Sugimoto Saichi (杉元佐一, Sugimoto Saichi) is the main protagonist of Golden Kamuy and a war veteran.
Appearance
Sugimoto is a muscular Japanese boy with spiky brown hair (avoided when he was in the army and had a standard buzz cut) and brown eyes with three scars on his face. Two of them are perpendicular and run all over your face, while the third one strays horizontally like a tree branch. His whole body is also covered with deep scars and great gains in battle. His countenance is serious and mature.
Year round, Sugimoto wears a kimono with the sleeves tied up by a tasuki and the back hem tucked in shirihashori style over a mandarin collar shirt. He also wears the military cap, trousers, and high boots that were part of his uniform during the Russo-Japanese War. In colder weather, he also wears a dark blue trench coat and a foreign made scarf.
Personality
Sugimoto is a kind but incredibly ruthless and brutal man plagued by the war.
Sugimoto's foremost traits are his survival instinct and brutality. He never intends to die and is incredibly violent during a fight. When he has identified an enemy, he fights to kill and aims for the quickest, most brutal way to do so. Sugimoto has an infaillible determination to survive and will grab every chance to escape from danger, never despairing. The hunt for the gold has made him highly paranoid, and he always takes precautions that pay off when he is attacked.
However, Sugimoto is also a kind and valorous man. He wants to find the gold not for personal gain, but to pay for expensive eye treatment in America for his former love and best friend's widow, Umeko. Around children, Sugimoto is especially friendly and acts amiable toward everyone if he doesn't suspect foul play. Sugimoto doesn't hesitate to brave danger and often resists pain to fight.
Finally, Sugimoto hides many demons inside him. He has nightmares about the Russo-Japanese War and has low self-esteem, considering that his kills on the battlefield earned him a place in Hell. He feels guilty for not protecting his friend Toraji during the war. During his fight with Gansoku, Sugimoto, even in his berserker state, admits just how useless he is for not protecting those he cared about.
Sugimoto cares deeply about Asirpa and will get angry if something were to happen to her. Ever since having a part of his brain blown out by Ogata, Sugimoto will enter a berserker like state when pushed too far. However, he can be brought back to his senses when his body undergoes a drastic change such as experiencing an instant change in temperature.
Background
Saichi Sugimoto joined the 1st Division of the Imperial Japanese Army, where he was a member of the White Sash Brigade, that went on at least one night assaults. He was one of the few survivors of the platoon and was resting at Port Arthur when Genjirou Tanigaki approached him. Sugimoto asked Tanigaki for some food, and noticed his Akita dialect, which tipped Tanigaki off to the whereabouts of Kenkichi Aoyama. Later, he along with his division, the 7th, the 9th, and the 11th division staged an assault on 203 Hill. During the battle, a Russian grenade was thrown at the Japanese force, but he was able to pick it up and throw it back to the other side where it exploded in a trench, killing several Russian soldiers.
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When Toraji had died, Sugimoto carried his body to a sledge near Mukden in order to be treated for his wounds. However, when the 7th Division arrived with a couple of wounded soldiers that needed medical attention, Sugimoto took Toraji's body off of the sledge, telling them that they could use it and that Toraji had told him to "give priority to the ones that can be saved", covering his eyes and cradling his body.
Plot
Hunting starts
At the river somewhere in the middle of nowhere in Hokkaido in which Sugimoto is seen during peaceful time prospecting for gold. Suddenly a middle-aged man drinking alcohol approaches him and asks him how his luck is. Sugimoto replies that he has had none and is frustated since he needs the money. The two then talk about Sugimoto’s time in the military and his reputation as “Sugimoto the Immortal”.
The old man then tells Sugimoto about the Ainu gold and how they came to be stolen by a certain man, which came out to 20 kan (75 kg). That much money is easily worth 800,000 yen which would come to 8 million yen by modern value. The man hides the gold somewhere in Hokkaido but is then caught and sentenced to death in Abashiri Prison. As it would be difficult to get the gold outside to his friends, the man tattooed a coded location into several of the prisoners that had spent so much time suffering together. The prisoners were then transported to another location by several government soldiers, but they managed to kill them and ran away into the woods.
