Character Profile: Hirotoshi

His faith to Inari is strong and although he relies on her too much, he’s still just a child and doesn’t fully understand the world.

Images made on Artbreeder.

I’ve recently wrote another story about my lovely Hirotoshi, and thought it would be great to share more information about him. It’s been good to see where his journey went after The Cry of the Raijuu and how he kept going after those events.

Name: Hirotoshi Aoi

Kanji and kana: 寛俊 ひろとし - 蒼井 あおい [he-ro-toe-shi—ah-oh-ee]

Meaning: 寛 (hiro) - lenient, gentle, tolerant 俊 (toshi) - excellence

Inspirations: For Hirotoshi’s name, it was actually by luck that I stumbled upon it. I was doing some research into different daimyo and clans and I saw the name Hirotoshi Fukubara. I instantly loved it, and knew I had to use it for my protagonist. His surname was easier, and I chose after one of my favourite Japanese singer/actors Shouta Aoi.

First seen in: The Cry of the Raijuu. Here we meet him at his lowest point, though still filled with so much strength.

What I like about him: Hirotoshi is able to handle a lot, he navigates the tough life he lives and makes it through with so much strength. His faith to Inari is strong and although he relies on her too much, he’s still just a child and doesn’t fully understand the world. His tenacity is probably the most out of every character I have dealt with.

What is fun or hard about writing him: In The Cry of the Raijuu it was hard writing from a child’s perspective. I found a few times he sounded too old, and it was easy to slip into that. However, I love writing how he sees the world, and sees the simple beauty in everything.

Typical place to find him: In the forest. He grew up there, and finds exploring calming and gives him some peace. He goes there whenever he is troubled and needs to think.

MBTI: ISFP-A, The Adventurer

Adventurers live in the present, and they know that they don’t need to dwell on past hurts or frustrations. Rather than focusing on how things could be different, people with this personality type have an incredible capacity for appreciating what’s right about life just as it is.

If you’d like to know more, ask away and I’ll try my best to answer!