# Osayo — Short Fiction character guide

> Osayo in Short Fiction by Tanizaki Jun’ichirō.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Osayo-chan, Osayo Mamma

**First appearance:** 0001-short-fiction

## Snapshot

A girl who sits alone on a rock at midnight waiting for a man with the moon, while her mother scolds and the pines hide the light.

## Who they are

Osayo is a young woman who leaves her house unwatched to wait by the stream for Kakutaro, ignoring her mother's warnings and the late hour. She is patient, stubborn, and half-ashamed, unable to explain why she sits there or what she expects, only that she is waiting for the coming of the moon. Her vigil in the early scenes of The White Fox establishes the play's atmosphere of longing and unease, making the audience wonder whether she is waiting for a lover or a spirit.

## In the story

### [Short Fiction](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_52_se/chapters/short-fiction)

Waits by the river at midnight and is associated with fox enchantment.

### [The White Fox](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_52_se/chapters/the-white-fox)

Central character, possibly enchanted by a fox spirit.

### [Persons in the Play](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_52_se/chapters/persons-in-the-play)

Kakutaro's lover.

### [Scene](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_52_se/chapters/scene)

Fears the woman in the bath is a fox, tries to pull Kakutaro away, and is skeptical of his explanations.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_52_se/characters/osayo
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_52_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_52_se/characters