Kiichi Momozaki

**Kiichi Momozaki** (**百崎 喜一**, *Momozaki Kiichi*) was the adoptive son of Jofuku and the former best friend of Shojiro Ito. He was a supporting character who made his debut in “Episode 20”.

He dreams of restoring Saga as a suitable prefecture after it was forcibly merged with neighboring Nagasaki after the Saga Rebellion of 1874.

## Appearance

Kiichi's physical appearance is that of a young man around 17 years old, and he has orange hair and eyes of the same color. Apparently, he does not seem to have physical abilities.

He wears a long red Yukata and wooden shoes, plus a white shirt underneath.

## Personality

Kiichi is a young man with enough energy and a noble heart who wants to regain Saga's glory after the war eight years prior. His father died during the war, so Jofuku took him in as a grandson while also constantly taking care of him.

In fact, it is thanks to Jofuku that Kiichi decides to go out into the streets of Saga to distribute pamphlets to recover Saga's former glory. Whether he is pushed in the streets or his friends take advantage of him, nothing seems to go well for him.

When he meets Yugiri, he instantly falls in love and treats her like a lady, to the point of giving her a comb that she would later use when she was revived. According to Ito's words, they would both form a good couple because they seem to be made for each other.

He is a rather idealistic and childish young man who is willing to fulfill his dreams. Unfortunately, he is ignored by people and everyone around him seems indifferent or opposes his efforts to restore Saga, to the point of getting into trouble with the forces of order.

When he finally gets support for his cause to bring Saga back, he is left aside by his companions who want to go to war to recover Saga, but they are killed by Ito, who was there to stop any rebellion. Because of this, Kiichi feels useless because real people died because of him and his childhood dream.

Yugiri manages to console him and tells Kiichi that these people will not die in vain and that his dream must be fulfilled, no matter how childish it may be. Words that motivate Kiichi to escape Saga and guide his future to make a new Saga.

## Etymology

* The name **Kiichi** means “joy” (喜) (**ki**) and “one” (一) (**ichi**).
* Kiichi's surname **Momozaki** means “a hundred” (百) (**momo**) and “cape, peninsula” (崎) (**saki**/**zaki**).

## Trivia

* Kiichi shares the same voice actor as Kotaro Tatsumi in both the original and English dubs. With the two being voiced by Mamoru Miyano and Ricco Fajardo, respectively.
	+ Kiichi also shares a similar goal as Kotaro's. The former's goal is to revive Saga Prefecture, while the latter's goal is to revive Saga's idol industry.
* Kiichi's debut episode, as well as the episode that follows, are the first two, and so far; the only episodes not to feature an entry from Kotaro’s diary as the synopsis, but rather are taken from Kiichi’s memorandum from when he first met Yugiri and after witnessing Ito’s deception.
	+ It is also revealed in the same episode that he was the one who gifted Yugiri the small red comb with the floral pattern she can be seen using throughout the series.
	+ The group picture of him, Ito, and Yugiri can be seen resting on one of the shelves in the Jofuku Bar, as shown near the end of the twenty-first episode.