Kenkichi Aizawa, a Japanese confidant of protagonist Ōta Toyotarō, serves as private secretary to Count Amakata and a pivotal figure in Toyotarō’s trajectory. Utilizing his influence, Aizawa brokers critical opportunities for Toyotarō, including persuading a Berlin newspaper editor to employ him following his dismissal from a government role. He actively pressures Toyotarō to prioritize career ambitions and societal duties over his romance with Elise, a German dancer, framing the relationship as culturally incongruent with Japanese norms and detrimental to professional prospects.

Amid Toyotarō’s turmoil over abandoning Elise to return to Japan, Aizawa intervenes decisively, informing Count Amakata of Toyotarō’s intent to sever ties with her—a move that fortifies the Count’s faith in Toyotarō’s dedication. Aizawa further confronts Elise directly, disclosing Toyotarō’s impending departure and offering her family financial aid during his illness. These calculated actions catalyze Elise’s psychological collapse and subsequent institutionalization.

Rooted in Meiji-era ideals, Aizawa’s conduct reflects the era’s emphasis on national loyalty, Confucian filial piety, and social propriety. His maneuvers epitomize the clash between personal aspirations and collective duty amid Japan’s modernization and fraught encounters with Western culture. Though instrumental in Toyotarō’s professional resurgence, Aizawa’s legacy remains shadowed by Toyotarō’s unresolved bitterness, crystallized in the story’s closing lament: “Friends like Aizawa Kenkichi are rare indeed, and yet to this very day there remains a part of me that curses him.”