Tōichi is a fisherman in the Studio Ghibli film When Marnie Was There. He provides quiet company to Anna out on the marsh.
Background[]
In the book the film was based on, written by Joan G. Robinson, it's explained he was the eleventh child in his family. His mother considered him "one-too-many", so he is given the name "Wuntermenny". This wordplay was adapted in the Japanese translations of the book, where "jū ichi" ("eleven") becomes "Tōichi".
This provides commentary on the nature of loneliness -- i.e., even someone from a large family can be just as solitary as someone with a smaller family (or even no family at all), like Anna.
Biography[]
Anna first meets him when he rows up to the old marsh house (a large western-style mansion that's been empty/abandoned for quite some time by the time of the movie's main events) after high tide comes in -- Anna, who's staying in Kissakibetsu with relatives for the summer, had been exploring the mansion (and, earlier that day, had been able to get to it by walking across the salt marsh due to it being low tide) but ended up dozing off for a while, not even waking up until long after high tide happened.
While we don't hear Tōichi say anything to Anna, he's nice enough to give her a ride back to the docks in his boat and also gives her directions on how to get back to her relatives' house. When Anna's telling Setsu and Kiyomasa Oiwa (the relatives she's staying with for the summer) about her little adventure, Setsu seems impressed by how Anna had been able to get a ride in Tōichi's boat -- from what can be gathered, Tōichi sounds like a bit of loner and even Kiyomasa (despite insisting to his wife that Tōichi's a perfectly nice guy) admits that the fisherman generally isn't much of a "conversationalist."
We see Tōichi again when he gives Anna a ride out to the middle of the marsh (after the tide has come in but it's during the day) and finds a spot to drop anchor, allowing him to do some fishing and giving Anna time to paint the marsh house from where they are.
At the end of the movie, when Anna's getting ready to head back home to Sapporo, she and her new friend, Sayaka Doi (whose family moved into the marsh house), they're talking about what they learned about Marnie (the girl whose family originally lived in the marsh house, way before Sayaka's family bought the place). Tōichi overhears them and, from what can be gathered from his only dialogue in the entire movie, it turns out that he apparently knew Marnie (or at least knew who she was) from when she was still living in Kissakibetsu.
During the end credits, when Setsu and Kiyomasa are giving Anna and her mom (Setsu's younger sister), Yoriko, a ride to the train station so they get back home to Sapporo, Anna's waving goodbye to the friends she made in town during the course of her stay, including Tōichi (who does wave back).
Appearance[]
He is burly and steely-eyed, with muscular rowing arms and a grey beard. He wears a brown fishing jacket, and a dark green knit cap. After meeting him for the first time when he gives her a ride back to the docks once high tide comes in, Anna describes his "like a bear" or "even a sea lion."
Etymology[]
- The name Tōichi means "eleven" (十一).