Tanigaki Genjirou is a soldier the Private First Class of the 7th Division and a Matagi of Tohoku. He is from Akita.
Appearance
Tanigaki is a Japanese man, around the age of Sugimoto and the Nikaidou twins[1], with a muscular body and body hair. He has dark brown eyes, short, black hair, a thin beard along his jawline, and thick eyebrows.
He wears a typical Japanese military uniform, but also a vest made of skin or an attush on top of the uniform.
Gallery
Personality
Tanigaki loved his younger sister, Fumi so dearly that when he found out she had died, he went on a warpath to avenge her even if it meant discarding the rest of his family and his Matagi heritage. After coming to a resolution over Fumi's death, Tanigaki became ashamed to see his father and brother again.
After finding Aoyama and learning that he had his purpose in life, Tanigaki began to question what his own purpose was. He finally found that purpose, as he will repay his debts to the Ainu people help Asirpa reunite safely with her family.
Tanigaki is an honourable man who will repay his debts to the people that have helped him, such as the Ainu people who had hospitalized him when his leg was injured.
Due to being born in Tohoku, Tanigaki does not deal well with heat. Likewise, he does not seem to be heavily affected by extremely cold temperatures as he did not react heavily when he fell naked into a frigid lake.
Tanigaki seems to have a frail and low self-esteem, showing to cry easily under heavy criticism.
Background
Tanigaki was born in Tohoku. As a young boy, Tanigaki would often wear a minobocchi and follow the hunters during their runs. In adulthood, he would go on hunting trips with the other Matagi and came to be good friends with Kenkichi Aoyama, who was one year younger than him. Aoyama eventually married his younger sister Fumi, and the both of them went to live in a house separate from the village. However one day, Aoyama killed Fumi and ran away leaving Tanigaki enraged and determined to search for him. While in the military, he received a letter from his brother saying that their mother had died from grief over losing Fumi and his decision to join the army.
In Port Arthur, he saw a wounded soldier from the 1st Division as well as the White Sash Brigade, as such he felt a sense deep respect for him. When he gave the soldier one of his kane mochi, he let his dialect slip, which the soldier noted and said that he knew someone in his platoon who was also an Ani from Akita, Hearing this, Tanigaki became eager that he had finally found the man who murdered his sister.
As eager as he was to find Aoyama, Tanigaki decided that he would wait until the chaos of battle was over, then he would have his revenge. He took part in the battle of 203 Hill and fought to survive as soldiers around him were being killed. When the Russians began strapping grenades on their own bodies to make a suicidal run against the Japanese army, Tanigaki hid in a trench to shoot at them from. Just then, Aoyama leapt from the safety of the trenches and tackled the Russian soldier to prevent him from blowing up his comrades. Tanigaki was able to drag him, barely clinging to life, back into the trenches and prepared to kill him. Just then, in the midst of Aoyama's groans, he called out the name of his sister which caused Tanigaki to hesitate for a moment. He then grabbed his uniform and asked why he killed his sister. He listened to Aoyama, unable to see or hear anything, asking him to relay a message back to the Tanigaki family about how their daughter died and how much regret and guilt he had carried since then. Upon hearing this, Tanigaki broke off a piece of his kane mochi and fed it to Aoyama, who instantly recognized it as belonging to his own dish. As Aoyama asked if it was him and passed away, Tanigaki wept over his body.
In Meiji 38 (1905) Tanigaki then took part in the Battle of Mukden and fought against the Russians using cannons. He bore witness to Hajime Tsukishima assaulting 2nd Lieutenant Tsurumi for having lied to him for the past nine years. Tsurumi then asked the 7th Division soldiers who had gathered out of concern to leave both him and Tsukishima alone to talk.
During a heavy snow storm in which the 7th Division were staying at a wooden house for warmth, Tanigaki and First Lieutenant Tsurumi were in a room having a conversation about his past as an Ani Matagi and his quest for revenge against his sister's killer. After telling his tale, Tanigaki said that Aoyama had found his purpose in life then goes on to question what his own purpose is and says that he cannot return to Ani, ashamed to face his father and brother again. When Tsurumi tells him that he needs him and if he would be willing to make some of his own kane mochi with walnuts for him, Tanigaki puts on his cap and replies that he'd be happy to.
