Toraji Kenmochi

**Overview**
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* Manga
* Anime

**Toraji Kenmochi** (剣持 寅次, *Kenmochi Toraji*) was Saichi Sugimoto's best friend and Umeko's husband. He died in the Russo-Japanese War while protecting Sugimoto.

## Appearance

Toraji was a young man with thick eyebrows, a large nose, big lips, and a buzzed haircut. As a member of the Imperial Japanese Army, he wore standard uniform and a cap. During cold weather, he would wear a heavy coat with a fur collar to keep warm.

## Personality

Toraji was a kind and reliable man. He cared greatly for his wife and their child, wishing for his son to get an education and escape the life of poverty that he lived himself. Toraji was determined to find money for Umeko's surgery no matter how difficult it would be.

As a child, Toraji would cry a lot, and Umeko would comfort him. He was also quite emotional and impatient with his conclusions (such as assuming Sugimoto wanted to take away Umeko from him upon his return to the village). Toraji was insecure and jealous of Sugimoto, claiming he could never beat his best friend at anything. However, after marrying Umeko and telling her about his insecurities, he was shown to have matured quite a bit.

## Background

Toraji grew up being friends with Sugimoto and Umeko. After Sugimoto left the village, Toraji courted Umeko, and later the two got married.

Some time before the war, Toraji and Umeko had a son together. Around this time Umeko's eyesight started deteriorating, so Toraji started seeking ways to cure his wife. An American friend of his told him about doctors in America, and Toraji started searching for money to pay for the surgery and the boat fare. After hearing about the gold rush in Hokkaido, he considered travelling there and invited Sugimoto with him.

However, he never had a chance to follow it up, as he died during Russo-Japanese War while protecting Sugimoto from an explosion. His final request for his friend was to take care of Umeko. After his death, Sugimoto returned to their village after the war to bring Toraji's bones back to his family.

## Legacy

Toraji's last wish is what motivated Sugimoto to travel to Hokkaido and search for the gold in the first place.

## Plot

### Introduction Arc

When Sugimoto decides to take a break from gold panning and sits by the fire, he sees a nightmare in which he reminisces about the time during the war with Toraji by his side. In that nightmare, the two are sitting in a trench, talking about the future. Toraji invites Sugimoto to come to Hokkaido with him to look for gold. He explains that he has a family and he wants his child to go to college so he won't end up like his father and manages to escape the life of poverty. Toraji is concerned about his wife Umeko, whose eyesight is getting worse every day. He says that his American friend told him that America has the best eye doctors in the world. Toraji shows Sugimoto a paper with calculations he made, with the boat fare roughly being 200 yen, which would also double if he accompanies his wife. He says he needs to hurry and find the gold since the relationship with America will worsen once the war is over. Suddenly, Toraji starts crying and asks Sugimoto to take care of Umeko. Sugimoto looks at Toraji and sees the dismembered body of his friend. As Toraji sinks into a pool of blood and dead bodies, he tells Sugimoto he can't go back to Japan. Before waking up, Sugimoto reaches out to Toraji, tearfully asking him to not go.

### Escape King Arc

After Yoshitake Shiraishi insults Asirpa, Sugimoto remembers his past. In one of his memories, he tells Umeko that she should listen to her parents and marry Toraji. Sugimoto leaves the village, promising himself he will come back in two years if he doesn't show any symptoms. But when he comes back, he sees Umeko being married off to Toraji.

## Quotes

* (To Sugimoto) *"I'm sure it doesn't make a goddamn difference to you... But I've never been able to beat you at anything my whole life! You were always better at judo, , kendo... It's been that way since we were kids, Saichi! And for Umeko, you've always been the only one... But you know what!? Women don't obsess over their old flames nearly as long as men do! Ha hah! That's what my mom told me."*
* (To Sugimoto) *"If you'd been the one to marry Umeko, I'm sure you would have taken care of her. But I'll take even better care of her, dammit! I can't beat you at anything else, but at least I can beat you at that!! I don't care if she still has feelings for you! Doesn't change a damn thing!! I'm going to make the woman I love happy! That's all that matters!!"*

## Trivia

* In 2018 Golden Kamuy All-Stars popularity poll, Toraji ranked 66th, gaining 332 votes.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Golden Kamuy Manga: Chapter 35
2. ↑ 「ゴールデンカムイ北海道オールスターズ総選挙」