Kei Haramura

Kei Haramura (原村 恵) is the husband of Kaho Haramura and the father of Nodoka Haramura who works as an attorney and reluctantly tolerates his daughter's interest in mahjong because he believes it is only a game based on luck.

Appearance
Kei is a stern looking man with short silver hair and brown eyes. In all of his appearances, he wears a suit and tie.

Personality
Kei desires for Nodoka Haramura to quit playing mahjong and move on to a preparatory school in Tokyo, thinking that the game will distract from her studies. He also scolds Nodoka for practicing mahjong late into the night, going to training camps and competing in mahjong tournaments, calling them "ridiculous", and believing that even if she makes friends, they are of no use to her in a "hick town" like the one where she lives.

Introduction Arc
As Nodoka heads for school, Kei scolds her for staying up too late playing games.

Training Camp Arc
Before the camp we see Nodoka and Kei having a conversation about mahjong. Kei tries to convince Nodoka to give up mahjong and Nagano and move on to a preparatory school in Tokyo. He then says going to training camps and competing in mahjong tournaments is "ridiculous". When Nodoka mentions that she has friends there, Kei tells her that even if she makes friends, they are of no use to her in a "hick town" like the one where she lives. However when Nodoka promises to win the national tournament if it means she can stay, he says that he'll think about it if she can manage it.

National Championship Arc
Kei calls and says that he's near and was going to watch her play tomorrow. He then offers to call her mom and wants to have dinner with the family. Nodoka declines his offer, saying that she'll eat with her teammates, until Hisa Takei, who accidentally overheard her, tells her to go.

His wife arrives late and congratulates Nodoka on getting to the finals. He interrupts to remind her of the promise she made him, surprising his wife, who did not know about the promise and does not believe Nodoka should have to stake her chances of staying with her friends on the tournament. Kei then says that he has a better offer and can't understand why separating from friends or playing a game would be a good reason not to transfer to a good school. He then says that she'll end up having more friends if she moved again and if they never contacted her after the move then they were not very good friends to begin with, which upsets her. His wife notes that he has more freedom than she does, and that she would have moved to the Naha office in Okinawa if she could. He notices that she wouldn't have chosen to live in Nagano, but dismisses her desire for mild winters and low risk of hay fever as not very good reasons for her choice.

Etymology

 * The name Kei means "favor, benefit" (恵).
 * Kei's surname Haramura means "field, plain" (原) (hara) and "town, village" (村) (mura).

Trivia

 * Kaho Haramura works as a public prosecutor and because of her work, the family often moves to a new prefecture every few years. Before settling in Nagano Prefecture, they previously lived in Nara Prefecture.