Tatara

Tatara (タタラ, Tatara) is a direct subordinate of the One-Eyed King and one of Aogiri Tree's leaders.

He is from China, and is a former member of the Chinese ghoul organization Chi She Lian.

Appearance
Tatara is a tall man with short white hair and red eyes. He hides his mouth with a red iron mask, and is seen wearing a white cloak most of the time. Whenever he is seen with Eto, he is wearing a large blue cloak.

Personality
As one of the Aogiri Tree leaders and a trusted subordinate working under the One-Eyed Owl, Tatara comes off as a rather loyal individual. He is portrayed as composed and stoic mostly. He often monitors the activities of the Aogiri executives that kills in cold blood when embarking on a mission. He is also proud of his immense stamina when fighting and the accuracy of his calculations as well. Tatara seems to have a taste for precision; as shown when he turns down Kaneki considering he's an artificial one-eyed ghoul. He appears to hold a grudge against Houji, to the extent that even the Quinque associated with him, is enough to make him enraged and lose his near unflappable composure.

He has also been noted by Ayato Kirishima to consider his underlings to be mere peons, something he willingly confirms.

Aogiri Arc
After Ken Kaneki is captured by Yamori, Nico and Ayato Kirishima, Kaneki is brought before Tatara. Tatara pierced Kaneki's abdomen so that Kaneki revealed his left kakugan. Because Kaneki's "eye" is no good, Tatara decided that he can not use Kaneki. He decided that Ayato can use Kaneki however he wanted. At the end of the meeting, Tatara left with Eto because their comrades are waiting for them. Tatara left the 11th Ward Base to Noro. Tatara predicted that the doves would come soon and told Noro to follow their plan.

While the 11th Ward Battle is taking place Tatara and Eto lead many of Aogiri's stronger members in an attack on Cochlea, freeing multiple dangerous ghouls.

Raid of Kanou's Lab
Tatara is seen interrogating Taguchi about Kanou's whereabouts. Tatara then left the room and gave a foot to Naki which presumably belonged to the nurse.

Owl Suppression Operation
Nearing the end of the Owl Suppression Operation, Tatara is seen attacking the reinforcements brought by Seidou, claiming that the "King" was going to pass by. Tatara is then attacked by a panicked Seidou, but effortlessly grabbed him by the neck while recognizing Houji's quinque. Tatara then threw him only for Noro to take bite off his arm. A furious Amon charged at Tatara right afterwards, Tatara simply activated his Kakugan while saying "good".

Auction
He led the Aogiri Tree attack on the Quinque Steel Transport and is seen ordering a retreat when the attack had failed

Rose Extermination
After all of the Aogiri Members escaped from the Auction Hall following the raid, Tatara was in the greenhouse during an important meeting where Ayato was trying to convince him to attack Cochlea and rescue Hinami. Tatara rejected the claim and Takizawa started laughing at Ayato for having an affection for her and then stated that he fought her. Ayato got furious and then Tatara grabbed him and prevented him from starting a fight. Tatara then berates Ayato for his actions while Seidou continued to laugh in the corner.

Tatara made another appearance in Dr. Kanou's lab, listening to Kanou theorizing how he'll be able to apply ghoul surgeries with a very high success. He is then thanked by Kanou who says that he will need more corpses for his experimentations. When Kanou expressed his wish to speak to Eto, Tatara simply said that she is "busy" and that a person like him should not nose into something he is not supposed to.

Post-Rose Extermination
On Rushima, Tatara looked into the distance, while Eto held her final press conference.

Rushima Landing Operation
Tatara stared onward as Houji and his squad of investigators approached him.

Before engaging Houji, Akira, and the accompanying squad in battle, Tatara stated that it would be the end. Tatara displayed his hatred for Houji and revealed his Kakuja, noted as similar to that of Yan, and then fended off the rest of the squad with its unique flame. He then engaged Houji one-on-one. Houji masterfully avoided Tatara's strikes and successfully hit Tatara with his quinque. However, Tatara almost teleported towards Houji, ready to blast him into flames, although to be interrupted by Seidou.

