Tomonaga Ijiro Character Analysis

Ijiro founded Japan’s Tatenokai, or Shield Society, and teaches hand-to-hand combat. He lost his eyesight when he watched the nuclear bomb go off when he was a young boy, and is considered hibakusha, or “survivor of the bomb.” After his injury, he hated feeling like a burden on people, so he left his old life and became a gardener far from his old home. When he heard of an imminent zombie invasion, he didn’t want to be burden on the people around him who might have to look after him when the crisis came, so he went to live by himself up in the mountains. Here, he finally found his purpose—he believed it was to rid the earth of zombies and to keep Japan beautiful for when its people returned. His blindness proved to be an asset when he fought the zombies armed with his ikupasuy, a tool that looked like a long spade. He could hear them and smell them, and destroyed every zombie he came across. Eventually, he met Tatsumi, and asked him to join his mission, too. Ijiro’s has lived his entire life selflessly and is anchored by a strong sense of morality.