1 | |
|
October 1948 |
| Akira |
Sugimura |
One of the city's most respected and influential men. |
| Setsuko |
|
Ono's eldest daughter. |
| Masuji |
Ono |
Retired artist and teacher. |
| Kenji |
|
Ono's son who was killed during the war. |
| Miss |
Sugimura |
Akira's daughter. |
| Noriko |
|
Ono's younger daughter. |
| Ichiro |
|
Setsuko's son. |
| Mr |
Mori |
Ono's visitor. |
| Suichi |
|
Setsuko's husband. |
| Mrs |
Kawakami |
Bar owner. |
| Shintaro |
|
Ono's former student. |
| |
|
Obasan - meaning 'aunt'. |
| Yoshio |
|
Shintaro's brother. |
| |
|
Migi-Hidari - a bar in the old district before the war |
| Kuroda |
|
A brilliant young man in school. Ono's former protégé. |
| Murasaki |
|
One of the brilliant young men in school. |
| Tanaka |
|
One of the brilliant young men in school. |
| |
|
Oji - used by a child to address unrelated adult male. |
| Lord |
Yoshitsune |
Was a military commander of the Minamoto clan of Japan. |
| Urayama |
|
An artist. |
| Miyamoto |
Musashi |
Japanese philosopher. |
| Mrs |
Watanabe |
Deer park owner. |
| Sachiko |
|
Ono's mother. |
| Jiro |
Miyake |
Noriko's ex fiancé. |
| |
|
Harakiri - Japanese ritual suicide by disembowelment. |
| Hirayama boy |
|
Boy with Hirayama disease a.k.a. monomelic amyotrophy. |
| Yamagata |
|
An old veteran soldier. |
| Masayuki |
Harada |
Painter. One of Ono's colleagues. |
| Misumi |
|
Playwright. One of Ono's colleagues. |
| Shigeo |
Otsuji |
Journalist. One of Ono's colleagues. |
| Eiji |
Nastuki |
Journalist. One of Ono's colleagues. |
| Master |
Takeda |
Takeda firm owner. |
| Yasunari |
Nakahara |
A new artist in Takeda firm. Aka: The Tortoise. |
| Seiji |
Moriyama |
Painter and printmaker. |
| Dr |
Saito |
Taro's father. |
| Mr |
Kyo |
Ono and Saito's mutual friend. |
| Chishu |
Matsuda |
Worked for the Okada-Shingen Society. |
| Michiko |
|
Ono's late wife. |
| Miss |
Suzuki |
Matsuda's housekeeper and nurse. |
| Nakane |
|
Principal at Minami Imperial College. |
2 | |
|
April 1949 |
| Mr |
Ogawa |
Host of the engagement party. |
| Taro |
Saito |
Noriko's fiancé. |
| Enchi |
|
Kuroda's protégé. |
| Matsumoto |
|
An artist. |
| Mitsuo |
|
Dr Saito's younger son. |
3 | |
|
November 1949 |
| Emperor |
Taisho |
Former emperor of Japan. |
| Seiji |
Moriyama |
Ono's former teacher. Aka: Morisan. |
| Sasaki |
|
Morisan's leading pupil. |
| Maki |
|
A story-teller. |
| Gisaburo |
|
Morisan's old friend. |
| Yukio |
Naguchi |
A composer who committed suicide. |
| Mr |
Hayasaka |
Taro's colleague. |
4 | |
|
June 1950 |
| Botchan |
|
Matsuda's neighbor. |