The drunken man then falls asleep claiming not to know what happened to the prisoners or the gold, or even where he heard it from. Sugimoto then begins to reminisce about his time with his best friend Toraji. Toraji is concerned about his wife Umeko and their child. He wants to help cure Umeko’s poor eyesights and asks Sugimoto to help. All of a sudden, Sugimoto sees that Toraji has become dismembered and wakes up from the nightmare only to see the drunken man pointing his gun at him.
The drunken man realizes that he has revealed something that he should not have said, and he and Sugimoto gets into a fight. The drunken man then runs away and Sugimoto chases after him only to find him buried dead in snow. Sugimoto pulls his body out to find that his guts had been eaten out by a brown bear along with a footprint nearby. As he examines the corpse, he finds that the drunken man is one of the prisoners from the story.
As Sugimoto begins to carry the body, he spots a baby bear in a tree followed by a roar from the mother bear. He tries to fight the bear but is quickly knocked down. Before the bear could do anything else, an arrow is shot at it, and Sugimoto turns to see that it is a young girl armed with a bow. The girl is able to kill the bear due to the poison infused in her arrows, but then they discover that it was not the mother bear who killed the man, but another brown bear. Sugimoto then tells the girl about the Ainu gold, and she believes him as her father is one of the Ainu that was killed in the story. Upon seeing the tattoo, the girl realizes that the man had no intention of sharing the gold, as the tattoo is wrapped around the bodies of the prisoner and it meant that they had to be killed and skinned to get the full map.
Before Sugimoto could do anything else, the girl suggests that they move and prepare for the other brown bear to make its move.
(from chapter 70 onwards)
After the ordeal with the bears and the yakuza, Sugimoto smiles as Kiroranke proclaims that Asirpa's great-aunt would be happy to see her daughter's clothing again. When Dun gives Asirpa one of his bows and asks why they are taking Wakayama's tattoo, Sugimoto tells him that it is safer that he does not know the nature of the tattoo and that getting involved is a good way to get himself killed. Dun then takes out a book, which to Shiraishi's horror is made from a human's face, and explains its origin. He mentions that the thief who had taken the book had seen a skin with a very unusual tattoo. Outside the house, Sugimoto is looking back on all the tattoos that they have, and wonders if Tsurumi has already found more skin. He then decides to makes Yubari their next destination. (70)
Sugimoto's group drops by Huci's sister's kotan to stay the night and in preparation for dinner, he and Asirpa goes out into the forest to harvest some plants. While they are grabbing some alpine leek, butterbur leaves and butterbur shoots, Asirpa tells him about the effects each plants have as well as how the Ainu people prepare for the summer and winter seasons. Upon returning to the kotan, they see Kiroranke and Shiraishi also coming back with some Masu salmon.
That night, they sit around a boiling pot of Icaniw ohaw and enjoy the meal together. After Asirpa falls asleep, Sugimoto asks if Kiroranke is concerned about his wife, to which he tells him that he believes she will be fine. Shiraishi wonders what the stuff on his face is, and Sugimoto says that it is medicine that Asirpa gave him to help his scars heal but he does not mind if he has them. When Kiroranke says that Asirpa might like how his face looked before, Shiraishi questions if Sugimoto has "someone special" back home. Immediately, Umeko comes to his mind and he remains silent, which Shiraishi notes but Kiroranke tells him to lay off him. The next morning, the party says their farewell to Huci's sister and sets off for their next destination. (73)
The group manages to reach the town of Yubari, where Asirpa tries to sell the bear's gall bladder to a buyer. When the buyer tries to swindle her, Sugimoto and Kiroranke approaches him menacingly and intimidates him. Shiraishi tries to keep things peaceful, but Sugimoto just keeps hitting him and continues to threaten the buyer. Afterwards, they head to a nearby river and have fun splashing around, and also capturing some lamprey to eat. When Asirpa catches a brook lamprey with her foot, Sugimoto attempts to catch one too, but instead grabs Shiraishi's toe, which causes him to fall over and have a lamprey attached to his head. With that, they huddle around a campfire and enjoy their meal of unaju made with lamprey.
