Ryotaro Dojima

Ryotaro Dojima
堂島 遼太郎
P4P4R Artwork from Persona 4 Artwork from Persona 4 Revival
Date of Birth	May 16, 1969
Age	42-43Persona 4 Persona 4 Golden 44Persona 4: Dancing All Night
Height	179 cm
Weight	66 kg
Blood Type	O
Relative(s)	Nanako Dojima (Daughter) Yu Narukami (Nephew) Chisato Dojima (Wife, deceased) Unnamed Sister
Occupation(s)	Detective
Affiliation(s)	Inaba Police Department
Arcana	Hierophant
Voice Actor(s)	Unshō IshizukaPersona 4 Persona 4 Golden Persona 4 Arena Persona 4 Arena Ultimax Persona 4: Dancing All Night A Day of the May Fool Persona 4 The Animation Persona 4 The Golden Animation (JA) Ryōtarō OkiayuPersona 4 Revival (JA) JB BlancPersona 4 Persona 4 Golden Persona 4 Arena Persona 4 Arena Ultimax Persona 4: Dancing All Night Persona 4 The Animation (Credited as John White) (EN) Ray ChasePersona 4 Revival (EN) Zhao ZihanPersona 4 Revival (ZH)
Live-Action Actor(s)	Masashi TaniguchiVisualive Persona 4 Visualive Persona 4: The Evolution

Ryotaro Dojima is a supporting character in Persona 4. He is the father of Nanako Dojima. After Mayumi Yamano's body is discovered early in Persona 4, Dojima and his recently transferred partner, Tohru Adachi, become involved in the investigation.

Profile

Dojima is a detective in the city of Inaba. He is the younger brother of the protagonist's unnamed mother, and the protagonist comes to live with him while his parents are overseas. Dojima's wife Chisato passed away in a hit-and-run accident, and he now raises his daughter Nanako by himself, but his work-life balance affects their relationship. He is shown coming home drunk, not coming home at all, or having to go back on his word and leaving Nanako disappointed. As the protagonist starts becoming friends with people who previously went missing and continuously turns up at crime scenes, Dojima becomes increasingly concerned about what his nephew has been up to since arriving in Inaba.

Across all of his appearances in Persona 4 and its related media, Dojima is always seen in a dark suit with a gray shirt and a crooked red tie. He is never seen wearing his jacket in the games as he usually carries it over his shoulder. When designing Dojima, Shigenori Soejima made his face look unfriendly to portray his distance from Nanako and the protagonist. He also focused on the design of his eyes and eyebrows to communicate kindness and honesty. Soejima hoped that his overall tired look would express that there was something sad about him. One of Dojima's early character designs had him with a shaved head, but other staff members commented that he looked more like someone who just got out of jail rather than someone who puts people in jail, and the design was scrapped.

Gameplay

For complete gameplay information, see Gameplay:Ryotaro Dojima.

Dojima is the Hierophant Social Link.

Game Appearances

Persona 4

On April 11th, Dojima and his daughter Nanako go to Yasoinaba Station to pick up his nephew, the protagonist. Dojima has not seen him since he was a baby and introduces himself. On the way home, they stop at Moel Gas Station, where Dojima takes a quick smoke break. At the Dojima Residence, the three eat dinner together and Dojima welcomes the protagonist to Inaba and into their home. Shortly after, he receives a call and has to step away due to work. After he leaves, Nanako tells the protagonist that her father is a detective. On April 12th, the protagonist's class is dismissed early due to an incident near the school. When he walks home with his classmates, he comes across a crime scene where the dead body of Mayumi Yamano was found earlier, and Dojima is there overseeing things with his new rookie partner, Tohru Adachi. Dojima is upset that students came by the area even though the police had instructed the principal to direct students away from the area. He greets the protagonist's classmates and advises them to head home immediately.

