Shun Kazama

Shun Kazama is the deuteragonist in From Up on Poppy Hill and a friend and love interest of Umi.

Appearance
Shun Kazama is a seventeen-year-old boy. He has dark brown hair and black eyes.

Story
Shun is studying at Isogo High School and his best friend is Shiro Mizunuma.

He is a member of the school's journalism club. One day, Umi saw her poem about the raised flags in the Latin Quarters Weekly, a school newspaper. Soon, Umi meets Shun when he participated a daredevil stunt and left a negative impression for Umi. Umi later accompanies her sister, Sora to get Shun's autograph at the Quartier Latin, an old building house the high school's clubs. Umi learns that Shun publishes the school newspaper along with Shiro. She ends up helping with the newspaper. Later at a debate, Shun convinces all the other students to renovate the Quartier Latin which may be demolished. The next days, the girls volunteer to help renovate the Quartier Latin.

Shun Kazama is a very inspiring boy. Back at the Conqueliot Manor, Umi shows Shun a photography of three young naval men. One of these three man is Umi's father, Yūichirō Sawamura, which was killed in the Korean Wars. Shun is shocked to see the photography because he has one just like it back home. Because of this, Shun starts avoiding Umi in school and refusing to look her in the face. Later, he asks his father, who reveals that Yūichirō arrived at the Kazamas home with young little Shun in his hands shortly after the end of World Wars II. Because the Kazamas family has recently lost their child, they adopted Shun and took very good care of him. Umi feels very uncomfortable about the avoidance and eventually confronts Shun, asking why he is avoiding her. Shun shows her the photography he has, and confirms they are brother and sister. He tells her they should stop having their romantic feelings for each other and Umi is forced to hide her feelings for Shun, much to her disappointment and they continue to see each other as friends.

Soon the renovation of Quariter Latin is complete, but the Kanagawa Prefectural Board Of Education decided to continue the demolition. Umi, Shun and Shiro later went to Tokyo to meet with Tokumaru and successfully convince him to not demolish the old building. As they leave, Umi confesses her love for Shun, and he reciprocates her feelings in sprite of their situation.

Umi returns home and found out that her mother was back. She later questions her mother about Shun Kazama and she reveals that he is the son of Hiroshi Tachibana, The second man in the photograph. In 1945, Tachibana was killed in an accident in the repatriation ship and his mother died in his childbirth. However, Ryoko was unable to raise Shun as she was pregnant with Umi during that time. Soon, Shun was given to the Kazamas family. Despite having some closure, Umi still has concerns about it.

Tokumaru visits the Latin Quarter and, impressed by the students' efforts, cancels the demolition. Amidst all of this, Shun gets a chance to hear the truth about his relation. Hiroshi Tachibana is Shun's father and Umi's father was very good friends with him, which is why Umi's father took Shun in. He is told that an old sea captain, Yoshio Onodera, a friend of their fathers and the third man in the photograph, currently is in Yokohama, but his ship departs soon, so Shun brings Umi along with him and they both rush to the harbor, board the tugboat, and sail to him.

Soon, Shun and Umi make to the harbor and meet with Yoshio Onodera, who is now a ship's captain. He confirms that Umi and Shun are not related by blood. Yoshio explains that he'd had been close friends with Yūichirō and Hiroshi, and that he was away at sea when they were killed. With everything solved and Shun and Umi finding closure, Shun resumes his study's at Isogo High School, while Umi resumes her daily routine of raising the flag. It is implied that Umi and Shun get together as a couple, but it is unconfirmed.

Etymology

 * The name Shun means "talented, handsome" (俊).
 * Shun's surname Kazama means "wind, breeze, way, manner, blaster, gale, gust, sirocco, method" (風) (kaza) and "while, time, interval, space, pause, chamber, room, apartment, leisure, chance, entr'acte, intervening, as" (間) (ma).

Shun Kazama /コクリコ坂から