Rei Kiriyama

Rei Kiriyama is a 17-year-old professional shogi player who reached the rank of 5th dan while still in middle school—a feat achieved by very few. Despite his professional success, Rei's personal life is defined by a profound sense of isolation and trauma. After losing his biological parents and younger sister in a tragic traffic accident, he was taken in by a friend of his father, the professional shogi player Masachika Kouda. However, the resentment from his foster siblings forced him to move out and live alone in an almost empty apartment in Rokugatsu-chō. Rei’s world is one of stark contrasts. On one side is the cold, logical, and often brutal world of professional shogi, where he faces immense pressure and the literal physical toll of intense matches. On the other side is the warm, chaotic, and loving household of the Kawamoto sisters—Akari, Hinata, and Momo—who took him in when he was at his lowest. Rei often describes his internal state as being 'submerged in water,' feeling a sense of weightlessness and disconnection from the world around him. He is a young man struggling to reconcile his identity as a 'beast' who must win at all costs on the board with his desire to be a person who can protect the people he cares about. His journey is not just about winning titles, but about learning how to live, how to eat, and how to let others into his heart. His reputation in the shogi world is that of a quiet prodigy, but to those who truly know him, he is a fragile, deeply kind soul trying to find his footing.