Kayoko Kotohiki

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Takayo Mimura as Kayoko Kotohiki in the film Battle Royale.
Takayo Mimura as Kayoko Kotohiki in the film Battle Royale.
Kayoko Kotohiki as seen in the manga version.
Kayoko Kotohiki as seen in the manga version.

Kayoko Kotohiki (琴弾 加代子 Kotohiki Kayoko?) is a character in the novel Battle Royale, and the film and manga of the same name. In the film she was played by Takayo Mimura.

Kayoko has a blood type of B.

[edit] Pre-Program

Kayoko Kotohiki is one of the class of third-year students at the fictional Shiroiwa Junior High School in the fictional town of Shiroiwa Shiroiwa (the novel and manga set the town in Kagawa Prefecture, while the film sets the town in Kanagawa Prefecture). Kayoko was a member of the tea ceremony group at her school, but was described as being playful and energetic rather than elegant, which is what would be expected of someone performing in a tea ceremony. She had a huge crush on one of the masters of the tea ceremony, who was also the 19-year-old grandson of the school's headmaster. Kayoko only had two encounters with him. The first was when he took charge at a tea ceremony being held for a government official, when the original master took sick. Afterwards, Kayoko asked if he was okay, and he seemed impressed by her maturity. The second was when he ran into her in the temple gardens, and had a chat with her about tea ceremony.

Kayoko had black shoulder-length hair, which she always held back with a dark blue hair clip when she was dressed in her kimono for tea ceremony, and she never wore make-up. Kayoko had an older sister. Hiroki Sugimura was in love with Kayoko, but she was unaware of this.

In the manga, he first notices Kayoko when he see her taking a flower arranging class in the same building where he practises martial arts. Both Sugimura's sensei and Shinji Mimura notice that Sugimura watches Kayoko after class. In this version, Kayoko and Sugimura meet when she notices him helping a distraught kitten at school. She helps him relieve the cat, and explains that she has three kittens at home. It is revealed that Kayoko had been afraid of Sugimura due to his fighting in the dojo, but she now sees him as a caring and friendly individual.

Kayoko mentions in the manga that her mother was actually her father's mistress. Her father funded for her mother's bar, and Kayoko sometimes worked there as a waitress.

[edit] During The Program

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Kayoko had spent much of the game hiding, and had, as yet, avoided confrontation. Unbeknownst to her, Hiroki had spent most of the game searching for her to tell her he loved her. When Hiroki eventually found her and approached her, Kayoko panicked, thinking he was trying to kill her. She ran away, but when he followed, she turned round and shot him in a panic, with her designated weapon - a Smith & Wesson M59 Automatic (a SIG-Sauer P226 in the movie). As Hiroki died, he told her how he felt about her, and he warned her to run because someone would be attracted to the gunshots. He also gave her instructions of how to meet up with Shuya Nanahara, Noriko Nakagawa, and Shogo Kawada, who he said would help her off the island. However, she was shot dead by Mitsuko Souma shortly after Hiroki's death. In the novel, Kayoko is shot twice in the right temple, while in the film she is shot once on the heart.

In the manga version of the story, Hiroki and Kayoko have quite a different meeting. When they finally meet, Kayoko who had gone a day and a half without seeing anybody else threatens to shoot him but to prove he is a friend Sugimura throws his bag and pole away and then tells her about the kitten incident and explains that he kept the kitten which he named after her flower arrangement, Kayoko goes along with him for a while. The two light the two fires so that the two can meet up with Shuya Nanahara's group. The two sit and talk about things before moving on. Kazuo Kiriyama, now unknown to Kayoko and Sugimura, is hot on their trial and soon catches up with them. Sugimura fights him while Kayoko looks on helplessly. Finally she realises Sugimura needs her help; she then grabs his Colt M1911 and shoots at Kazuo who then attacks her. Sugimura then saves her. Kiriyama fakes his death, he really has a Kevlar vest on. Sugimura uses indirect words to admit he loves her. Kiriyama gets up and fatally shoots them both.

Spoilers end here.
Battle Royale (edit)
Novel & mangas Battle Royale (novel) | Battle Royale (manga) | Battle Royale II: Blitz Royale (manga)
Films Battle Royale (film)  | Battle Royale II: Requiem
Soundtracks Battle Royale Original Soundtrack | Battle Royale II: Requiem Original Soundtrack | Composer: Masamichi Amano | Orchestra: Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra
Main Characters BR: Shuya Nanahara | Noriko Nakagawa | Shogo Kawada | Sakamochi/Yonemi/Kitano (the Teacher) | Kazuo Kiriyama | Mitsuko Souma | Shinji Mimura | Hiroki Sugimura
BRII: Takuma Aoi | Shiori Kitano | Riki Takeuchi
Secondary Characters BR students: Yoshio Akamatsu | Takako Chigusa | Megumi Eto | Fumiyo Fujiyoshi | Tadakatsu Hatagami | Keita Iijima | Mizuho Inada | Izumi Kanai | Yukiko Kitano | Kayoko Kotohiki | Yoshitoki Kuninobu | Yoji Kuramoto | Hiroshi Kuronaga | Yumiko Kusaka | Chisato Matsui | Kaori Minami | Kyoichi Motobuchi | Yuka Nakagawa | Kazushi Niida | Satomi Noda | Mitsuru Numai | Toshinori Oda | Sakura Ogawa | Tatsumichi Oki | Yuko Sakaki | Ryuhei Sasagawa | Yutaka Seto | Hirono Shimizu | Yuichiro Takiguchi | Haruka Tanizawa | Mayumi Tendo | Sho Tsukioka | Yukie Utsumi | Yoshimi Yahagi | Kazuhiko Yamamoto

BR others: Mai (smiling winner) | Keiko Onuki (Keiko Inoue) | Lieutenant Anjo

Cast and crew Koushun Takami (novel author) | Kinji Fukasaku (director) | Kenta Fukasaku (screenwriter)
BR: Tatsuya Fujiwara | Aki Maeda | Taro Yamamoto | Masanobu Ando | Kou Shibasaki | Chiaki Kuriyama | Takeshi Kitano
BRII: R: Takeru Shibaki Shugo Oshinari | Ai Maeda | Natsuki Kato | Riki Takeuchi | Yoko Maki
Other topics Battle Royale controversy | Battle Royale merchandise | List of Battle Royale weapons | Wild Seven
Related topics Dystopia | Deathmatch gaming | Ultraviolence | Teenage rebellion | Betrayal | Authoritarianism | Terrorism
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