Kouji Tatsuishi is one of the supporting characters in My Happy Marriage, serving as one of the very few characters who treat the protagonist Miyo Saimori with humanity.
Miyo Saimori has a very limited number of people who treat her with kindness, and she mostly gets thrown around at her own house like a servant, hopping from one grueling chore to another with rags for clothes.
The story very early on shows those rare people and one of them is Kouji Tatsuishi.
A glimmer of hope
While Miyo Saimori is treated as a servant in her own household by her prestigious family, Kouji Tatsuishi, son of a family friend, appears to be the only one who treats her as an equal.
It’s shown that he’s seen and treated Miyo like a friend since childhood and Miyo can also act a bit more freely and open with him.
It’s also revealed that he’s come to like Miyo, and wishes to marry her, which he also reveals to her. This makes Miyo hope for the first time in years as she thinks there might just be something better for her in life after all.
Helpless amidst hopelessness
Hoping turns out to be a useless endeavor for Miyo as she soon learns that Kouji will be married off to Kaya, her resentful bully of a half-sister.
The Saimori family arranges Kaya’s marriage with Kouji, who can’t do anything but sulk and feel bad. He apologizes to Miyo for not being able to do good on his words while Miyo just accepts the fact that she must never hope anymore.
Cost of cowardice
Meanwhile, he learns from his father that Miyo will be married to his older brother Kazushi. He tries to protest this but can’t do anything as his father strictly puts forth what he’s decided.
Miyo is instead sent off to the infamous Kiyoka Kudo, a man feared for being too cruel. This angers Minoru Tatsuishi but Miyo’s father can’t care less about what happens to his daughter from the first wife.
The younger Tatsuishi sibling has to rue the cost of cowardice, or simply the lack of gall in trying to protest his arranged marriage and take Miyo’s hand regardless of everything.
He is treated poorly by Kaya, who comes to resent the fact that he still has a thing for her half-sister, while his general lack of initiative and bravery also ticks her off.
Also Read: Miyo Saimori: My Happy Marriage character explained