Located on the border between this world and the next is the "Death Office," not a city hall. All sorts of people come here to process their deaths after death, whether it be suicide, murder, death from illness, accident, old age, or stillbirth, and a wide variety of customers visit. Death Office, where the dead develop their own stories, has become a hot topic in many places and has even been made into a live-action drama. I would like to introduce the main character of Death Office, a man who still has many mysteries surrounding him: Shimura.
The customer is a Buddha, Shimura, an employee of the Death Office, is roughly like this
He is an employee of the Death Office, and is a man who always wears a smile that looks like a sideways "K" character, and performs his duties calmly and politely. He is the protagonist of this work. He is deeply involved in the mystery that can be said to be the biggest foreshadowing of this work. His motto is "The customer is a Buddha," and he treats everyone politely, but he also speaks with a polite disrespect and a bit of sarcasm. His name tag says Shimura, but his real name is Ichimura Masamichi. All employees of the Death Office have the letter "Shi" in their name.
Are all the employees crazy?! All of them, including Shimura, are death row inmates!
All employees of the Death Office are death row inmates. People who die by execution are forced to take the Death Office recruitment exam, and if they decline the recruitment exam, they are sent to the "path to the underworld" and will continue to wander in pitch darkness forever. It seems that the recruitment exam is basically an exam that you can pass if you take it, but it is unknown what happens if you fail. In other words, Shimura is also a person who was sentenced to death and executed while he was alive.
What kind of work does Shimura, an employee of the Death Office, do?
There are various positions at the Death Office. It is divided into departments such as the suicide department and the homicide department, and Shimura mainly guides dead customers to which department they should go to, and also works as a general information officer who trains new employees and does all kinds of things. Therefore, he has many opportunities to interact with customers, and he listens to their stories and gives advice to customers who died with regrets. He usually keeps a fake smile on his face, but sometimes his attitude changes.
Shimura, who became an employee of the Death Office, what did you do?
All those who are executed and sent to the Death Office take the employment exam for Death Office employees. In other words, Shimura committed some crime and was sentenced to death. What did Shimura do in his lifetime? In fact, he did nothing. Shimura was caught by the police on a false charge, prosecuted, sentenced to death, and executed. Since he was executed on a false charge, Shimura would not have become an employee and could have gone through the formalities to attain nirvana, but he has chosen to refuse and remains at the Death Office for a certain purpose.
The tragic past of death row inmate Ichimura Masamichi! What on earth happened to Shimura?
Shimura, also known as Ichimura Masamichi, was a civil servant working at the city hall in his lifetime. Ichimura happens to escort an old woman who comes to the office home, where he meets Sachiko, the woman who would later become his wife. Sachiko was a very laid back person, and was always so absorbed in drawing that she sometimes lost sight of her surroundings. She was not good at fitting in with others, but she didn't particularly care about that. She lived with her grandmother, but her real family had already abandoned her, and her grandmother, who seemed kind at first glance, thought of her as a failure and a disgrace.
The two get married
Ichimura was a little strange, but he was attracted to her, and after her grandmother passed away, they married and became a couple. The couple got married and had a daughter named Miyuki. Miyuki had some special abilities, but she was a child who would not eat normal food and would eat paints and dirt, and she had symptoms that would be called developmental disorders or savant syndrome today. Today, such a diagnosis would likely be made, but when Ichimura was alive, such words and symptoms were not widely recognized.
Sachiko is cornered
First of all, Sachiko also had symptoms of developmental disorders. However, the term "developmental disorder" has only recently been recognized in Japan, and the doctor who diagnosed Miyuki at the time could only diagnose her as not receiving enough love and that she would die if things continued as they were, which left Sachiko terrified and driven to the point of her daughter's death. At that time, Sachiko heard about "Kago no Kai." In order to save her child, Sachiko consulted with "Kago no Kai," a cult religious organization that still exists today, but this was the beginning of hell for Ichimura.
The beginning of the feud between Ichimura Masamichi and the religious corporation "Kago no Kai"
When Sachiko went to the "Kago no Kai" and never returned, Ichimura went to the organization, but was confused and chased away. He tried to forcefully get Sachiko back, but was deceived and retreated, but when he returned home, he found his daughter Miyuki bleeding and lying on the ground. Someone murdered her while Ichimura was away, and the police named Ichimura as the suspect.
Ichimura is cornered
The police arrest Ichimura on suspicion of murdering Miyuki, and he is subjected to a torture-like interrogation that is undoubtedly unacceptable in this day and age. The long-term detention under the hostage justice system gradually wears down Ichimura's mind, and he eventually confesses to the crime. In the end, Ichimura is sentenced to death on a false charge, and the whereabouts of the murderer of Miyuki, his wife Sachiko, and the "Protection Society" that is probably somehow related to the two remain a mystery, and he is sent to the Death Office. In order to find out the truth, Ichimura has become an employee of the Death Office and is investigating its movements.
What is the progress of the episodes with Shimura and the Protection Society?
Information about Miyuki is archived in the Death Office, and Shimura, who can view it, already knows who killed Miyuki. Also, judging from the characters and historical background, Ichimura's execution was probably about 50 years ago, and since Sachiko has not appeared at the Death Office, it seems that she is still alive and involved with the Protection Society. He also seems to have some kind of connection with Matsu Shige, an employee of the Death Office and former member of the Protection Society.
【Death Office】Summary of the main character, Shimura
I've put together a summary of Shimura, the main character of Death Office. He is the tragic protagonist who was executed on a false charge, but there are still many mysteries surrounding his story. I'm very curious to see what happens next. Also, it was made into a live-action TV Tokyo drama, so why not check that out too?
