Kintaro Hongo

*"If you lose sight on the things you truly cherish for even a moment, you won't be able to find them again."*
—Kintaro Hongo.

**Kintaro Hongo** is an important character in the manga *Mei-chan no Shitsuji*, known to be a powerful wealthy man and the patriarch of the rich Hongo Family and it's estate but also for being the grandfather of the main protagonist, Mei Hongo. For decades, Kintaro travelled the world to befriend all kinds and sorts of people for business, creating several connections through politics and the underworld of criminals and even has Japan's military army under his command, which gave him the nicknames "**The Monster of the Showa Period**" and "**The Summoned Monster**". Rumors claims if Kintaro does not like someone, he could easily make them disappear without a trace. His fortune is unknown but he's considered to be among Earth's richest people, if not *the* most wealthiest man in the world.

## Biography

### Early Life

Prior to the story's main events, Kintaro Hongo seems to have traveled the entire world and met a myriad of people from any kind of business; either being politicians, merchants, corporations or even criminals; Kintaro seems to never judge someone's backgrounds and only partnered with them for only business purposes. At some point, he would have met a woman and married her, thus fathering many children and with his eldest son named Shutaro. Kintaro would also travel the entire world, every countries and places to build his massive fortune while also taking the opportunity to create relationships and allies for his fortune. This is also how he meet most of Mei's friends when they were much younger, such as Clarisse Bernstein and Rika Kayama.

### Husband Candidates Saga

Despite not physically present during this whole adventure, Kintaro is considered as a major, overarching antagonist since he's the one who plotted all this plan to have Mei wed a worthy husband candidate, following with a series of a few positive but mostly negative events for Mei and her allies. Most of Mei's friends (with the exception of Rika Kayama obviously) criticized the old man for not caring anything Mei's feelings, as Kintaro's only goal is to force Mei getting married with a man she loves as soon as possible since he feels his time is near.

## Personality

At most times, Kintaro is seen as a happy and emotional old man who loves his family although this is only a way to hide his true face and personality when it comes to business. Because of his actions, he mostly serves as a supportive role but can be Kintaro easily noted to be an "overarching antagonist" because of his questionable schemes and plans he has in mind for his granddaughter, Mei Hongo, even the Shibata Brothers and other recurring characters throughout the series have noticed the old man's ideas discarding what Mei really feels: this lead several problems within Mei's life and driving her nearly depressed at most times (Mei nearly killed herself in an attempt to cease the suffering she went through), forcing her to face against insane sorts of cruel challenges for a girl of her age and enemies she does not want to and the one who is behind of the Husband Candidates Saga, much to Mei's dismay.

Many characters mentioned a few times he has connections everywhere on Earth, either be political relationships or even going to the world of criminals. Kintaro himself confirmed it to be indeed true, which makes him an accomplice to the most dangerous criminals, possibly leaders of the most corrupted organizations. It was stated he could make an individual or a group of people disappear if he wanted to, not only stating his powerful position in the society but also hinting how dangerous Kintaro's intentions; what he plans to do with someone he doesn't like can be described as an unhappy ending.

Rihito is well aware of Kintaro's hidden, true nature and he doesn't hesitate to call him a "rotten raccoon" and even show his distaste toward the monster himself, even claiming he would kill him if he has any weird ideas for Mei. Despite the threats, Kintaro only scoffs at the butler's anger. Kento later learned how corrupted and dangerous Kintaro is, he went to warn Mei about the truth of her grandfather. Despite all his flaws and wicked personality, Kintaro seems to have compassion for his family and mourned his son's death with tears.

## Appearances

### Physical Appearances

He is a very short man, with a rather rounded body-type. Kintaro is quite well remembered with his walrus mustache but also with his small, piercing eyes that can be intimidating to some people. Through his life, Kintaro didn't changed very much physically with the exception of his hair and mustache changing from dark-colored to completely white and has less wrinkles on his facial traits. He also went bald as time goes on. His ear lobes are noticeably slightly longer than most characters, which is possibly due to his old age but similar to the Buddha's stretched ear lobes.

### Clothing & Outfits

Kintaro is often seen wearing a kimono robe when he is either alone or when meeting his family and friends. When he was younger, he wore long-sleeved shirt with checkered motifs, white pants, a small hat and kept with him a backpack during his travel in Bernstein. He is often seen using a wheelchair for his restricted mobility, with a butler helping him.

## Relationships

### Family & Relatives

* **Shutaro Hongo**:
* **Mei Hongo**:
* **Shiori Hongo**:

### Friends & Allies

* **Hideto Shibata**:
* **Taizo**:
* **Maria Shibata**:
* **Rihito Shibata**:
* **Kento Shibata**:

## Quotes

*"We used to argue a lot, your father and I... I was stubborn and so was he. But he... will never utter another word again..."*
—Kintaro mourning his son's death.

*"You're a member of the Hongo Family now. You can't possibly live a normal life anymore."*
—Kintaro's ominous warning to Mei.
*"I don't have much time left..."*
—Kintaro knowing his lifetime is imminent.

## Trivia

* Because of his personal intentions and forcing Mei to become his successor, Kintaro can be considered as an antagonist. This also came to fruition during the Husband Candidates Saga, once more forcing Mei to marry a man without her consent.