Inspector Takeshi Kido is one of the most disciplined and morally rigid characters in Man in the High Castle, operating with unwavering loyalty to the Japanese Empire. Portrayed by Joel de la Fuente, Kido exemplifies the ISTJ personality type with an Enneagram 1w9 core. His reliance on duty, structure, and tradition, combined with a quiet but deeply internalized moral code, makes him a compelling study in how order and honor can justify even the most ruthless decisions.
ISTJ 1w9 Characters
Why is Inspector Kido from The Man in the High Castle an ISTJ? Continue reading for my argument using cognitive functions! The headers for each section are clickable, so you can easily access more information about the dominant function and the Enneagram type, or discover more characters who share the type.
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Introverted Sensing
Inspector Kido is a traditionalist of the highest order, who devotes his life to protecting the Japanese Empire. He follows the facts and details of cases to their natural end by arresting or questioning those in the immediate area or bringing in their family members. He knows Ed McCarthy did not fire the bullet that harmed the Crown Prince, but allows him to confess to prevent exposing a broader conspiracy that implicates the Reich and would drive them into a war Kido feels they cannot win.
Rather than experimenting with new methods, Kido approaches his investigations by identifying patterns, collecting physical evidence (bullet casings, fingerprints, asking neighbors what they saw, and questioning people on the street), and following the established procedures. This shows that he trusts what has worked before to succeed. He does not improvise unless the situation demands it; Kido thinks the correct path forward means applying an established system. And he interprets these facts and details literally, following where they lead and making sensible conclusions.
Because Juliana Crain goes missing at the same time her sister winds up dead, missing the tapes she was carrying, Kido assumes (rightfully) that she has joined the Resistance and has the tapes. He brings in her boyfriend, Frank Frink for questioning and places his sister and her children under arrest, gassing them when Frank does not tell him what he wants to know. Kido does not realize in doing so that he will turn Frank from an obedient citizen into a militant agitator, showing that he merely followed the evidence and did not read between the lines.
Unlike Trade Commissioner Tagomi, Kido is doubtful of the tapes and what they contain, and convinced that the images he is seeing are real and happened within their realm. He sees them as a useful way to mislead the Reich into believing Japan has enough firepower to level Germany, thus preventing a war that would not allow them enough time to catch up technologically.
His respect for Japanese tradition and cultural beliefs means that when he believes he has failed, he is ready to perform the ritual suicide expected of someone in his position. Later, when he captures Frank Frink at last in the Neutral Zone, Kido respects him enough to allow him a moment of peace before beheading him honorably, since he saw him as a worthy adversary and not someone to gun down in the street.
Extroverted Thinking
Much like John Smith, Inspector Kido is rational in all his decisions. Everything he does is to serve a purpose or accomplish a tangible result in the real world: to stop the Rebellion, to expose spies in the Resistance, to come into possession of evidence, to track down an assassin, or to learn information that can help them against the Nazis. He evaluates his decisions based on their effectiveness and prioritizes results over the ethical considerations or the emotional impact they will have on others. Much of the time, he is following protocol, external rules and obligations set in place to form a system of government that “works,” and his utter efficiency makes him good at what he does. At the end of season two, he is left the senior-ranking Japanese officer in San Francisco, a position he steps into with confidence. He is comfortable issuing orders and expecting others to obey him.
He is good at detaching from his emotions to decide; even though he doesn’t like or trust John Smith, he will work alongside him to prevent a war that will bring casualties on both sides. He sees there is no way for Japan to win against the Third Reich, and they cannot accuse a German of trying to assassinate their Crown Prince, because that is what Germany wants: to level them with a bomb. So he comes up with a scheme, with Tagomi’s help, to convince the Germans that the Japanese are a bigger threat than is true of their actual military abilities. Kido rationalizes his actions as necessary within the system, showing how his Te can detach from his personal morality when serving a larger structure and allow him to live with his questionable decisions (murder, blackmail, assassination).
As a morally ambiguous character, Kido sometimes oversteps his authority, using the force and power of government in a heavy-handed way (by killing Frank’s family as leverage, even though Frank knew no information to give him; employing a corrupt bounty hunter to track down refugees in the Neutral Zone, and being willing for Ed McCarthy to take the fall for Frank if he could not be found). He does what is logical and necessary to protect information (including framing people for murder).