Later on, Sugimoto is scouting around Yubari with Shiraishi when they spot Sergeant Tsukishima and decides to tail him to the Edogai store. Upon arriving, they see Tsukishima run out but decides to investigate the store. As Sugimoto looks around and warns Shiraishi to be careful, the latter approaches him saying that there might've been a trap and that they should chase after the soldier. The two of them look around town in order to find Tsukishima and upon seeing him rolling away in a mine cart, Sugimoto proclaims that they should find another cart to ride in.
Sugimoto and Shiraishi continues their pursue of Tsukishima and Edogai, with the former shooting at them. The two carts ride into the Yubari mines as Sugimoto and Tsukishima trades gunfire. Eventually, Sugimoto's cart was able to catch up to the other cart and they attempt to board it but Tsukishima activates a switch which causes their cart to go down a separate track. However they are thrown from their cart when a nearby dynamite explodes. They attempt to flee the mines but are caught in a windblast which causes another bigger explosion. Sugimoto is able to retain his consciousness and tries to carry Shiraishi, who had fallen unconscious to safety. Despite Sugimoto's bravado, he is affected by the gas in the mines as he collapses to the ground.
He continues to make his way through the mine until he found a boarded up exit and attempts to break it with his rifle. He was able to make a small opening and took Shiraishi's head to it so that he can receive some fresh air, saying that they'd be in trouble if he died. Just then, Ushiyama came barging in through the wall and carried the both of them outside. After drinking some fresh water, he asks Ushiyama why he is here. Ushiyama replies that he came to Yubari with another person who had gotten split up and that he was looking for him when he spotted Sugimoto and Shiraishi riding in a mine cart. The person in question approached them, saying that they have no choice but to bring them along. Upon seeing Ogata, Sugimoto expressed surprised that he is with Ushiyam now.
Ogata takes them back to the Edogai store where he revealed the bodies of the men who had been skinned to make fake tattoos, much to Sugimoto's shock. Ogata confirms that the taxidermist who had made them died and that Tsukishima may still be alive, which means that the fake skins might be in circulation now. They are then approached by Hijikata, carrying a cat and a tattooed skin saying that they must find a way to discern whether or not the skin is real.
Sugimoto says that he feels like he's seen Hijikata somewhere before and asks if they've met, to which Shiraishi vehemently denies and introduces the Shinsengumi Vice-Commander to everyone. He then asks Kiroranke if Hijikata is the man that came to his village, and he confirms it. Sugimoto asks Hijikata if Noppera-Bou trusted him and came to him with a plan to arm the Ainu people and start a war of independence before wondering if Noppera-Bou really is an Ainu. As Sugimoto continues questioning Hijikata, Asirpa is about to say something which causes Hijikata to threaten Sugimoto's group to join up or fight. Upon this, Sugimoto reaches for his sword but they are interrupted by Shinpachi Nagakura who implores them to sell the skins and lead quiet lives at home. Sugimoto thinks about Umeko and says that they needed to meet Noppera-Bou to confirm something.
The tense mood is broken by Asirpa's growling stomach and Ienaga comes in suggesting to eat. Later, the two groups sit at a table over some nanko nabe and Sugimoto remarks that it's amazing that a group of people like them were able to team up before making a jab at Ogata. Ienaga says that she might know someone who may be able to help them and speaks about a counterfeit artist named Chouan Kumagishi. Some time later, Sugimoto heads out with Asirpa and Ushiyama to find Tsukishima's body, but are unable to locate it.
They return to the store to find that it has been set on fire, and Ushiyama breaks the bars off the window, saving Ienaga in the process and alliowng Sugimoto to head inside and assist Ogata and Hijikata. Once Ogata had given them enough time, the three of them exits the store and agrees to split up into two groups and meet again at Kabato Prison in Tsukigata. When Hijikata says that Noppera-Bou might answer their questions since Asirpa is his daughter, Sugimoto that he does not care what other people does with the money so long as he gets his share and that he wishes to watch over Asirpa until she can find the truth about her father. Back in the town of Yubari, Sugimoto makes his preparations to head straight to Tsukigata along with Asirpa, Ushiyama, and Ogata.
