Shin'ichiro Taki (多軌 慎一郎, Taki Shinichirou) was the grandfather of Tooru and Isamu Taki. He did research on yokai throughout his life, but lacked any spiritual abilities to perceive them, which was something he was envious of.
Appearance[]
Personality[]
History[]
Shin'chiro Taki was born in the Taki family, descendants from former onmyoji, a form of of Japanese divination and geomorphology based on the theory of the yin-and-yang five phases. The Takis are an ancient and wealthy family with a large history who live in a big old house.
From his younger days, he always sat by the window, reading into books about the supernatural and yokai, left by their [Onmyouji predecessor.
Throughout his life, he was unaware that there were yokai surrounding him all the time. Even though he had no ability to see the spirits, he had power to use a strong upside-down sealing spell that trapped and mutilated a strong one for many decades after his death. He even had managed to defend the household from a strong shield. These could be seen when he successfully sealed Kakura without knowing so.
At some point, he presumably got married and had a son, though there is not much known about it.
It is mentioned he managed to become a minor acquittance of one of the former Matoba clan heads, Seiji Matoba's grandfather, because of the reasearch on youkai he was doing. The nature of their relationship is unknown, but they seemed close enough that Seiji Matoba himself would still come to pay respects to Shin'ichiro memorial service years later.[1]
As his son got married himself, Shin'chiro had his first grandchild: Isamu. Because his parents worked a lot, Shin'chiro was the one who mostly raised him and he used to spend a lot of time together. When Isamu was six years old, Shin'ichiro's daughter-in-law ended up expecting another child.
Plot[]
Shin'ichiro is first mentioned during Tooru Taki's introductory arc, as Taki explains to Takashi Natsume how her grandfather used to research youkai despite not being able to see them and how she got cursed because of the spell circle he left behind. This led Natsume to make an instant connection between him and Taki regarding the legacy their grandparents left behind.[2]
Relationships[]
Tooru Taki[]
Shin'ichiro's granddaughter. He had a close relationship with his young granddaughter due to their shared belief and passion for yokai and anything else related to the demon, supernatural or spirit worlds.
Isamu Taki[]
Shin'ichiro's grandson.
Seiji Matoba's Grandfather[]
In Chapter 112, it was revealed that Shin'ichiro was a minor acquitaince of Seiji Matoba's Grandfather. It doesn't seem they were very close, but they knew each other well enough that Matoba himself would come to his memorial service in his father's stead to pay his respects.
Etymology[]
- His given name, "慎一郎 [Shinichirou]" can mean "The Prudent First Son," as "慎 [Shin]" signify "Careful/Humility/Prudent/Discreet," and "一郎 [ichirou]" signify "First Son."
- Her family name, "多軌 [Ta-ki]," can mean "Many ruts/wheel tracks," written with the characters "多 [Ta]" which means "Many/Multiple" and "軌 [Ki]" meaning "Rut/Wheel tracks," or less common "Way of doing."
Trivia[]
- Tooru has a pictures of him that she carries around as well as in their house.
- As his given name end in "ichiro," which was traditionally a suffix given to first born sons in Japanese families, it can possibly mean he has a younger brother/sibling, though it also could just be a coincidence with no deeper meaning.
References[]
- ↑ Natsume's Book of Friends Volume 28: Chapter 112
- ↑ Natsume's Book of Friends Volume 5: Chapter 17