Origin
Creation
Nozomu Itoshiki (?? ?, Itoshiki Nozomu) is a supporting character in the Sayonara Zetsubou-Sensei series that was created by K?ji Kumeta, one of Japan’s most savage satirist. The series first began serialization in Kodansha’s Weekly Sh?nen Magazine on April 27, 2005.
His first appearance was in Sayonara Zetsubou-Sensei Volume 1 CH. 1 “Sayonara Zetsubou-Sensei: The Power of Negative Thinking”.
As with most of the characters in the series, Nozomu’s name has a double meaning. His family name ?? (Itoshiki) is made up of two innocuous characters ? (ito “thread”) and ? (shiki” color”). When these two are grouped closer together, they appear to be particles of the kanji ? (zetsu), and when combined with his given name ? (nozomu). It appears to be the word ?? (zetsub?), which means “despair”. This is why he hates it when people write his name too close together.