They take an off route path into a forest to avoid being spotted by anyone who can alert the 7th Division to their position. Asirpa calls out to Sugimoto to spot some woodcocks and he asks if they taste good, to which she says their brains do. They set up some traps but the next day, they were only able to catch two which Sugimoto says that it might not be enough to feed everyone. When Ogata comes up and drops 3 birds that he had shot down, Sugimoto says he must've gotten worked up over Asirpa's word, but is instantly shut down when Asirpa says that he is jealous of Ogata's aim. They take out the brains and as Asirpa begs Ushiyama to eat them, Sugimoto just eats it without any hesitance but is surprised when Ogata declines it. Afterwards, they eat the ohaw and Sugimoto finds himself moved by an Ainu religious love poem that Asirpa tells them.
They spent at least one night sleeping in the forest. Sugimoto asks Asirpa if they've met Hijikata before but sees that she's fast asleep already. He is startled by some movements in the bush but sees that it was just Ogata. The next day, the group wakes up and continues on their journey, coming across an Ainu kotan. Sugimoto jokingly asks Asirpa if she has any relatives here but she says she has none and that it is her first time coming here. They are greeted by an Ainu man, whose Japanese Sugimoto notes as being good. The Ainu man tells them that he worked for some Japanese people, helping them pan for gold and unloading and carrying their cargo. Ushiyama then points out a cage behind them, and Sugimoto turns around to see that the bear is too big to fit in the cage.
Sugimoto asks the man about the bear cage, and he says the bear grew up too fast and that they will move it. He then introduces himself as Ekurok and says that his "father" Retanno Ekasi is the leader and that they should ask him for permission to stay. Upon arriving at Retanno Ekasi's house, Sugimoto tells Ushiyama and Ogata about several Ainu customs that they have to follow to show good manners. They are led inside by an Ainu man and are greeted by the elder who begins to gesture. However, they are interrupted by Asirpa which catches everyone by surprise.
Ekurok asks about her and Sugimoto says that she is their guide to visit and stay at Ainu villages. When Ekurok begins to introduce his family, they are once again interrupted by Asirpa who says she has to go to the bathroom. Sugimoto apologizes for her behavior and wonders what's gotten into her but Ekurok says he is not bothered by it and sends his brother to guide her. After Ekurok's Brother has left, Ogata asks them about what Asirpa says, but the two men just remained silent with a grim look on their faces.
When Ogata became suspicious about their hosts, Sugimoto argued with him, showing off Ekurok's large earlobes as evidence of him being Ainu. They are interrupted by an Ainu woman who yells something at them before being carried away. When Monoa repeats what the woman had said, and fed up with Ogata's skepticism, Sugimoto takes out a kisarri that he found and had both Ushiyama and Retanno Ekasi perform with it. Upon seeing Retanno Ekasi's demonstration, Ogata takes the kisarri and hits Retanno Ekasi's pinky toe, causing him to scream in Japanese. Despite this, Sugimoto still continues to defend them until Ekurok's Brother returned. When Sugimoto asked about Asirpa, he was able to see through his lies, and hit him with the kisarri and asked where he took her. Upon finally realizing the true nature of these men, Sugimoto lets out an angry roar.
Sugimoto asks where Ekurok's Brother took Asirpa but he threatens to have her killed if he does not drop his weapon. In response, Sugimoto shoves the kisarri into his mouth and twists it around, breaking his neck and killing him in the process. Ogata hands him his rifle and after loading it, Sugimoto heads out where he is confronted by two convicts. He easily dispatches the both of them and continues on his search for Asirpa. As he moves around the village, he comes into contact with several more convicts, but easily defeats them all. When he finally finds Asirpa, Kumagishi pokes his head out from a house which causes Sugimoto to aim his rifle at him. Before he could shoot, Asirpa reveals that the man is Kumagishi and he asks why he is here. Just then, an arrow flies past Sugimoto and hits Kumagishi who groans in pain.
As Kumagishi falls to his knees, Sugimoto shoots the convict that had shot Kumagishi, killing him. Sugimoto takes a look at his arrowhead and noticed that it has poison on it. Asirpa says that there is nothing they can do since the poison is now in Kumagishi's stomach. Kumagishi attempts to tell them clues on how to find evidences in counterfeit pieces with his dying breath as he passes away. Sugimoto and Asirpa steps outside and Sugimoto places his hand on Asirpa's shoulder, asking if she is not hurt and if they did anything horrible to her.
