Character guide

Tu Tzuchun

major

Tu Tzuchun was born rich, squandered everything, and now stands hungry and bedless at the western gate of Tang-dynasty Loyang, watching silk hats and Turkish earrings stream past. When a squinting old man tells him to dig where his shadow falls at midnight, he obeys and becomes the richest man in the capital. But the same benefactor soon demands a harder trial: absolute silence, even at the cost of his life.

Zenchi Naigu

major

Also known as The Naigu, the old Naigu

Everyone in Ike-no-O knows Zenchi Naigu's nose, a sausage dangling from his upper lip, and he has grieved over it since his acolyte days. At meals a disciple must hold it up with a stick so he can eat; in conversation he dreads the very word. He wears outward indifference like a robe, but his self-respect is wounded daily, and he schemes in mirrors for some way to make the nose look shorter.

Mōri Sensei

major

Also known as Sensei

Mōri Sensei enters class with a bow, opens the Choice Reader, and calls a student to translate Robinson Crusoe. He corrects every mispronunciation with strange confidence, yet when his own turn comes he gropes for the word 'monkey' and presses his bald head into his hands. His small body shrinks like a deflated balloon while the boys titter, and the narrator, years later, still wants to cover his ears at the memory.

Khashoji

major

Also known as Poor Khashoji

Khashoji starts from a Chinese camp to reconnoiter near a river hamlet, and suddenly meets Japanese horsemen in a field of yellowing giant millet. Sabres flash, his own blade grows greasy with sweat, and a red-capped enemy with bulging eyes parries his blow. He feels something unspeakably cold enter his neck, yet his horse rushes on through the peaceful autumn sunshine while the din of battle fades behind him.

Maeda Narihiro

supporting

Also known as Narihiro, VI Thereafter Narihiro

Narihiro carries a pure gold pipe as a walking emblem of his fortune, and when retainers wheedle it from him he returns home pleased rather than bereft, announcing the gift to his household. His generosity throws his three senior samurai into a council over the cost of replacing pipes for every festival visit. Their quarrel over silver versus brass turns his private vanity into a clan-wide problem of taxes and honor.

Akiko

supporting

Also known as The Akiko

Akiko rides to the Rokumeikan with her father, uneasy until the stares begin: Chinese officials part in their fatness, a young man in swallowtails turns his head, even the gray-whiskered count betrays admiration. In the chrysanthemum-filled ballroom she joins girls in matching gowns, then finds herself dancing the Blue Danube Waltz with a tanned French officer speaking Japanese in a strange accent. Shame and pride alternate in her as the night opens.

Akutagawa Ryūnosuke

supporting

Also known as Introduction Akutagawa Ryūnosuke, bright young Ryūnosuke, Akutagawa

Akutagawa appears as a framing presence in the introductions and narrative asides that open his tales, a modern literary mind curating the worlds he presents. He moves between the Rokumeikan's gaslit staircases and the quieter rooms of memory, alert to the small vanities and beauties of Meiji Japan. His voice sets the tone for the collection, inviting the reader into stories where elegance and unease sit side by side.

Kōchiyama Sōshun

supporting

Also known as Sōshun, Kōchiyama, VII Kōchiyama Sōshun

Kōchiyama Sōshun is an attendant at the Ōsukiya, later remembered as one of the Six Poetical Geniuses of the Tempō period, who moves among his fellow servants with easy insolence. Where others only gossip about Narihiro's gold pipe, Sōshun calmly fills his own from another man's pouch and then announces he will simply ask for the pipe himself. His mixture of amiability and overbearing confidence makes him a quietly dangerous figure, and his audacity drives the story's central confrontation.

Kandata

major

Also known as this Kandata

Kandata is a notorious bandit whose one remembered act of mercy earns him a slender chance at salvation: a spider's thread dangling into the Pond of Blood. As he climbs with all his strength, he discovers countless other sinners swarming up behind him, and his fear of falling turns to selfish rage. His cry to drive them off—and the thread's answer—form the moral heart of the tale, watched from Paradise by a sad-eyed Buddha.