Plot
(From Chapter 70 onwards)
As Tanigaki is watching Osoma play with a shell toy, he comments on how long she has been playing with them and is surprised she hasn't gotten tired of it. Osoma gives the toy to him to play with as well, and as Tanigaki steps on it, his heavier weight crushes the shell and injures his right foot. He falls over, holding his foot in pain and tells Osoma to hurry and call Huci, as it seems that his stay at the kotan shows no sign of ending[2].
Tanigaki along with Osoma and Huci are harvesting plants for food. Afterwards, they and Makanakkuru are seen happily enjoying their supper as Huci smiles on. Later on, Tanigaki asks Makanakkuru to take him to a weapons shop so he can buy some rounds for his Murata rifle. After completing their transaction, the both of them heads back to the kotan but sees a deer nearby. He is able to shoot and kill it despite being startled by a nearby Ainu boy. Tanigaki asks Makanakkuru about the boy and he tells him that the boy is a loner with an interest in hunting. He is reminded of his younger self and calls over to the boy to help them. When Makanakkuru asks for the boy's name, he replies that it's "Cikapasi" and upon hearing what it means, he smiles with amusuement as he comments that his name means "boner" and that it's a great name. Back at the vilage, Makanakkuru asks him what he will do now that his leg has healed, but he remains silent. The next day, there is a large crowd surrounding a fortune-teller and Tanigaki along with Osoma and Cikapasi goes to see what is going on. Upon seeing Tanigaki, the fortune-teller who introduces herself as Inkarmat offers to see his future, but he declines. As he is leaving, he is stopped in his tracks when Inkarmat mentioned that he lost his younger sister. He asks her just who she is, but she says that she is looking for someone and asks if there is a girl with blue eyes living in the kotan. Tanigaki takes her to Asirpa's family and listens on as Inkarmat warns them of the danger to Asirpa.
After some thinking, Tanigaki made his resolve to repay his debts to the Ainu and that he will bring Asirpa back to her people safely. Asirpa's family all came to say farewell to him, with Osoma giving him a single hand cover as a gift. He tells her to have the other one waiting for him when he comes back. When Inkarmat asks if he would like a divination, he declined saying that he is not doing it because he believes her, but rather Asirpa's family believes in her prophecies. At Inkarmat's urging, the pair heads eastward to Abashiri.
They drop by the town of Barato where they are stopped by the barber Yamamoto, who asks Tanigaki why he is pretending to be an Ainu. They come inside and explain their situation to him who says he hasn't seen anyone like that. He then points out a kid hiding behind the window and Tanigaki opens the door to see that Cikapasi had followed them. He says he knew that Cikapasi was following them and tells him to go home, but Cikapasi asks him to let him come with them. Inkarmat comes out and agrees to let the boy come with them, and Cikapasi begins to fantasize about how they could pretend to be a family.
They stop by the town of Iwamizawa where Inkarmat is giving fortune-telling services to the local women there. A merchant approaches Tanigaki and asks him what he is selling but he says he is not selling anything. As Tanigaki is about to argue with him, they are interrupted by another merchant selling bean snacks. Tanigaki tells the merchant that they are looking for an Ainu girl traveling with three men, which the merchant immediately recognizes from his encounter in Yubari. Tanigaki takes out a map and is able to narrow down Sugimito's Group's possible route but he is interrupted by Cikapasi who mishears him saying breasts. He then scolds the young Ainu boy and tells him not to look at Inkarmat with lust in his eyes as they make their way towards Tokachi.
...
...
...
Stuck in the banya with the wolverine outside, Tanigaki begins to complains that it is too hot. Just then Gansoku raises the heat and starts to slap the soldiers with a venik, thus raising their body temperature. When Tanigaki tells him to stop and that they need to work together to deal with the wolverine, Gansoku says that they are just trying to kill him for his tattoo. The soldiers then take some venik and begin to slap Gansoku until Tanigaki notices that the wolverine is no longer at their door. Tanigaki sees that the wolverine has set its sight on the Ainu kids and when Cikapasi fumbles with the ammo to his gun, Tanigaki steps in and helps him kill the wolverine.