Dojima returns home on the evening of April 13th. He watches the news with Nanako and the protagonist and is surprised that the news is airing an interview with the student who found Yamano's body. Shortly after, he passes out on the couch. Dojima is home again on April 14th. He asks the protagonist if he knows anything about Saki Konishi, whose family reported her missing. Dojima hears the protagonist cough and assumes he's still getting used to Inaba. He suggests taking some cold medicine and getting to bed. On the morning of the 15th, Saki is found dead, and Dojima leaves the house and does not return that night. With two dead bodies and no leads, Dojima and Adachi talk about the details of the case together on April 16th. They still do not know the cause of death for Yamano, and now there is a second dead body. Adachi thought this was related to the scandal that Yamano was involved in. However, as Dojima points out, her affair partner, Taro Namatame, has a solid alibi that puts him in an office away from Inaba at the time of her death. His estranged wife also has an alibi due to being overseas. Dojima concludes that the culprit must be somewhere in Inaba, and all they can do for now is continue looking into people connected to the victims.

The protagonist and his friend Yosuke Hanamura get caught in the Junes food court with weapons on April 17th. The two get taken into the Inaba Police Department. Thanks to Dojima being at the station, the incident does not end up on their records. He is in disbelief as thought his nephew was smarter than this. Dojima scolds the two and reminds them that the police are on edge right now due to the recent murders before letting them go. When the protagonist returns home at night, Dojima expresses concern about what happened earlier that day. He asks if the protagonist has gotten involved in something and tells him to stay out of trouble. Whenever Yukiko Amagi is rescued from the TV World, Dojima will come home for dinner again, bringing Adachi with him. When Adachi goes on about the possibility of Yukiko being suspicious, Dojima tells him to shut up and complains about how annoying Adachi can be.

Throughout the year, Dojima continuously tries to balance his work with his family. On April 30th, he promises Nanako that he will be able to get some time away from work to do something over Golden Week. They decide to go somewhere as a family, and Dojima asks the protagonist to make their lunches. On May 2nd, Nanako and the protagonist see a news broadcast about an ATM stolen from the bank. Dojima calls them shortly after, going back on his promise due to being busy at work after a younger colleague calls out ill. He knows Nanako will be upset and asks the protagonist to comfort her. By May 5th, Dojima's case has been resolved, and he comes home with Children's Day gifts for Nanako and the protagonist.

However, when it comes to the protagonist's activities in Inaba, Dojima never quite shakes the suspicion he shows in April. On May 13th, the family watches a broadcast about local biker gangs together, and Dojima identifies the person being interviewed as Kanji Tatsumi. When Kanji gets rescued from the TV World, Dojima tells his nephew that Kanji was reported missing but came back home recently, and he thinks he ought to tell the protagonist since they go to school together. But he is also suspicious as he heard that someone recently spotted the protagonist hanging out near Tatsumi Textiles. Dojima drops it after remembering that he is friends with Yukiko, whose family buys wholesale products from the textile store, and reminds the protagonist not to get in trouble.

On June 19th, Rise Kujikawa announces she is taking a break from the idol industry and staying in Inaba. Dojima realizes this means the police must deal with people who come there trying to get a glimpse of her. He thinks that Inaba used to be so quiet, but it has been much busier lately. On June 22nd, Rise begins working at grandmother's tofu store in the shopping district, and the Inaba PD are outside the store directing traffic. Later in the day, Dojima visits the store with Adachi. Dojima's detective intuition kicks in, and he tries to warn Rise about possibly being kidnapped, but she says three high school boys already told her earlier. Dojima assumes she is talking about his nephew, Yosuke, and Kanji. He speculates if the boys knew something or were making something up, so they had an excuse to talk to an idol. At night, Dojima asks the protagonist why he went to see Rise at the tofu store, but Nanako assumes the two are fighting, and the subject is quickly dropped. The following day, when the Investigation Team stakes out Marukyu Tofu, Adachi just so happens to run into them while sarcastically claiming that Dojima definitely did not send him to watch over them. Dojima's suspicions about the protagonist continue into summer. On the day when Rise is rescued from the TV, Dojima shows up drunk at home. He complains about a young detective being brought on to assist with the murder investigation, blames the detective's involvement on Adachi arresting a completely unrelated photographer outside of the tofu shop, and yells at the protagonist for always showing up at crime scenes.

