Chapter 171

## Karafuto Ainu Punishment

* Color
* Magazine

**Karafuto Ainu Punishment** (樺太アイヌの刑罰, *Karafuto Ainu no Keibatsu*) is the 171st chapter of the *Golden Kamuy* manga.

## Synopsis

In Abashiri, Tsurumi is carefully examining the tatttooed skins that his division has collected, saying that he has waited until he gathered enough skins so that he can decode them like a puzzle. Usami asks if he should kidnap someone from the army and bring them to Abashiri but Tsurumi declines on the basis that Wilk would not be able to create such a complex code that one would need a cryptanalyst and believes that Wilk's daughter, Asirpa holds the key to solving it.

As Sugimoto stares at Gansoku's tattoo copy, he recalls the time that he and Asirpa acquired their first tattoo and him teaching her how to read the Japanese letters imprinted onto the skin. Tsukishima asks him if he realized something after staring at the tattoo for quite some time but Koito says Sugimoto is an idiot that wouldn't be able to solve it. Sugimoto retorts, saying that he did realize something but he will not tell the others what it is.

Tanigaki notices that there has been some loud noises outside of their hut and they find that Enonoka has been captured by a rogue Ainu man who threatens to kill her as he is being held at gunpoint by the other Ainu men. An Ainu man tells Sugimoto's Group that Enonoka's capturer is a murderer who escaped to their village. When Koito tries to come up with a plan to save Enonoka, Sugimoto charges straight at the killer who lunges out at his throat with his knife. Enonoka notices that the killer's knife has a pouch on it, which belonged to Cikapasi, who had silently put it on the knife as the killer held Enonoka captive.

Sugimoto grabs the killer's head and knees him in the face before pulling Enonoka away, calling her "Asirpa". Sugimoto attempts to execute the killer but is restrained by the Ainu men, telling him that he doesn't have to go that far. As the ordeal finished up, Tanigaki congratulates Cikapasi for his action and the Ainu men apologizes to Sugimoto's Group for letting the killer escape from them when they were bringing him back. They then promise that the killer will be punished accordingly but Sugimoto says that since the Ainu does not have a death penalty, he could've dealt with the killer himself.

The Ainu men then reveals that they have their own ways of dealing with murderers using a method called *itoyuri* by stabbing needles into their eyes, putting them into a casket without a bottom, and burying them alive. Koito notes that even when punishing criminals, the Ainu wishes to avoid directly killing them, and Tsukishima says that it just goes to show how much the Ainu loathes murder and considers the act to be impure.

In an inn near Lake Akan, Nagakura is in disbelief that both Hijikata and Ushiyama would disappear for two days without sending him a message and believes that something must've happened. Kadokura jokes that they must've found some nice girls to be with and that even if something happened, both Hijikata and Ushiyama are still very powerful men. However, Nagakura does not seem to be convinced so Kadokura and Kirawus heads out to find their companions. Meanwhile, in an unknown location, Hijikata is laying in an open casket with a silkworm coccoon next to his hand.

## Character Appearances

* Tsurumi
* Usami
* Anji Toni *(Cameo)*
* Shiton Anehata *(Cameo)*
* Keiichirou Sakamoto *(Cameo)*
* Tsuyama *(Cameo)*
* Gotou *(Cameo)*
* Prisoner Number One *(Flashback)*
* Tetsuzou Nihei *(Cameo)*
* Kazuo Henmi *(Cameo)*
* Kiichirou Wakayama  *(Cameo)*
* Yoshitake Shiraishi  *(Cameo)*
* Kiyohiro Suzukawa *(Cameo)*
* Asirpa *(Flashback)*
* Saichi Sugimoto
* Cikapasi
* Enonoka
* Hajime Tsukishima
* Gansoku Maiharu *(Cameo)*
* Otonoshin Koito
* Genjirou Tanigaki
* Enonoka's Grandfather
* Shinpachi Nagakura
* Kadokura
* Kirawus
* Toshizou Hijikata