Houzou Tamai

****First Lieutenant Tsurumi will scold me!****

*This article is outdated, poorly written or lacks important information. It should be reworked!*

## Tamai

* Manga
* Anime

## Voice Actors

### English

Shawn Gann

**Houzou Tamai** (玉井芳蔵, *Tamai Houzou*) was a Corporal in the 7th Division. He was in a group along with Genjirou Tanigaki, Noma, and Okada, and planned to betray First Lieutenant Tsurumi with the rest of his group.

## Background

Tamai took part in the Siege of Port Arthur where he fought under the leadership of 2nd Lieutenant Yuusaku Hanazawa and gained respect for his superior. He also fought in the Battle of 203 Hill along with his division and the other divisions of the Imperial Japanese Army. He was seen furiously firing at the Russian army with Noma close behind him. They were able to take 203 Hill with Tsurumi claiming victory.

Tamai also fought in the Battle of Mukden in Meiji 38 (1905) where he witnessed Hajime Tsukishima attacking their superior 2nd Lieutenant Tsurumi for lying to him. He called out for someone to stop the two of them from fighting. As Tamai helped Maeyama, who had been elbowed by Tsukishima in the face, Tsurumi asked them to leave both him and Tsukishima alone so that they could talk. When Tsurumi and Tsukishima were heavily injured by cannon fire shortly afterwards, Tamai helped and carried their bodies and ordered the other soldiers to put Tsurumi on a sledge. They then carried them away to be treated for their wounds.

During a blizzard storm, the 7th Division took shelter in a wooden building as Tamai, Noma, and Hyakunosuke Ogata were resting in a room with a stove.

## Plot

### Escape King Arc

Tamai and three other 7th Division soldiers are first seen near the hut that Asirpa and Sugimoto used before. They deduce that the hut was used recently and notice prints from a man's boots and a child's deerskin shoes. Tamai doubts that a hunter and his child would attack and defeat a capable man like Superior Private Ogata. It's revealed that Ogata managed to regain consciousness for a short time; however, he wasn't able to say anything since his jaw was broken. Instead, he wrote a single word with his finger — "Immortal". Noma wonders if Ogata was trying to brag about being immortal, but Tamai doesn't believe it, thinking he wouldn't use all of his remaining strength just to brag or joke.

As Asirpa and Sugimoto walk through the woods, Asirpa notices something flashing in the distance from the place where they stayed last night. Sugimoto realizes it's binoculars; he grabs Asirpa and starts running. Tanigaki, who is watching the two through binoculars, reports to others that he has found Ogata's attackers. The soldiers then chase after Sugimoto and Asirpa using skis and find their tracks. Genjirou Tanigaki points at Asirpa's footprints and notes that it's where Sugimoto and her split up. Tamai orders Tanigaki to follow Asirpa while he and the other two pursue Sugimoto.

When the soldiers catch up with Sugimoto, Noma draws his rifle at him and tells him to stop and throw down his weapons. Sugimoto stops and puts his hands up and says he was thinking they wanted to arrest him for poaching. He adds that the Ainu girl was his guide. Tamai and Okada assume they got the wrong idea about Sugimoto; however, Noma recognizes Sugimoto from seeing him at the field hospital in Port Arthur. He calls him Sugimoto the Immortal from the 1st Division, and the soldiers realize that the "Immortal" clue that Ogata gave them was about Sugimoto. The soldiers aim their weapons at unarmed Sugimoto, who is standing right in front of an uprooted tree which in fact a bear's den; a pair of shining eyes is seen inside the den.

After repeatedly telling Sugimoto to get down, the soldiers decide to shoot out Sugimoto's knees. Before they can do that, Sugimoto jumps into the bear's den behind him, screaming that he is immortal. The soldiers ask the Tamai if they should smoke out Sugimoto, but he replies that there's no need and they should just start shooting. Noma wonders if they might kill Sugimoto while shooting, which won't let them interrogate him about what happened to Ogata. However, Tamai says that he can hardly believe that Sugimoto is worthy of being called "immortal" or said to "fight like a devil"; he suggests they put the legend to the test and see if Sugimoto dies that easily.

As the soldiers start shooting in the bear's den, they are surprised by a bear's roar. A huge brown bear comes out of its den and attacks Tamai, hitting him with its claws and ripping off the skin on his face and breaking his jaw. Tamai accidentally fires in Okada, killing him instantly.

Some time later, Tamai is seen shooting at the dying bear before falling to the ground and succumbing to his own wounds. The other two soldiers are also dead, with Noma gutted and tossed up on the tree branches.

## Equipment

* Arisaka Type 30 Rifle (holds five rounds)

## Trivia

* In 2018 Golden Kamuy All-Stars popularity poll Tamai ranked 63rd, gaining 377 votes.

## References

1. ↑ Golden Kamuy Manga: Chapter 10
2. ↑ 「ゴールデンカムイ北海道オールスターズ総選挙」