By July 10th, a third victim appears, and the private detective working with the police quickly identifies a suspect. By the 27th, the Investigation Team has overheard that the suspect has gone missing, and the protagonist tries asking his uncle about the suspect, but Dojima yells at him not to get involved. Come August 13th, the suspect, Mitsuo Kubo, has been returned to police custody, and news about the case being over gets aired on TV. Dojima brings a large tray of sushi home to celebrate the occasion. He reassures Nanako that she will be safe now. While helping her remove wasabi from a piece of fish, Adachi steals the only piece of uni on the platter, and Dojima snaps at him.

With the case behind him, Dojima starts to treat his nephew less suspiciously and appreciates that he and his friends are there for Nanako. On August 20th, he thanks the group for bringing Nanako to the summer festival at Tatsuhime Shrine, and takes her around himself. Near the end of summer break on August 31st, he calls Nanako and tells her he is bringing a watermelon home from the neighbor. In turn, Nanako tells the protagonist, and he calls over all his friends to share the watermelon. When Dojima shows up at the house with the melon, Nanako is disappointed that it was pre-cut and they will not get to split it themselves. Chie Satonaka promises they can split it next year at the beach, and Nanako is thrilled when the protagonist's friends promise to hang out with her again next summer. Seeing Nanako in such a good mood, Dojima thanks the protagonist and tells him he has a good group of friends.

After the protagonist and his friends return from their class trip to Tatsumi Port Island, Dojima asks him to make friends with Naoto Shirogane, who has begun attending Yasogami High while working on the murder investigation. Dojima does not divulge the details but mentions that Naoto's attitude has made them unpopular with the higher-ups and might be removed from the investigation. Shortly after, Naoto is removed from the police investigation and goes missing. The night Naoto returns, the protagonist finds Dojima at home with Adachi. Dojima's suspicions about the protagonist return when he notices how the protagonist is completely unphased by the news of Naoto coming home. Drunk, Adachi reveals that the police cannot link Mitsuo to any murder besides Kinshiro Morooka and that Dojima himself believes there's a possibility that the murderer behind the first two victims is still out there. Dojima then yells at Adachi to shut up before going to bed. On October 30th, Dojima is at the Yasogami High culture festival when he is suddenly called away on a business trip to the prefectural police office. He leaves Nanako in the care of the protagonist and his friends. On November 4th, Dojima calls home and tells Nanako he cannot come home until the next day. Nanako reassures him she will be all right since the protagonist is there with her.

This section contains spoilers. (Skip Section)

On November 5th, Dojima's intuition about the murderer still being out there and his suspicious feeling about his nephew comes to a head when he realizes the protagonist received a threatening letter. He has been trying not to confront the protagonist over this issue directly, but he now realizes that was a mistake. Dojima immediately takes the protagonist to the police station, saying it is for his own good, and leaves Nanako home by herself. In a room at the police station, Dojima confiscates the protagonist's cell phone and demands he explain what is going on. The protagonist explains to both Dojima and Adachi about going into the TV World and using Personas. Still, Dojima does not believe any of it and decides to have the protagonist stay overnight at the police station.

Yosuke, Teddie, and Kanji arrive at the police station and force their way into the protagonist's room. Yosuke hands his phone to Dojima, and Naoto tells him the case is not over yet, except now Nanako has been kidnapped. Dojima unsuccessfully tries to get a hold of Nanako's phone. Realizing she is in danger, he orders the traffic department to set up checkpoints, then goes off to look for her alone. Shortly after, Adachi calls him and lets him know that the kidnapper is Namatame, who has since become a deliveryman. Dojima spots Namatame's delivery truck on the road and starts chasing him. The two end up in an accident near the shopping district, and Dojima is taken to Inaba Municipal Hospital. Dojima is angry at himself for being unable to be there for his daughter when she needs him the most. Before he loses consciousness, he begs the protagonist and Naoto to save Nanako. The two swear they will rescue her, and they are able to save her as well as capture Namatame.