Introverted Feeling
Even though Kido does not express himself easily, he feels shame over what he did to Frank’s family, and understands this is why Frank Frink has become a problem. He takes on dealing with Frank as his own personal struggle because he created this mess and it’s his job to clean it up; and may the best man win. He values his own honor code, the traditions of his culture, and his need to abide by them with ritual suicide if he acts in a dishonorable manner or fails in his mission. Kido’s internal values sometimes conflict with his external duties, creating a tension between what he feels is honorable and what his role requires (such as deaths that were unnecessary).
Only in season three, with his interactions with a paid companion, do we see a more emotional side to Kido. He initially does not want to talk to her, but when she tells him that unless he does, she will be fired, he allows her to sit with him and talk to him. Over time, he seeks her out more often, until finally she gets him to reveal a few things about his past, his family, and his job. He becomes jealous when he sees her speaking to another man, but he will not admit to having feelings for her. In this, he directs his mercy to those who appeal to him on an internally resonant level (she is only trying to do her job; I don’t wish to harm her prospects).
Extroverted Intuition
Kido keeps an open mind toward the future and is skeptical of anything without an explanation; he believes what he sees on the tapes because they look real, and how else could they exist? The Germans have no technology to fake explosions and mass carnage. So, we will use them rather than explore what they might mean. That’s how his intuition works, to see how the tapes might be useful and lead to something else (Si and Te, rather than pure Ne) that could be good for Japan. He also settles on one explanation and pursues it, rather than considering multiple possibilities simultaneously (Juliana has taken the films and is now filling her sister’s place in the Resistance).
He underestimates Frank. By assuming he can strong-arm him, Kido creates a powerful and unhinged enemy that starts making life a living hell for him and his men. Frank is chaotic and violent, coming after Kido on a personal level to repay him for a vendetta. Kido does not expect this, because it’s irrational, and none of his behaviors are predictable. They are driven by emotion and spontaneity. Over time, Kido’s views of Frank shift into one of mutual respect for an adversary that earned an honorable death, showing his ability to think of Frank in several ways, across his timeline.
The Enneagram 1
Kido is a stereotypical 1, in that he is stoic, unemotional, and cold, while being deeply principled and convinced at all times that he has done the right thing. He confuses his own beliefs about how to behave is the only correct way to be, and that anyone who deviates from it needs to be corrected. Several times, he chastises inferior officers for expressing views contrary to what is honorable.
He kills Frank’s sister and her kids by gassing them, then brushes it aside as an honest mistake; he is slightly sorry for it, but it is done, and there is nothing he can now do to undo it, so that should be the end of the matter. This somewhat illustrates an unhealthy 1’s inner conviction that any action they take is lawful and correct, even if others dislike it. Even when his actions cause harm, Kido frames them as necessary or beyond his means of control, which allows him to feel righteous even if he has done something wrong.
He prefers order to chaos and does not like it when people go missing; Tagomi being gone for days on end, traveling into another dimension, is unacceptable because he left a mess in his wake that they must now clean up together. This rigidity of thinking and deeds leaks over into his personal life, where he is frigid and distant even to the woman he eventually develops an affection toward; he does not want her to touch him at first.
Kido is often furious, but stuffs it down and hides it behind fierce expressions. He channels it into actions that bring about a desired result, rather than let it leak out of him and affect his competency. His sense of self is inseparable from his sense of duty and honor, making any failure a moral failure rather than simply a mistake. Kido refrains from being excessive in any way… he does not over-drink, womanize, or over-react, but remains calm and in control of his emotions.
The 9 Wing
Kido remains calm even in intense situations by using his stillness as self-control. He assumes this approach will get him what he wants, because it projects an aura of authority, and it often works to his advantage; because he is not afraid, and seems totally at ease in the Reich even though he should not be there, they let him in to see John Smith.
Him being so unemotionally available and cold serves him well in interrogation rooms, where he easily intimidates people by refusing to escalate even when they get upset or spiral into angry words. He exerts his authority without raising his voice. He is composed and emotionally distant with Frank Frink during interrogations, and later, when dealing with the body of Joe Blake, he simply says to gather the evidence and that this may cause trouble.
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