Sugimoto's Group and the Ainu women begins burying all the dead convicts and as they covered Kumagishi's body, Sugimoto exclaimed that he cannot believe that Kumagishi was pretending to be an Ainu and that Hijikata's Group must've realized that Kumagishi isn't in Kabato and that they would never dream they were burying him. Once they had finished burying the bodies, the Ainu women and children invites Sugimoto's Group to eat their harvest of turep and they help them prepare the food. Once the food is ready, Sugimoto's Group eats their reward and finds it to be delicious.
Once they had finished eating and enjoyed themselves, they surrounded Kiyohiro Suzukawa and deliberated on what they should do with him. Ogata thinks he'll just be a pain and wants to have him killed and skinned but Suzukawa pleads for his life saying that he has information on the other Abashiri convicts. When Ogata says that he might be lying, Sugimoto reassures that if he lies to them, he'll pull his tongue out. He then decides to take Suzukawa with them as they are in a hurry and will talk with Hijikata about what to do with him. He and Suzukawa carries Ushiyama away when he wants to stay in the kotan to help repopulate the village and the group says their farewells to the Ainu women.
When they finally reach Tsukigata, Ogata says that Suzukawa is a letdown and that he seems like too much of a small fry to be locked up in Abashiri. Suzukawa retorts that he is a con artist who uses his head over brute force to get what he wants but Sugimoto finds it hard to believe that he could fool anyone with his appearance. He is immediately shut down when Suzukawa says that he easily and completely fell for his Ainu village chief act. Upon meeting up with Nagakura, Sugimoto is startled by how much Nagakura and Suzukawa resemble each other. Nagakura tells them he has two pieces of bad news, that Kumagishi is dead and they are surprised that he already knew, and that Shiraishi has been captured by the 7th Division.
Once Hijikata and Kiroranke returned from their mission and informed the rest of them that they had failed to rescue Shiraishi, everyone thought about what to do before deciding to leave Shiraishi to his fate since they already had a copy of his tattoo. However, Sugimoto refuses and says that he wants to save Shiraishi and pulls over Suzukawa, saying that they could use his skills as a con artist.
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In the middle of his rampage, Sugimoto hears a gunshot which was caused by Cikapasi and Enonoka rescuing the latter's dog. As the Ainu kids head back to regroup with the others, Sugimoto runs into them but Cikapasi notices something is wrong with him and tells Enonoka to keep going as Sugimoto begins to chase after them. A wolverine runs towards them and causes Cikapasi to fall off the skis, but Sugimoto manages to stop the wild animal and tries to fight with it. However, the wolverine is killed by Tanigaki and Cikapasi and Sugimoto then turns his sight towards Gansoku who approaches him saying that he has some unfinished business to settle with him.
As Sugimoto fights with Gansoku, Gansoku says that there is so much anger in his fists but it is not directed towards him and asks him just why he is angry. Sugimoto, thinking about Toraji, Umeko, and Asirpa, begins to cry and says just how useless he is. Just then, Tanigaki, Tsukishima, and Koito steps in to stop the fight, but the ice is unable to withstand their combined weight and breaks, plunging them all into the freezing water. The frigid temperature finally brings Sugimoto back to his senses as he climbs out and heads into the nearby banya to warm up his body.
In the banya, Koito asks him what his brilliant plan was but Sugimoto states that he cannot remember. He then turns towards Gansoku and says that he does not want to kill him but regardless someone will still be after him. Sugimoto suggests that they make a copy of his tattoo and once they find the gold, Gansoku's life will no longer be in danger. Gansoku admits to his idea and tells Sugimoto that he had heard Asirpa's name before since she was with Shiraishi, a man whom he recognized as another tattooed convict. Sugimoto begins to ask about Asirpa and if she said anything, and Gansoku stated that the young Ainu girl had spoken about him. Gansoku relayed that Asirpa believes that Sugimoto is still alive, which brought a smile to Sugimoto's face.
