Red Shirt, the manipulative and hypocritical vice principal at the protagonist’s middle school, cultivates an intellectual persona through his doctoral degree in literature and a signature red flannel shirt—a deliberate emblem of his superficial affinity for Western modernity. His schemes prioritize self-interest, notably orchestrating the transfer of English teacher Uranari to a remote post under the guise of professional advancement while secretly pursuing Uranari’s fiancée, Madonna, a celebrated local beauty.

He employs covert tactics to undermine rivals, fabricating disputes and manipulating newspaper contacts to tarnish colleagues like the protagonist and Porcupine, the principled mathematics teacher. Though he publicly chastises others for moral failings, Red Shirt frequents geisha houses and engages in duplicitous behavior, aided by his sycophantic accomplice Nodaiko, the art teacher.

Red Shirt’s character embodies early 20th-century Japan’s cultural tensions, reflecting elitist intellectualism with a hollow grasp of European ideals, contrasting starkly with protagonists grounded in traditional pragmatism. His downfall unfolds when exposed: after a physical altercation with the protagonist and Porcupine, he suppresses the incident to avoid scandal, preserving his fragile reputation.

The narrative positions Red Shirt as an allegory for self-serving intellectuals during Japan’s modernization era, critiquing their detachment from authentic cultural identity amid rapid societal change.