Jirou Tomitake

Jirou Tomitake is a character in «Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai» who is introduced as a mild-mannered wildlife photographer. He travels to Hinamizawa every year to photograph local birds, making him a familiar face to the villagers, and — thanks to time spent with Miyo Takano — he knows an unusual amount about the village's history. "Tomitake Jirou," however, is only a pen name: Rika Furude comes to suspect this, and it is later confirmed outright.

Behind the cover story, Tomitake is a former JSDF sniper who became an instructor after an eye injury ended his active service; he holds the rank of first lieutenant, one grade below Captain Tetsurou Okonogi. He hasn't lost his edge, and proves it in a tense moment by shooting at a pursuing vehicle to scare off its driver. He was in fact sent to Hinamizawa by the organization "Tokyo" to audit the Hinamizawa Syndrome research project, doubling as a counterintelligence agent.

In most storylines, Tomitake is found dead shortly after the Watanagashi Festival under circumstances the local authorities find suspicious, fitting a grim pattern of festival-season deaths. In the arc that finally exposes the full plot, he works alongside Mamoru Akasaka and Kyousuke Irie to try to stop Takano's plans, whatever the outcome for either of them.

Physically, Tomitake is a muscular man with short light-brown hair, glasses, and a taste for field gear — cap, dog tags, and all. Around the village he's cast as Takano's awkward, bashful boyfriend, and the couple frequently supplies comic relief, including at the expense of Keiichi Maebara and Mion or Shion Sonozaki.