When Sugimoto and Gansoku begins to fight each other, Tanigaki says that he, Tsukishima, and Koito must stop them before Sugimoto takes too much damage. The three of them rushes in to break up the fight but the ice, unable to hold all of their combined weight, breaks and sends them all plunging into the cold water. They then quickly jumped out and back into the banya to regain some warmth in their body. As Gansoku begins to tell Sugimoto about his encounter with Asirpa, he says that he knew the tattooed man with her, which Tanigaki notes to be Shiriashi.
Gansoku ultimately decides to flee Karafuto in order to preserve his life and bid his farewells to the soldiers as Tanigaki watched him leave with a faint smile on his face. Eventually, Sugimoto's group comes to a Karafuto Ainu village where they decide that they will stay for the day. As they settle down in the village, Tanigaki watches with a smile as Enonoka puts a hohciri on Cikapasi's head.
Sugimoto's group reaches Toyohara where Tanigaki and Cikapasi separates from the others to find information about Kiroranke. They discussed Inkarmat's health and Tanigaki says that Inkarmat is fighting for her life with everything she's got so he has no right to complain about being tired. He then turned to a local man and accidently flashes his own picture before admitting that he is tired.
Later on, Tanigaki regroups with the others as they meet Yamada and Choukichi, the latter of whom stole Sugimoto's bag. To apologize for Choukichi's action, Yamada cuts him with a sword that he pulls out and is subsequently punched by Sugimoto. Tanigaki attempts to treat Choukichi's wound but finds that the blood is fake to which they find out that the two are circus performers. This gives Sugimoto an idea to have Aisrpa know he is alive by joining the troupe and having the whole town of Toyohara talk about him.
Initially, Yamada refuses Sugimoto's request but relents after Sugimoto's threat and Choukichi's suggestion. They are led into the troupe's tent where they see some of their performances and are given an opportunity to try them out. While Koito excelled at all of the acts, Tanigaki, Sugimoto, and Tsukishima performs poorly and so Yamada has Sugimoto practice the harakiri show and Tanigaki and Tsukishima relegated to the Girls Group dance where they are yelled at by Fumie Yamada. Tanigaki steps out of the tent to wash his face and Tsukishima comes up to console him about the criticism. However, Tanigaki expresses frustration that he cannot dance well and is a burden on the Girls Group.
As he continued to practice, Tanigaki kept on making mistakes which caused Fumie to yell at him again. Later, Tanigaki is crying outside as he is being consoled by the girls in the group. As they are about to head back inside, one of the girls, Beniko calls out to him and reveals that Toyohara's performance will be her last one with the troupe as she is graduating and says she is glad her last dance was with him and that she hoped to make their performance a huge success. Afterwards, Tanigaki worked hard at his routine until the day of the performance arrived as the whole troupe got ready for their show.
During the show, Tanigaki dances along with Tsukishima and the Girls Group as he nods at Beniko. He then watches on as Koito chased after a photograph of Tsurumi. Afterwards, the Girls Group performed another dance before heading to the back where Tanigaki was complimented by Fumie for his act. The Girls Group congratulates Tanigaki and gives him high fives for his efforts as Tsukishima silently looks at them.
When Sugimoto prepares to do his harakiri act, he is interrupted by some Russian hitmen who tries to assassinate him. Once the hitmen had been neutered, Yamada has the whole troupe go out for the final bow so that they can gather the hitmen's bodies. Later, Sugimoto's Group interrogates the lone surviving Russian and finds they were sent to kill Yamada who reveals that he is a former officer in the Imperial Army. Fumie comes in and kills the Russian, much to Tanigaki's surprise and says that they will bury the Russians and leave the next day.
Later, Tanigaki along with the Girls Group gathers around Beniko and weeps as she graduates from their troupe. When Beniko tells Tanigaki not to forget about her or the Girls Group, Tanigaki says that he won't. Sugimoto's Group then gains some information from Yamada about a town north of Toyohara that has a prison called Alexandrovskaya Prison which holds some members of partisan groups. Sugimoto's Group believes the prison is where Kiroranke will head to.
Sugimoto's group takes Enonoka's dog sleds and rides them up north to the national border, but they are hit by a heavy snowstorm. When Ryu begins to move out of line, Tanigaki wonders if there is reason why he did that but Sugimoto dismisses it as him being just a hunting dog that's not used to pulling sleds. They soon realize that they had been separated from the others when they hear a gunshot so Tanigaki fires off a gunshot of his own as well. However, they quickly give up on regrouping and makes looking for shelter their priority. Eventually, they realize that they are in big trouble as they wander aimlessly through the snowstorm.
