Kazuo Makunouchi (幕之内 一男, Makunouchi Kazuo) was the husband of Hiroko Makunouchi and the father of Ippo Makunouchi who was the founder of the Makunouchi Fishing Boat.
Background[]
Kazuo was a fisherman on a commercial fishing boat where he would be away from his family for long periods of time. Kazuo bought a new fishing boat in order to start the Makunouchi Fishing Boat business so that he could live closer to his family. Before he began the new business, he had one last trip on the commercial fishing boat, promising his wife and son that he would be back in a week, and that he would stay at home afterwards.
Kazuo saving Sakuma.
During the fishing trip, the ship was wrecked by a storm and rough sea. As the ship was sinking, one of his crew members, Sakuma, was trapped under a heavy object. Despite Sakuma asking Kazuo to leave him in order to save himself, Kazuo stayed and lifted the object off of him and threw Sakuma to the rescue boat, resulting in him staying on the sinking ship as it sunk.
After a few weeks of searching, the rescue operation for Kazuo was called off and he was declared dead. His hat drifted near a dock where it would be found by Ippo, who believed that Kazuo had now fulfilled his promise of coming back.
Appearance[]
Kazuo looked similar to Ippo, but more rough looking and signs of a beard growing.
Personality[]
It has been mentioned that Kazuo loved getting into fights. According to Hiroko Makunouchi, he imagined his opponent as a Fish.
Etymology[]
- The name Kazuo means "one" (一) (kazu) and "male, man" (男) (o).
- Kazuo's surname Makunouchi means "curtain, act, hanging screen, bunting, case" (幕) (maku), "this" (之) (no) and "inside, within" (内) (uchi).
Trivia[]
- In the flashback, it is mentioned that Hiroko was 26 years old when Kazuo died. (According the the promotion site, Hiroko was born on November 12, 1949.) So, Kazuo died in 1975, when Ippo was about 3 years old, since he was born on 11/23/1972.
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