Gansoku decides to take Sugimoto and Tsukishima's advice to leave Karafuto and said his farewells to the soldiers as they watch him walk away. When Koito asks if it really is alright to let the tattooed convict go without consulting Tsurumi, Tsukishima says that Tsurumi has left all the decision making to him. He then turns to Sugimoto and says that that included what to do with him, and that if Sugimoto were to lose control again and go past the point of no return, he will kill him.
Sugimoto's group arrives in a Karafuto Ainu village located to the east of Toyohara and Odomari and Sugimoto says that they should stay in the village for the day despite Koito's complaints about continuing further to Toyohara to stay at a wonderful inn.
They eventually reach Toyohara where Sugimoto's bag is taken by a young boy, so Sugimoto, Tsukishima, and Koito chases after the thief. Tsukishima asks Sugimoto if Gansoku's tattoo is in his bag to which he confirmed it before Tsukishima decides to split up so as to catch the thief between them. However, Sugimoto is unable to keep up as the boy scales to the roofs with the nimble Koito just behind him. Sugimoto regroups with Tsukishima when they hear a couple of gunfires shot by Koito who had found the thief.
The boy and his master bows to the soldiers in apology but Sugimoto says that it is alright and that they aren't going to make a big deal out of the incident. The master continues to apologize, saying that the boy would just cause more trouble before taking out his sword, which he cuts the boy with. In response, Sugimoto punches the master but they quickly find out that it was just fake blood as part of a magic trick. The master, introducing himself as Yamada and the boy as Choukichi, reveals that they are part of the Yamada Circus Troupe and are performers. This gives Sugimoto an idea to join their act so as to send the message to Asirpa that he is alive, by having the whole town of Toyohara talk about his show.
However, Yamada refuses Sugimoto's suggestion since it would mean revealing how their tricks are done to an outsider. In response Sugimoto says he will turn Choukichi over to the police but Yamada is unswayed by Sugimoto's threat. Sugimoto then swears that he has no intention of becoming a performer and to take his secret with him to the grave. Yamada finally relents after Choukichi's recommendation and Sugimoto's Group are taken into their tent to watch them perform some of their acts.
Sugimoto's Group are then given a chance to try out the performances themselves but other than Koito, all of them perform poorly at every tricks and Sugimoto is relegated to doing the harakiri show. When he sees Koito is getting all the praises, Sugimoto tells him to tone down his act since he needs to be the one to get his name out but Koito thinks he is just being jealous, causing him to get yelled at by Sugimoto.
Sugimoto and Cikapasi watches as Yamada shows them how the harakiri act is done and Sugimoto is given an opportunity to practice it but his exaggerating and bad acting causes Yamada to become concerned. He then notices that Koito has been doing well at his own act and Sugimoto argues with him but is shut down by Koito's words. Sugimoto turns back to Yamada and suggests a roller skating performance but is instantly declined due to sounding too silly. At Yamada's behest, Sugimoto continues to practice the harakiri act until the day of the troupe's showtime.
As the Karafuto show goes underway, Sugimoto expresses jealousy at Koito's success and popularity with the crowd. When Koito sees a photograph of Tsurumi and chases after it, thus interfering with the other ongoing acts before majestically catching it, Sugimoto is flabbergasted that the crowd is amused by the error. Later on, Sugimoto prepares to perform the harakiri act, unaware that Koito has switched the fake sword with a real one.
As Sugimoto prepares to cut himself, he constantly stalls until Enonoka tells him to hurry up. Upon cutting himself, he finds that the pain and blood is real and looking around, sees Koito and Tsukishima with the fake blade. He then realizes that the sword in his hand is real but decides to continue on with the performance for the sake of the show.
Sugimoto prepares to slice his stomach but just then, a couple of Russian men comes onto the stage and points a gun at him. Sugimoto is quick to react and cuts down the Russian and throws the sword at the other man. The whole crowd is enthralled by this event, believing that it was all part of the show. Yamada then has the whole troupe head out for the final bow so that they can recover the bodies.