By November 21st, Nanako regains consciousness, and is well enough to receive hospital visitors. Dojima, Adachi, the protagonist, and the Investigation Team visit her after school. A nurse yells at Dojima to return to his room and focus on getting better himself. Outside Nanako's room, Dojima hears from the doctor that they are not sure what caused Nanako's illness, and they can only try to numb her pain for now. Furthermore, Namatame has also regained consciousness, but Adachi reports they do not know when they will be able to interrogate him. Adachi and the doctor bring up fog-related health issues, which Dojima finds absurd.

By December 3rd, Nanako is not doing well. Dojima yells at the doctor and demands they do something for her, but he is not doing well either, and a nurse helps him back to his room. Nanako's condition rapidly declines, and Dojima barely makes it back to her hospital room shortly after she dies. In his grief, Dojima wanders to Namatame's hospital room. Two officers stationed outside of Namatame's room stop him from going further, but Dojima argues with them, asking why Namatame is still alive when his daughter is dead. They take Dojima back to his room, leaving Namatame's room unguarded. The Investigation Team goes inside, and shortly after, Nanako makes a miraculous recovery.

On December 5th, the Investigation Team and Dojima both go looking for Adachi at the hospital. Dojima asks where Namatame is, as something about the case bothers him, and he still has questions. Dojima is surprised to hear that he has already been transferred and remarks on how rare it is for Adachi to take work seriously. The protagonist begins questioning Adachi, who eventually reminds Naoto of something said on November 5th. Using this, Naoto deduces that he really is the murderer. Adachi gets frustrated and runs away to Namatame's hospital room, with the Investigation Team and Dojima following. A nurse takes Dojima back to his room, but before he leaves, he asks the group to find Adachi. The Investigation Team locates Adachi in the TV World and brings him back to the real world. In Junes, a police officer meets Naoto there and reveals that Dojima asked for Adachi to be given protection.

Dojima calls the protagonist on December 25th and says he and Nanako are coming home for Christmas. In the evening, the Investigation Team has a small Christmas gathering. Dojima thanks them for everything. He reports that since being arrested, Adachi has confessed to hanging up both Mayumi and Saki, and believes Adachi will be punished accordingly. Dojima is still skeptical of the TV World, though he admits it would help connect all of the unknowns about the case. And, while looking at Nanako, he is aware that sometimes, these unexplainable things do happen. He remembers that he was supposed to be taking care of his nephew for the year, but it ended up being the other way around, and soon the protagonist's time in Inaba will come to an end. The rest of the group begins joking about the protagonist failing 2nd year on purpose and staying there, but Dojima says his older sister would murder him if that happened.

On March 20th, Dojima encourages the protagonist to say his goodbyes to everyone in Inaba. Later, the protagonist seeks out Nanako and Dojima at the Samegawa Flood Plain. He asks them about the first day he arrived in town. Nanako remembers the protagonist talking to the Moel Gas Station attendant. Dojima suddenly remembers that and recalls never seeing that attendant at the station again. He is surprised at hearing his nephew ask about this suddenly but can only ask that he try to come home early. The following day, Dojima and Nanako go to Yasoinaba Station to see the protagonist off. Once there, Dojima thanks him again for everything: A case is being built against Adachi without much issue, Inaba is back to normal, and Nanako is doing well. He considers the protagonist to be part of their family.

End of spoilers.

Other Endings

This section contains spoilers. (Skip Section)

If the protagonist agrees with Yosuke about getting revenge for Nanako and the other murder victims, time fastforwards to March 21st when the protagonist leaves Inaba. The news reports that Namatame was found dead, and his death ruled a suicide. Before taking him to the station, Dojima asks the protagonist about vigilante justice, insinuating that he knows what the Investigation Team did.

Alternatively, if the protagonist stops Yosuke from killing Namatame but is unable to persuade his friends to find the truth, then Nanako recovers, but is still quite weak. Time fastforwards to March 21st when the protagonist leaves Inaba, and the news mentions Namatame going on trial. Dojima mentions that Nanako is in the hospital and is not well enough to be able to see the protagonist off.

End of spoilers.

Hierophant Social Link

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Justice Social Link

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Persona 4 Golden

On April 17th, Dojima allows the protagonist to go out at night after Morooka calls the protagonist at home and asks him to meet him in the shopping district. When the protagonist returns home, Dojima is in disbelief that all Morooka wanted to do was give him his school athletic jersey.

