| This article is about the Bofurin leader. For the seventh chapter of the manga series, see Hajime Umemiya (chapter). |
Hajime Umemiya (
Appearance
Umemiya's full body appearance
Umemiya is a tall teenager with white swept-back hair, gray downturned eyes, and white eyebrows with a slit through his left brow. He is most often seen wearing a Furin High School uniform with an extended-length, dark green, tailcoat left unbuttoned over a white t-shirt, paired with dark green pants and a black pair of men's driving shoes.
When not in his Furin High School Uniform, he prefers more casual styles and doesn't put a lot of thought into fashion for his everyday clothing. He owns a lot of graphic t-shirts and uses a thin, long wallet. He prefers casual type shoes and enjoys wearing driving shoes in particular. He's been told that his casual way of dressing makes him appear undignified for his position as the Leader and Representative of Bofurin, so he has recently begun to care a little more about his fashion choices.
As a child, Umemiya had short, black hair with bangs and black eyebrows. When he was nine years old, a month after he moved to Furinen Orphanage, he had white hair growing in from his roots with black hair still at the ends. His eyebrows had also begun to change from black to white at this time. He wore a plain, loose fitting sweatshirt, jeans, and light-colored tennis shoes with a strap over the laces.
At age 14, his hair and eyebrows had fully changed from black to white. He wore a standard junior high school uniform and would leave the jacket unbuttoned with a white t-shirt underneath. In cold weather, he wore a plain white sweatshirt under his unbuttoned school uniform jacket, along with a scarf. During this time he wore light-colored, lace-up sneakers.
Personality
Umemiya is an easygoing, friendly person. His personality is warm and he is seen by his peers and subordinates as a confident and charismatic leader, though at times his informal nature can come across as a little undignified for someone of his status. He is often shown to be very proud of and encouraging to his team. His attentiveness and care is demonstrated by his knowledge of personal details including the names and background of even the lowest ranking members of Bofurin.
Aside from his team, Umemiya is also deeply invested in the wellbeing of the general community in Makochi, this being a foundational goal for him in the original plan for the reformation of Furin High and the establishment of Bofurin itself. He is both well known and well loved throughout the town, and is often doted on and praised by the townspeople.
When engaging in fighting, much of the levity in his mannerisms disappear and he appears incredibly intimidating and serious. This shift in energy is at times so drastic and perceptible that it can be jarring and frightening to see even from his allies. Despite this, his compassionate and empathetic nature is also still present in his approach to fighting. He believes fighting to simply be another form of having a conversation, and uses it to connect with his opponents in a way that may more successfully facilitate mutual understanding than the use of verbal communication alone.
History
Content Warning: this section contains discussion of suicidal ideation and behaviors and disordered eating patterns.
Umemiya was the first son born to very loving parents, who taught him at a young age things that remain as his core values into his young adulthood as the leader of Bofurin. Around the time when he was nine years old, his father and pregnant mother were killed in a vehicular accident. It was at this time that he entered into the foster care system, where he was taken to multiple different facilities before he arrived at Furinen Orphanage located in the town of Makochi and within the territory of the pre-Bofurin Furin High School gang.
When he first arrived at Furinen, he struggled with feelings of guilt so severe that he refused to eat and stated that even if he tried to, he couldn't taste the food. Though he had been born with naturally black hair, at this point the color had begun to change to white. In a conversation among the orphanage staff, foster care worker Yuki Shitara implies that this change in his hair color had likely been caused by the extreme stress that Umemiya had experienced. Shortly after his arrival and while still refusing to eat, Umemiya sought out a way to punish himself for his parents' death, which he believed was his fault, even going so far as to label himself as their murderer.
At the time, the town of Makochi was constantly being subjected to gang violence involving the Pre-Bofurin Furin High School gang, and Umemiya chose to interrupt one of these fights in an attempt to be killed in the process. When a third-year student from Furin High School steps in to save him from being beaten to death, Umemiya blames the third-year for ruining his attempt to kill himself to atone for his belief that he was to blame for his family's deaths. The Furin third-year student chided Umemiya for trying to dirty someone else's hands in his suicide attempt, then took Umemiya to a bridge to give him the opportunity to die without involving anyone else in his suicide. Umemiya realized mid-step off of the bridge that his parents' last moments were happy because they were able to save him from the accident. He screamed "no" as he began to fall, and was pulled back to safety by the Furin third-year. The third-year then took Umemiya back into town where they ran into Furinen Orphanage foster care worker Yuki Shitara, who had been out looking for Umemiya. Shitara-sensei carried Umemiya back to the orphanage while Umemiya spoke about his parents saving him and their happiness at having done so even at the cost of their lives. After Shitara-sensei affirmed Umemiya about his parents' love for him, Umemiya was then able to allow himself to emotionally process the trauma of his family's deaths. They returned to the orphanage, and Umemiya ate for the first time since his arrival. One of the younger children at the orphanage referred to him as their "big brother," which deeply affected him as he mourned the loss of not only his parents, but also his unborn younger sibling.
Through his middle school years, Umemiya fostered friendships with the townspeople in Makochi while he sought out people to aid him in his mission to unite Furin under one leader and protect the town. He recruits those who would later become the Four Heavenly Kings of Bofurin—Toma Hiragi, Tasuku Tsubakino, Saku Mizuki, and Takumi Momose. Once he was of age to enter Furin High School as a student, he and his Four Kings fought their way to the top and he claimed the spot as leader and officially established Bofurin.
Story
Relationships
Haruka Sakura
Umemiya shows a lot of interest in Sakura's potential both as a person and as a leader within Bofurin. He is aware that Sakura came to Furin High originally with the intention of fighting his way to the top to claim the right to be called the strongest of Furin High, and Umemiya regards this information in a positive way, encouraging Sakura to keep training and get to be as strong as he can be. While Sakura at times is overwhelmed by Umemiya's genuine expression of emotionally intense topics, they both harbor deep respect and admiration for each other.
Kyotaro Sugishita
Sugishita is an underclassman of Umemiya that deeply respects him. In the manga, it was said that Sugishita frequently visited Furin High school even when he was in middle school.
Kotoha Tachibana
Umemiya and Kotoha grew up together at Furinen Orphanage. Umemiya often dotes on Kotoha, and describes her as his little sister. While Kotoha expresses her annoyance at this and denies the designation of "little sister," the two still maintain a close relationship. Umemiya and Kotoha both enjoy cooking and growing plants; Umemiya is seen showing Kotoha pictures of his seedlings and talking with her about his gardening projects excitedly. Umemiya and Kotoha both seem to still be very attached to their friends and "family" at Furinen Orphanage, with Kotoha's phone background picturing Umemiya and the other kids at the orphanage.
Toma Hiragi
Choji Tomiyama
Skills
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- Cooking
Etymology
- The name Umemiya means "plum" (
梅 , ume?) and "Shinto shrine, palace, princess, or constellation" (宮 , miya?).
- Umemiya's given name, Hajime, means "one" (
一 , hajime?).
Trivia
- He wears reading glasses.
- He grew plants from sprouts last year, so he's going to try to grow some vegetables from seeds this year.
- Apparently, he always has candies and caramel in his pockets.
- He uses a see-through case with pictures and photobooth stickers all over it.
- He uses a thin, long wallet.
- He seems that he was told that a white t-shirt is what should go with his school uniform, so for now, that's what he decided to wear.