Yoshitake Shiraishi

**Overview**
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* Manga
* Anime

**Yoshitake Shiraishi** (白石 由竹, *Shiraishi Yoshitake*) is one of the Abashiri Convicts that accompanies Sugimoto and Asirpa on their way to find the gold. He is a famous prison escapee who has escaped from numerous prisons all over Japan. His reputation gained him the nickname of the **Escape King** (脱獄王, *Datsugoku-ō*). He is the tritagonist of the Golden Kamuy series.

## Appearance

Shiraishi is an ordinarily built Japanese man. His chest and back are tattooed with the Abashiri prisoner map. He has light grey hair which he keeps in a buzzcut complete with sideburns and a small beard, and brown downturned eyes. If he grew out his hair, it would be slightly wavy.

Shiraishi wears a purple hanten (winter jacket) which was given to him as a gift by a brothel girl who liked him. Underneath he wears a white shirt with a black vest, black trousers with white patches on the knees and bottom area, a brown leather belt with a golden buckle, and ankle length boots.

## Personality

Shiraishi usually appears carefree and goofy. He is easygoing, talkative and quite expressive. Shiraishi is sociable and easily makes friends and useful acquaintances, so while he was imprisoned he was often in contact with political prisoners and quite a few people who worked in intelligence. He prefers to sneak his way out of trouble and often lacks seriousness, opting to spend time on frivolous pursuits like gambling or visiting brothels. Shiraishi is shown to be a romantic at heart: after falling in love with just a drawing of Sister Miyazawa, Shiraishi searched for her all over Japan in hopes of meeting the woman of his dreams. However, Shiraishi has never had a serious romantic relationship and only had sexual relationships with prostitutes.

Even though he often appears silly, Shiraishi has a lot of "street smarts". Having been on the run most of his life and dealing with all sorts of dangerous people, Shiraishi has learned to only rely on himself. He is confident in his ability to escape any bond as he is able to quickly come up with an escape plan for any situation.

Despite starting on bad terms with Asirpa and Sugimoto, Shiraishi has grown to care greatly for them. Shiraishi is a loyal friend who honors the promises he makes to those he cares about.

## Abilities

* **Deliberate Injury Gambit:** Shiraishi can easily dislocate his joints, enabling him to pass through narrow orifices or escape arm locks.
* **Escape Artist:** Shiraishi's specialty — he's not only nimble or knows his way around locks, but exploits the organization of the prisons themselves to his advantage.
* **Professional Regurgitator:** He keeps some items in his stomach he ties to his teeth for later regurgitation, such as a small razor blade, needle, wires or even cartridges.

## Equipment

* Candy
* Needles
* Wires
* Other useful things hidden all over his body

## Quotes

* *"I'm the Escape King! Even if I'm caught, I'll just vanish like a puff of smoke."*
* (To Asirpa)*"Look, kid. I love gambling. So I'm betting it all on you two."*

## Trivia

* Shiraishi's name contains the kanji:
(白) White
(石) Stone
(由) Wherefore, to depend on
(竹) Bamboo
* Shiraishi likes sake, candy, and white rice but dislikes deer brains.
* Shiraishi is based on Yoshie Shiratori who is known for having escaped from prison at least four times.
* In 2018 Golden Kamuy All-Stars popularity poll, Shiraishi ranked 6th, gaining 7,010 votes.
* When asked what occupation Golden Kamuy characters would have if they lived in the present time, Satoru Noda said Shiraishi would be a prisoner.
* According to Golden Kamuy anime character reference sheet, Shiraishi's height is 170 cm (5'7).
* Shiraishi is older than Ogata, the same age as Inkarmat, and younger than Tsukishima.
* Shiraishi is shorter than Ogata but taller than Hijikata, Usami, and Sofia.
* Shiraishi is lighter than Koito, the same weight as Ogata, the Nikaidou twins, Usami, and Wilk but heavier than Kadokura.
* Satoru Noda compared Shiraishi to Fujiko Mine from Lupin the Third series, describing him as Sugimoto’s hidden partner who still has a sense of danger about him.
* Shiraishi smells like peanut butter.
* Hijikata occasionally gives Shiraishi pocket money for reciting haiku to him.
* According to Satoru Noda, Shiraishi has one of the "juiciest" asses in the manga; the other listed characters are Tanigaki, Tsukishima, Ariko, and Usami.
* When asked about a possible spin-off, Satoru Noda chose Shiraishi as the main character of it.
* Shiraishi's birthday falls on Hinamatsuri, also known as Doll's Day or Girls' Day, a Japanese holiday that is celebrated on March 3.
	+ Shiraishi shares his birthday with Tetsuzou Nihei.
* In Chapter 85, the panel of Shiraishi's escape from prison references the iconic scene from the movie The Shawshank Redemption.

## References

1. ↑ Golden Kamuy official fanbook
2. ↑ Golden Kamuy Manga: Chapter 314
3. ↑  Q & A section with Noda Satoru
4. ↑ Q&A section from the Golden Kamuy fanbook
5. ↑ Q&A section from the Golden Kamuy fanbook
6. ↑  Q & A section with Noda Satoru
7. ↑ Golden Kamuy Manga: Chapter 7
8. ↑ Golden Kamuy Manga: Chapter 18
9. ↑ Character profiles from the Golden Kamuy fanbook
10. ↑ 「ゴールデンカムイ北海道オールスターズ総選挙」
11. ↑ “What would the occupation of Golden Kamuy characters be if they live in the present time?”
12. ↑ ゴールデンカムイ　設定
13. ↑  Q & A section with Noda Satoru
14. ↑ Character profiles from the Golden Kamuy fanbook
15. ↑ Character profiles from the Golden Kamuy fanbook
16. ↑ Character profiles from the Golden Kamuy fanbook
17. ↑ Q&A section from the Golden Kamuy fanbook
18. ↑ Q&A section from the Golden Kamuy fanbook
19. ↑ Q&A section from the Golden Kamuy fanbook
20. ↑ Q&A section from the Golden Kamuy fanbook