On June 8th, Yosuke comes up with the idea to get scooters and use them to pick up girls in Okina. When the protagonist comes home that night, he finds Dojima and Adachi there, Dojima having invited Adachi over for dinner. The protagonist asks him about getting a scooter license. Dojima shows hesitancy towards the idea, but Adachi brings up stories that Dojima told him about his younger days. Shortly after, Dojima gets a call to head back to the police station and drags Adachi with him. Before taking off, he tells the protagonist to get his license first, and they can talk later. The following day, the protagonist and Yosuke get their licenses and run into Dojima outside Moel Gas Station. Dojima is shocked about how quickly the boys got their licenses. He hands over his old silver scooter to the protagonist and enthusiastically talks about how he ordered parts through a guy at work to tune it up. Dojima promises to ignore the protagonist taking it out of Inaba so long as he drives safely.

At the end of summer vacation, Dojima brings Nanako to the fireworks festival on August 30th.

During winter, Nanako and Dojima are home for New Year's before returning to the hospital on January 3rd. The two come home again, this time for good, on January 20th. To celebrate their release from the hospital, Dojima buys a large sushi platter that the family shares with Teddie. During the montage before the protagonist leaves Inaba, Dojima is shown at the house on March 3rd (Hinamatsuri).

Jester Social Link

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Epilogue

This section contains spoilers. (Skip Section)

During the epilogue, the protagonist returns to the Dojima house and calls his uncle. Dojima claims he forgot and will not be home for a while. This turns out to be an act as the rest of the Investigation Team wanted to surprise the protagonist at Junes. They return to the Dojima house together to eat and catch up. Dojima has come across info about his wife's hit and run accident, and he thinks he might finally be getting somewhere. Namatame was ultimately let go as they could not accuse him based on the diary alone, and he could not reproduce his own methods. Namatame tried apologizing to Dojima, but Dojima had told him to make up for it in his own way. Additionally, Dojima visited Adachi after he was indicted with criminal charges, as depicted in the epilogue of Arena Ultimax. Shortly after, Nanako returns home from her piano lesson and is excited to see everyone. Nanako's mother also used to teach piano, and originally, Dojima wanted nothing to do with pianos, but he is warming up to it. Dojima reflects on how things in Inaba have improved, and people there seem more full of life. He knows there is a lot that people would like to be able to look away from, but he thinks people who do that will be unable to see the people closest to them.

End of spoilers.

Persona 4 Arena

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Persona 4 Arena Ultimax

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Persona 4: Dancing All Night

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Anime Appearances

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Manga Appearances

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Sound Drama Appearances

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Stage Play Appearances

Visualive Persona 4

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Visualive Persona 4: The Evolution

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Appearances in Non-Megami Tensei Media

Weiß Schwarz

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Trivia

• An early printing of the Persona 4 Official Design Works mistakenly lists Dojima's birth year as 1970, which would make him 41 when Persona 4 begins instead of 42. This has since been fixed for the eBook and re-prints. Books released later, such as Persona Club P4, also correctly list his birth year as 1969.
• In his Persona Club P4 profile, Dojima's favorite things are Nanako and beer. He hates working, and due to his clumsiness he also hates physical tasks that require attention to detail. He specializes in judo and reading someone's character.
• During the development of Persona 4 Arena, Arc System Works jokingly suggested adding Ryotaro Dojima as a playable character, with him summoning Nanako as his Persona. The idea was dropped as it likely would not have elicited a positive reaction from Atlus if presented.
• For the 30th anniversary celebration of the Persona series at Sea Paradise, Dojima and Nanako are drawn with a giant moray eel and cleaner shrimp. In nature, the shrimp is known for helping clean the eel.

Nomenclature

Names in Other Languages

Language	Name	Meaning
English	Ryotaro Dojima
Japanese	堂島 遼太郎 Dōjima Ryōtarō	Ryotaro Dojima
Simplified Chinese	堂岛 辽太郎 táng dǎo liáo tàiláng
Traditional Chinese	堂島 遼太郎 táng dǎo liáo tàiláng
Korean	도지마 료타로

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