Synopsis
Kaieda is the principal of Hinamizawa School, first appearing in the Onikakushi-hen arc of Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai and voiced by Yōsuke Akimoto. A scene in that arc reveals a surprisingly human detail behind his stern reputation: he is deeply self-conscious about his bald head.
The Sound Novels flesh out his backstory further. Before becoming an educator, he spent years traveling the world to master martial arts, and he entered teaching out of concern over the corruption he saw in post-war Japan's education system. Hinamizawa's students credit his sheer presence with keeping delinquents away from the school, and the novels frequently mine his intimidating reputation for comedy, such as punishment games that dare characters to do something guaranteed to enrage him — like insulting curry within earshot of Rumiko Chie.
In Minagoroshi-hen, Kaieda proves he is more than comic relief: he helps Keiichi Maebara and his friends persuade the youth welfare office to remove Satoko Houjou from the custody of her abusive uncle, Teppei Houjou.
He is consistently drawn in a large brown coat with a matching violet tie and trousers, bald with a small mustache, never seen out of this outfit. The first anime season mostly shows him from behind, ringing a hand bell, with his face revealed only in the finale; his role grows noticeably larger in the second season and in the first episode of Kira.