Fei and Yan
Tatara was close to Fei and his older brother Yan when he was younger and a member of Chi She Lian. Their deaths are the reason why he hates Kousuke Houji to the point where he easily loses his nearly unflappable composure upon encountering even a quinque associated with the ghoul investigator.

Eto
Their true relationship is a mystery, though it is clear the two work closely together. Eto is almost always seen at his side, and they frequently discuss matters pertaining to the organization. He seems to value her counsel, and readily answers any questions she may have for him. Because of the many mysteries surrounding Eto's role in the organization, it is unclear who has greater authority over the other.

Noro
Noro is the other subordinate of the One-Eyed King, and follows Tatara's commands. An omake suggests the two are actually close, as Eto notes that Noro would be sad if something were to happen to Tatara.

Ayato Kirishima
Tatara was the one to recruit him into Aogiri, after the young Ghoul's violent activities caught his attention. The two are not particularly close, as Tatara simply views him as another subordinate to be used. However, tensions have emerged between them as Ayato has grown more independent and influential within Aogiri. Tatara violently reprimands him, and accuses him of cowardice. It also seems that he is somewhat bothered by the fact Ayato is growing up.

Yakumo Oomori
Tatara doesn't care what Yamori's activities are, showing no sadness at the news of his death reaching him.

Bin Brothers
Tatara doesn't seem to have any concern for them, shown when he answers yes to Ayato's question about his considering subordinates to be mere pieces to him.

Ken Kaneki
During their initial encounter, Tatara labels Kaneki both useless and a fool. Having made this decision, he discards him, a crucial mistake that comes back to haunt Aogiri. Later on, Eto criticizes him for not killing Kaneki when he had the chance.

Akihiro Kanou
Though a mere human, Tatara seems to have some respect for Kanou's work. They have a cordial, professional relationship once the rogue doctor joins forces with Aogiri and begins performing experiments for their benefit.

Kousuke Houji
Tatara has a fierce hatred for the Investigator, losing his cool simply from seeing a Quinque associated with him. Their exact history is not known, though it relates to Houji's time spent in China destroying the Ghoul organization Chi She Lian.

Seidou Takizawa
Tatara first becomes interested in the young Investigator upon seeing his Quinque, recognizing it as one that Houji had made from another Ghoul named "Fei". He takes his rage out on Houji's subordinate, handing him over to Noro as a snack. However, two years later it is revealed that Takizawa was among the Investigators Tatara provided to Dr. Kanou for his experiments.

Matasaka Kamishiro
Tatara appears to think of Shachi as a coward, as implied when berating Ayato after the Auction Raid as growing soft due to Shachi's influences.

Power and Abilities
Ghoul Physiology: As a ghoul, Tatara has considerable superhuman strength, along with his Kagune.
 * Unknown Kagune: His Kagune was capable of easly slaughtering an entire squad of CCG's investigators before approaching Seidou. In Tokyo Ghoul √A, his kagune can been seen for a brief moment before his confrontation with Seidou Takizawa.
 * Unknown Kakuja: Tatara displayed quite a developed Kakuja, which covered the entirety of his body.
 * Red Cell Pyrokinesis:  Most uniquely, the emissions from his kakuja's highly concentrated RC cells ignite, producing flames exceeding 4,000 degrees Celsius, as noted by Akira. It seems that the flames are produced around his head and are constant. It has been shown that Tatara can seemingly change the quantities of fire produced, simply from a small stream in front of his face, or a large wave of fire that can engulf multiple enemies in one quick attack.
 * Superhuman Agility: Tatara closed in on Seidou Takizawa before the latter could react.
 * Superhuman Durability: √A Also suggests that Tatara has a strong resilience and regeneration as he is able to take a hit from Special Class Kyouji Misaka's quinque without any visible wounds in the time it takes him to break out of its grip. He also seems to endure Houji's Hollow without sustaining major wounds.

Trivia

 * He was ranked 18th in the character popularity poll.
 * In Tokyo Ghoul Trump, he's featured as the "Two of Spades".
 * According to the Tokyo Ghoul Flip Calendar, he has difficulty with reading Japanese and complains that it gives him a headache.
 * His name, Tatara (タタラ) - a traditional Japanese furnace - could be in reference to his kakuja's ability.

Quotes

 * To the Squad 4: "I'll be settling your lives and deaths."

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