Sugimoto's Group interrogates a lone Russian man whom Tsukishima had knocked out and finds that they were hired by the Russian government and sent to kill Yamada. Yamada reveals that he used to be a spy for the Imperial Army and that he had been gathering intelligence about Russia since before the war began. Fumie comes in, insulting Yamada by calling him a third rate spy and assassinates the Russian, saying that they will bury the Russians beneath the tent and leave the next morning.
The next day, Tsukishima is able to obtain a newspaper piece about their performances and when Sugimoto sees a typo about him, he throws a tantrum over it. Tsukishima reveals their purpose to Yamada and upon hearing the word "partisan", tells them about a town up north which Alexandrovskaya Prison stood with members of a partisan group being held there. Sugimoto's Group believes that is where Kiroranke will eventually head to and Sugimoto also believes that Asirpa has already found out that he is still alive.
Sugimoto's group uses Enonoka's dogs sleds to travel north towards the national border but they are hit by a heavy snowstorm, limiting their view. When Ryu begins to move out of the line, Sugimoto yells at him to get back in formation. Tanigaki wonders if there is a reason why Ryu did that but Sugimoto says that he is just a hunting dog that isn't used to pulling sleds.
They soon realize that they had been separated from the others when they hear a gunshot in the distance and Sugimoto asks where it came from, with Cikapasi pointing in the general direction. Tanigaki fires off a gunshot as well but Sugimoto says that they need to find shelter first so that they can get out of the wind. However, they quickly discern that they are in dire situation as Sugimoto says that they will die if they don't do something.
Sugimoto and Tanigaki attempts to dig a hole in the ground, but finds that it has been frozen solid. Tanigaki says that they will have to endure the blizzard with what they have and that they should break up the dog sled, which they used to make a small makeshift shelter as well as some wood for fire. Once Tanigaki was able to get one started, he immediately covers it up, much to Sugimoto's confusion. Tanigaki tells him that a buried fire can burn slowly, which can keep them warm for a long time. However, Tanigaki says that it won't be enough and gets the sled dogs to huddle around them.
Tanigaki gives Sugimoto and Cikapasi some of his kane mochi, saying that whether you eat or not can make a huge difference in regulating body temperature during a snowstorm. Sugimoto notes that it tastes familiar, but Tanigaki laughs at him, saying that it is his own secret recipe which he adjusted. They hear a gunshot in the distance but Tanigaki explained that a raging blizzard can distort their sense of direction, so there is no guarantee of heading in the actual direction that the sound came from.
As they waited in the blizzard, Sugimoto begins to close his eyes but Tanigaki yells at him not to fall asleep as he will die. Sugimoto then has a flashback about Toraji and fighting against the Russians until a bright light shines upon him. He opened his eyes to see a light in the distance and wonders if it is the moon. But Tanigaki says that since they snuck into Abashiri exactly two months ago, it shouldn't be that large. They then notice the light flickering and realizes that it is not the moon but the light from a lighthouse.
With the light ftom the lighthouse, Sugimoto, Tanigaki, and Cikapasi makes their way to a home owned by an elderly Russian couple who allows them to use the space above the pechka to warm themselves up. Tsukishima tells them that they are lucky to be alive as the lighthouse had not been in use since the Russo-Japanese War and if the couple had not been there, they would have frozen to death.
Once they had recovered from the cold, Sugimoto and Tanigaki helps Enonoka's grandfather make another sled to replace the one they had used for firewood. Tanigaki notes Ryu's behavior during the snowstorm and Sugimoto pets Ryu, apologizing to the dog for doubting him. When Koito gets a hammer frozen to his hand, Tsukishima says that it is due to the cold temperature and calls for someone to urinate on the hammer so he can get it off, which Sugimoto volunteers to do so as he chases Koito outside.
Sometime later, Sugimoto's group enjoys a homemade meal by the Russian couple and when Tsukishima says that the couple are happy to have a lively table since it has been only the two of them, Sugimoto asks if they don't have any other family members and Koito points to a picture of a woman, asking if she is their daughter.
The Russian couple tells them that their daughter had been taken by some Russian army deserters and that they had been waiting for her to return. Sugimoto says that the lighthouse had been here due to what happened to their daughter and that it ended up saving their lives and then asks if he could borrow a picture of their daughter.
