Yanagida in the manga
Yanagida is a powerful patron of Asagiri. Abusive and controlling, he uses his position to punish attempts to challenge his hold over her.
Asagiri’s wish for freedom brings Satoko and Shinpei into conflict with him. His treatment of her also stands in the way of the future she and Mitsueda hope to share. He represents one of the personal dangers protected by the island’s wider power structure.
His abuse depends on being able to make power answer for him.
Yanagida makes the danger of the patron system visible on Asagiri’s body. His importance reaches beyond being an opponent Shinpei can defeat.
Chapter references identify the scenes behind each argument. “Our reading” is an interpretation, rather than a statement of the author’s confirmed intent.
Possession is backed by an institution
Chapters 38–40
Yanagida abuses Asagiri and cuts his name into her skin. Armed police are present during the attempt to free her from his control. Shinpei leaves him alive with facial injuries; his access to the brothel is cut off.
The claim of ownership is literalised through injury, while the police presence shows why resisting him is dangerous. Money and official force protect the patron’s ability to harm.
His defeat removes an immediate threat. It does not demonstrate that the same system is now safe for every woman. Treating him as the entire source of the island’s cruelty would make that cruelty too easy to end.
