| Shinmei Muroi | |
|---|---|
| |
| Name Kanji | 室井 信明 Muroi Shinmei |
| Race | Shiki |
| Age | Approximately 66 |
| Status | Deceased |
| Gender | Male |
| Personal Status | |
| Occupation | Head Monk |
| Portrayal | |
| Seiyū | Eiji Maruyama |
| Voice Actor | Grant James |
- "I-I can die...Now I can die. Thank goodness..."
- ―Shinmei's last words
When he was 65, he collapsed with a stroke. He wanted to walk, just a little and while in rehabilitation, he had a fall, which resulted in a fractured spinal cord and a fracture in both legs. He couldn't even sit anymore, let alone stand. And to make matters worse, the pain from the fractured spinal cord was unbearable. All he could do was lie in bed suffering from pain.
One day, the realization suddenly hit him that his life was already over. However, even in this condition, the villagers refused to leave him alone. They bought him an expensive bed and, just like before, showered him with respect and affection. He had no choice but to keep performing the duties of a chief priest. His duty was the sole reason why his life had to be prolonged. Not just then, since he was born he had been upholding the duty to become a good upstanding person with strong sense of duty. A good heir, young priest, and chief priest. Only after becoming disable, did he fully realize the emptiness of his life. He wanted to die, but his body wouldn't move.
After seeing Tokujirou Yasumori, he thought that maybe a new life would be possible for him. This is why he invited the Kirishikis to his home. He was brought to the mountain hideout. Shikis can not heal the damage that was there before death. He was still not able to move, but he didn't feel pain and his excretion functions stopped too. He was not happy with this either and still felt as much of a burden. The shiki fed him life-support. He felt that if you strip him of his priest title, he would be nothing more that a useless wreck. Not that he realized that being a priest would have been better than this, he regretted that he would have to live like this forever and wished that he had never written that letter.
October 12th
Seishin and Shinmei
November 3rd
In his room, Seishin Muroi find a letter to Seishirou Kirishiki, asking him to come to his room and his room only. He lost interest in life and is looking forward to his visit. Seishin remembers bringing the letter and thinks that the letter must have been the same. He thinks that it is the same as suicide.
Shinmei plays a very small role in the story. At one point, Shinmei writes a letter, inviting the Shiki into his home, asking them not to go in his wife's room, or his son's room. From there, Seishin theorizes why his father invited them, wondering if his father knew that Shiki were in the village Seishin also wonders if his father felt despair, and trapped in life without freedom. It is later shown that Shinmei became a Shiki, and he gets a stake to the heart by Tomio. Shinmei seemed thankful that he can finally die.
Family Tree
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Anime Appearances
References