When they had finished eating, Sugimoto's group prepares to leave and the Russian lady asks Sugimoto to find their daughter. Sugimoto tells Tsukishima that they will be asking around about the daughter at the places that they stop at and that he knows while their original goal is their top priority, he wishes to repay the Russian couple.
He then turns back to the Russian lady and tells her that he put a photo of Asirpa in the frame and asks them to pass a message that she is alive to her if she ever stops by the lighthouse. As they finally depart the lighthouse, the Russian couple are confused to find an unusual photo of Sugimoto in the frame.
Sugimoto's group comes to a Karafuto Ainu village in the Niitoi region where Sugimoto asks some of the local children if they had seen Asirpa or the Russian couple's daughter, Svetlana. Later, as they were resting in a hut, Sugimoto hears Cikapasi and Enonoka talking about a meko oyasi which Tsukishima was able to figure out to be a lynx based off of Enonoka's description. Koito wonders if they are talking about Ogata and if they had caught up to Asirpa's group.
When Sugimoto wonders about the relationship between Ogata and the lynx, Tsukishima tells him that it is a slang term for "geisha" and that it is a pathetic joke passed around their division, to which Sugimoto agrees with. Koito tells Sugimoto about Ogata's personality and that he hates him, saying that a lynx can also refer to a fraud or deceiving people. Sugimoto listens solemnly as Koito says that if he sees a thieving cat, then he should shoot to kill it.
Sugimoto takes out the copy of Gansoku's tattoo and stares at it, thinking back to when he and Asirpa obtained their first tattooed skin and teaching her how to read the Japanese letters. Tsukishima asks him if he realized something and Koito says that Sugimoto wouldn't be able to solve the tattoo's code since he is an idiot, to which Sugimoto fires back saying that he did realize something but won't tell them what it is. They hear a loud commotion from outside and Sugimoto's Group checks to see an escaped killer has taken Enonoka captive.
Enraged, Sugimoto charges at the killer and attempts to counter the killer's attack but is struck in the neck by his knife. However, Cikapasi had put his makiri pouch on the knife, which had saved Sugimoto's throat from being slit as he grabbed the killer's head and kneed him in the face. He pulls Enonoka away, calling her "Asirpa" and takes out his own knife to execute the killer but is stopped by a couple of Ainu men.
The Ainu apologizes to Sugimoto's Group for the trouble, as they had accidently let the killer flee from them and Sugimoto says that if they had not stopped him, he could've killed the killer since the Ainu does not have the death penalty. The Ainu reveals that they have their own ways of dealing with criminals, by stabbing needles into their eyes and burying them alive in a bottomless casket. As Koito and Tsukishima talks about the Ainu's view on murder, Sugimoto stares off into the distance.
Gallery
Abilities
As a former soldier proficient in hand-to-hand combat, knowledge of military strategies and weaponry. During the battle of Hill 203, Sugimoto was extremely fierce. Whenever he fights several enemies, Sugimoto looks for the most violent way of ending his opponent, disregarding the wounds he suffers at the same time. It has an incredible tolerance of pain that is almost impossible for the human being, surviving ferocious fights with bears, soldiers, explosions, among others always ending with the mutilated body.
Equipment
- Type 30 rifle
- Type 30 Bayonet
- Bullet Type 30;
- Pouch;
- Oil Can.
Nomenclature
Sugimoto's name contains the words: (杉) Cedar, (元) Source, (佐) Support, and (一) First.
Trivia
- Sugimoto likes dried persimmons and salted brains but dislikes Ikanago no kugini.
- Sugimoto is based on two real-life figures:
The first is a man also named Saichi Sugimoto, with a different kanji spelling (杉本佐一). The real life Sugimoto was in fact the great-grandfather of the series creator, Satoru Noda. He was a soldier of the 27th Regiment of the 7th Division and was celebrated as a war hero. The fictional Sugimoto had only borrowed the name of the real Sugimoto.
- The other was a soldier named Hiroshi Funasaka, who had received the title of "Immortal" after having survived many injuries including a shot to the neck and a hand grenade blast.[1]
- Sugimoto likes dried persimmons
- Sugimoto doesn't like bugs
Quotes
"During the war, I figured the trick to staying alive. You don't let anybody kill you."