Yoshiyuki Arai

Name
Japanese	荒井 善行
Rōmaji	Arai Yoshiyuki
English	Yoshiyuki Arai (VIZ)
Alias	Zen (善)
Personal Information
Gender	Male
Relatives	Unnamed Wife
Professional Status
Occupation	Teacher (former)
Workplace	Kitahoro High School (former)
First Appearance
Manga	Chapter 00
Anime	Episode 01
Voiced by
Japanese	Takuma Suzuki
English	Brian Beacock
French	Julien Dutel (Black Box)
Latin-American Spanish	Hiram Cárdenas
Portrayed by

Yoshiyuki Arai (荒井 善行 Arai Yoshiyuki), also known as Zen, was the original homeroom teacher of Sawako's class.

He and Pin have the same surname, but are not related. To distinguish between the two teachers, Yoshiyuki is called "Zen" which is an alternate reading of the first kanji of his name. Zen and Pin both started as teachers at the same time and are good friends as a result.

He seems to be afraid of Sawako and the rumors surrounding her as "Sadako". Because he is easily ill, students often believe that Sawako has cursed him. In contrast, Sawako likes Zen since he resembles her own father.

At the end of term, Zen returns briefly to announce his retirement as a teacher, in order to work in his wife's sake brewery. His class hold a farewell for him.

Trivia

• The name Yoshiyuki means "good/goodness, right, virtue" (善) (yoshi) and "row, line" (行) (yuki).
• Yoshiyuki's surname Arai means "laid waste, rough, rude, wild" (荒) (ara) and "well, mine shaft, pit" (井) (i).