Tanaka

The house steward of the Phantomhive family, formerly the head butler. He is a veteran who has served the Phantomhive family since the previous generation, an elderly man with neatly arranged white hair and a white beard. He is often depicted in a simplified manner, and even when busy, he is often cheerfully drinking tea alone after being told by Sebastian that there's no need for him to do anything. However, he originally served the previous head, Vincent, as the head butler, and possesses a tall, slender figure with a calm demeanor appropriate for his age. During the Phantomhive Manor Murders arc, he temporarily returned to his position as head butler, where he demonstrated his competence for the job. As a servant of the Phantomhive family, he is also skilled in rough tasks, and is a master of jujutsu and the Japanese sword, though he seems to have declined due to aging. In the "Green Witch arc," he confronts Grelle and demonstrates the feat of slicing a bullet at close range.

He is the only current servant of the Phantomhive family who served the previous generation, and survived a severe injury from an attack three years ago. Upon seeing Ciel return with Sebastian, he realized that it was not Ciel but his younger brother, yet decided to keep it a secret and entrusted Sebastian with the proof of being the head butler. When the real Ciel appeared, he, knowing the circumstances, explained everything and chose to side with the real Ciel, not the brother.

He is modeled after Shunji Fujimura, and in the anime version, Fujimura was cast for the role. When Fujimura's death was reported on January 25, 2017, the author issued a tribute on the official Twitter.