Tamba Sensei

supporting

Tamba Sensei teaches English at the school and is famous both for athletics and for reciting Chinese poems, which makes him popular even with the jujitsu and single-sticking champions who hate English. When his students grumble about the strange old teacher Mōri Sensei, Tamba laughs it off, teasing them and changing the subject rather than answering directly. His easy, worldly manner and his habit of turning every complaint into a joke make him the story's warm counterweight to the awkward new master.

Mori Gonnoshin

supporting

Also known as Mori, this Gonnoshin, the Mori

Mōri Sensei is the newly arrived teacher whose odd habits—foreign clothes with wooden clogs, a lunch dangling from his belt, woolen gloves full of holes—make him the talk of the schoolyard. The students, anxious about entrance exams, want the best instruction and find his peculiarities hard to take seriously. Yet his presence exposes the gap between appearance and worth, and his quiet dignity unsettles the easy mockery of Tamba Sensei and the boys.

Ryōtetsu

minor

A Buddhist priest or scholar who engages in philosophical discussions.

St. Francis Xavier

minor

Also known as St. Francis, Francis Xavier

The historical missionary whose arrival in Japan is depicted in a narrative.

the naval officer

minor

A naval officer who appears in a story involving a ball and social interactions.

Master Sun

minor

Also known as Sun

A Chinese sage or strategist referenced in a philosophical context.

Kikuchi Kan

minor

Also known as Kikuchi

A contemporary writer or acquaintance of the author mentioned in the text.

the Devil

supporting

Also known as The Devil

The Devil arrives in Japan with seeds in the hollow of his ear, intending to tempt the Japanese but finding himself strangely soothed by temple bells and warm spring sun. To stave off moral sleepiness, he borrows a field and sows the seeds, which grow into tall plants with funnel-shaped purple flowers. When a passing cattle dealer asks their name, the Devil's grin and refusal to answer hint at the temptation he has quietly cultivated all along.

a certain Mr. Yamakawa

minor

Also known as Mr. Yamakawa

A man whose story or actions are recounted in a narrative.

Tiehkuantzu

minor

A Taoist immortal or legendary figure who appears in a story.

Major Kimura

minor

A military officer whose actions are part of a historical narrative.

Inoue Tenzo

minor

Also known as Inoue

A character involved in a story about a pipe or personal conflict.

the French naval officer

minor

Also known as The French naval officer

A French naval officer who appears in a story involving a ball.

Sumiyoshiya Shichibei

minor

A merchant or townsman who appears in a story.

the Buddha

minor

Also known as The Buddha

The Buddha appears in a story about salvation and judgment.

The Chinese

minor

Also known as the Chinese

A group of Chinese people appearing as characters in a story.

a grotesque Buddhist priest

minor

A priest with a strange appearance who appears in a narrative.

Strindberg

minor

The Swedish playwright referenced or appearing as a character in a story.

the Japanese

minor

Also known as The Japanese, Japanese

A group of Japanese people appearing as characters in a story.

Ueki Kurouemon

minor

Also known as Ueki

A character in a historical narrative.

Prof. Hasegawa

minor

Also known as The Handkerchief Prof. Hasegawa Kinzō, Hasegawa

A professor who appears in a story about a handkerchief.

Rashōmon

minor

The gate itself is a setting and character in the story.

Iwata Kuranosuke

minor

Also known as Iwata

A character in a historical narrative.

The Badger

minor

A badger that appears as a character in a story.

the mountain priest

minor

A priest living in the mountains who interacts with other characters.

Hari - no - Yama

minor

Also known as Yama

A mountain or deity referenced in a mythological context.

a captain of foot

minor

A military captain who appears in a historical narrative.

Pierre Loti

minor

Also known as Loti

The French writer referenced in a story about a ball.

Nishiyama- kun

minor

A young man who appears in a story.

Madame Heiberg

minor

A woman who appears in a story about a handkerchief.

the Virgin Mary

minor

Also known as Mary

The Virgin Mary appears in a religious context.

Baiko

minor

A character, possibly an actor or performer, in a story.