higher-level players do next? As Solitaire suggests, "they must scrutinize each other's poker faces."

Jirotarou asks if Sorimura is insinuating he is some sort of mastermind. Given that Jirotarou "sits at the pinnacle of close to 300,000 police officers nationwide" certainly qualifies him as a player in Sorimura's mind—but is rebuked by Jirotarou, in that even as a superintendent general, Jirotarou is only one of multiple authorities with jurisdiction in this location, spinning Sorimura's logic by suggesting all citizens are 'players' by virtue of their popular sovereignty over the prime minister. In this he suggests that everyone is both player and pawn, using Sorimura's example of when he made Prime Minister Kubikigawara his own pawn by kidnapping him.

When Tena Sorimura hears a ringer going off from somewhere in Jirotarou's chair, he retrieves a tiny brick of a phone from a secret compartment in the chair's armrest. He answers it and on the other end, finds it to be the Grocer's voice. Jirotarou invites the Grocer to relay his information even with Sorimura listening. From the Grocer, he reports that all of Jirotarou's requests have come in: a completed trace of the Metropolitan Police Department [MPD]'s internal phone records has produced two pieces of relevant information. The first is that Tsubaki Iwanome appears to be in contact with Inspector Miyabi Hosorogi, to the shock of the two men. The second piece of information is that Habaki has received a number of incoming calls from a middleman in Shibuya, news that Jirotarou *was* expecting to hear.

He denies Sorimura request to purchase the phone that allows him to directly contact the Grocer. And when Sorimura hints the scandalous implications of a superintendent general receiving aid from a criminal to wiretap others, Jirotarou is unfazed stating that this is why the Grocer has so many liberties despite being in solitary confinement. But acknowledges this could become a liability for him should Sorimura talk to the press, and asks what Solitaire wants—if not the identity of whoever ordered him killed and whatever lies 'beyond'. Considering, Sorimura eventually asks for Iwanome's cell phone number.

## References

1. ↑ *Dead Mount Death Play* (Manga): Volume 4, Chapter 28.
2. ↑ *Dead Mount Death Play* (Manga): Volume 5, Chapter 37.
3. ↑ *Dead Mount Death Play* (Manga): Volume 6, Chapter 45.
4. ↑ *Dead Mount Death Play* (Manga): Volume 6, Chapter 46.
5. ↑ *Dead Mount Death Play* (Manga): Volume 6, Chapter 47.
6. ↑ *Dead Mount Death Play* (Manga): Volume 6, Chapter 48.
7. ↑ *Dead Mount Death Play* (Manga): Volume 6, Chapter 50.