Who is Yoshida from The Master Puppeteer and what is their importance?

Yoshida is the owner of the Hanaza, the puppet theater that Jiro apprentices himself to. Yoshida is the master puppeteer and is very skilled at controlling the puppets to make their movements seem lifelike. Yoshida is also the father of Kinshi. He is a harsh father and a firm boss. He is quick to punish any mistakes or insolence, and his punishments and insults often seem very cruel. He is very quick to anger, and most of the people at the Hanaza are afraid of him. Mochida even tells Kinshi that there are four things to fear in the world: earthquakes, thunder, fire, and his father. Yoshida is particularly firm with Kinshi, and his son has come to resent him. He explains later that this is because he fears Kinshi is too soft-hearted and will get himself into trouble. He feels that he has to work harder to instill discipline in his son. Although he can be unkind, Yoshida does show a softer side to his personality at points. He cries when his son's hand is cut off, and shows that he really does care about him. He offers to let Jiro's mother stay at the theater. Much of his earlier temper may have been false, an act to fool people into thinking he has no connection with Saburo.