Tanigaki and Sugimoto attempts to dig in the ground but finds that it has been frozen solid, with Tanigaki saying that they would have to endure the blizzard with what they have, and that they should break up the sled. They were able to turn it into a small makeshift shelter and used some of the parts to make a fire. Immediately afterwards, Tanigaki covered it up so that the fire can burn slowly underground. However, Tanigaki says it won't be enough and gets the sled dogs to huddle around them. When Cikapasi expresses concerns about the dogs, Tanigaki says that they will be fine as they are incredibly strong against the cold.
Tanigaki takes out some of his kane mochi and gives them to Sugimoto and Cikapasi, telling them that eating food makes a big difference when it comes to regulating body temperature. Sugimoto notes that it tastes familiar, but Tanigaki scoffs at him, saying that it is his own secret recipe. They then hear a gunshot in the distance, but Tanigaki says that when one is in a blizzard, their sense of direction become so distorted so there is no guarantee that they will head in the direction of the sound.
As Tanigaki reminisce about being in the trenches during wartime, he notices Sugimoto closing his eyes and shouts at him not to fall asleep as he will die. Just then, Sugimoto sees a light off in the distance and wonders if it is the moon. However, Tanigaki says that the moon shouldn't be that large since they snuck into Abashiri exactly two months ago. They then see the light flickering and came to the realization that it is the light from a lighthouse.
Fatigued by the sheer cold, Tanigaki, Sugimoto, and Cikapasi makes their way to a home owned by an elderly Russian couple. They huddle themselves in a spot above the pechka which is the warmest part of the room and Tsukishima tells them they are lucky to be alive as the lighthouse had not been in use since the Russo-Japanese war.
Once they had gottem warmed up, Tanigaki and Sugimoto helps Enonoka's grandfather make another sled to replace the one they used for firewood. Tanigaki notes Ryu's behavior during the snowstorm, saying that he had been trying to follow the other sled and Sugimoto apologizes to the dog for having doubted him.
Sometime later, the Russian couple prepares some of their homemade food for Sugimoto's group which they all ate together. They listen solemnly to the Russian couple's story about how their daughter had been taken away, and Sugimoto asks if they could borrow a picture of their daughter so that they can find her. Once they had finished eating, Sugimoto's group says their farewells to the Russian couple and continues their journey.
Sugimoto's group comes to a Karafuto Ainu village in the Niitoi area where they decided to stay while looking for Asirpa and Svetlana, the Russian couple's daughter. As Enonoka tells Cikapasi about the meko oyasi, a monster cat that had appeared near the village, Tsukishima was able to discern it to be a lynx and Koito thinks they may be talking about Ogata. When Sugimoto asks what Koito has to do with the lynx, Tanigaki stays quiet about it as Tsukishima and Koito talks about Ogata's background and personality.
As Sugimoto, Tsukishima, and Koito talk about the tattooed skins, they hear a commotion coming from outside and Tanigaki opens the door to find that an escaped killer has taken Enonoka captive. However, Sugimoto and Cikapasi are able to defeat the killer and save the young Ainu girl. Afterwards, Tanigaki praises Cikapasi for his actions as Cikapasi tells him that he got a boner.
Sugimoto's Group arrives at an Orok settlement where they get clues to Asirpa's whereabouts and decides to rest in their tent to talk about their current situation. Cikapasi and Enonoka notices some carved statues within and asks Tanigaki what they are. Sugimoto's Group then argues about what kind animal it is with Tanigaki thinking it is a mouse. Afterwards, they head out for Akou Prison.
Abilities and Equipments
Sharpshooting proficiency: Tanigaki is well versed with a rifle and can shoot a target from distances away. He is armed with a Murata rifle.
Nomenclature
Tanigaki's name contains the words:
- (谷) Valley
- (垣) Hedge
- (源) Source
- (次郎) Second son
Trivia
- Tanigaki likes kiritanpo but dislikes shiitake mushrooms.
- His Zodiac sign is cancer, and his blood type is A.
References
- ↑ [TRANSLATION Q&A with Noda Satoru: Business trip edition]
- ↑ Chapter 70