| Kumi |
Adachi | Young nurse showing Tengo to father's room; hashish user; influenced Tengo Kawana |
| Shinnosuke |
Akutagawa | NHK subscription collector; stabbed Akira Tagawa |
| Keiichi |
Aomame | Masami Aomame's older brother; works at Society of Witnesses headquarters in Odawara; married with two children |
| Masami |
Aomame | Former member of Society of Witnesses; martial arts instructor; former classmate of Tengo Kawana; Aka: Ito; Aka: Miss Takai |
| Takayuki |
Aomame | Masami Aomame's father |
| Yasuko |
Aomame | Masami Aomame's mother |
| Louis |
Armstrong | American jazz and blues trumpeter and vocalist |
| Neil |
Armstrong | American astronaut; first man on the moon |
| Komatsu's |
Assistant | Komatsu's part-time female assistant; arranges book reviews |
| Johann Sebastian |
Bach | German composer and musician of late Baroque period |
| The |
Baritone-voiced | Baritone-voiced little person |
| The |
Bartender | Bartender from the Akasaka Hotel |
| Béla |
Bartók | Hungarian composer, pianist, and ethnomusicologist |
| The |
Bass-voiced | Bass-voiced little person |
| Sidney |
Bechet | American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer |
| Jeff |
Beck | English guitarist |
| The |
Bellboy | Akasaka Hotel bellboy |
| The |
Big, Young Man | Ayumi Nakano's partner from previous night |
| Barney |
Bigard | American jazz clarinetist |
| The |
Blind Goat | Character from Air Chrysalis; dead goat that accompanies the Girl in the storeroom; passageway for Little People |
| The |
Bookstore Clerk | Young female bookstore clerk interviewed on television |
| Nikolai Konstantinovich |
Boshnyak | Russian naval officer and explorer |
| Beautician |
Boyfriend | Tamaru Kenichi's beautician boyfriend |
| Ayumi's |
Brother | Police officer; sexually assaulted Ayumi |
| Big |
Brother | Antagonistic entity from Orwell's 1984 |
| The |
Businessman | Middle-aged businessman from Osaka; had sex with Aomame |
| Prince |
Charles | Prince of Wales |
| Anton |
Chekhov | Russian playwright; author of Sakhalin Island |
| Sonny and |
Cher | American pop-rock duo; husband-and-wife team |
| The |
Child | Tamaru Kenichi's may-or-may-not-be-alive child |
| The |
Children | Kyoko Yasuda's two daughters |
| Winston |
Churchill | Former Prime Minister of UK (1940-1945, 1951-1955) |
| Ayumi's |
Classmate's Uncle | Ayumi's police academy classmate's uncle; Yamanashi Prefectural Police |
| The |
Clerk | Young woman clerk of Akasaka Hotel |
| FM Radio |
Commentator | Commentator from FM radio Tengo is listening to |
| Sean |
Connery | Scottish actor |
| Grandfather's |
Cousin | Toshiharu Ushikawa's grandfather's cousin; similar physical features; former metal shop worker in Koto Ward during war |
| Former |
Co-workers | Tengo Kawana's former two co-workers in liquor wholesaler warehouse; second-generation Society of Witnesses members |
| Bing |
Crosby | American singer and actor |
| The |
Crow | Large crow that visits Tengo at night; perched on Aomame's balcony; "talks" with Eriko Fukada |
| Shizue's |
Daughter | Shizue Ogata's deceased daughter; abused by husband; committed suicide |
| Mephistopheles |
Demon | From the Faustian legend/story |
| Princess |
Diana | Princess of Wales |
| Charles |
Dickens | Novelist; author of Oliver Twist |
| Isak |
Dinesen | Danish author of *Out of Africa* |
| The |
Doctor | Doctor in charge of Tengo Kawana's father |
| The |
Doctor | Sakigake doctor examining Ushikawa's body |
| The |
Dog | Toshiharu Ushikawa's pet dog during his marriage |
| The |
Dog | Toshiharu Ushikawa's clever dog from childhood |
| The |
Dohta | Shadow/double of the Maza |
| Fyodor |
Dostoevsky | Russian novelist; author of Brothers Karamazov |
| John |
Dowland | English Renaissance composer and singer |
| Faye |
Dunaway | American actress starring in The Thomas Crown Affair |
| Marcel |
Dupré | French organist, composer, pedagogue |
| Azami |
Ebisuno | Takayuki Ebisuno's daughter; helps type and print Air Chrysalis |
| Takayuki |
Ebisuno | Current guardian of Eriko Fukada; close friend of late Tamotsu Fukada; former cultural anthropologist; Aka: Professor |
| The |
Editor | Editor three years older than Tengo; graduated same university |
| The |
Editor | Editor Tengo previously worked with |
| Albert |
Einstein | Scientist / mathematician |
| Duke |
Ellington | American pianist and composer |
| Ushikawa's |
Ex-wife | Toshiharu Ushikawa's ex-wife |
| Ayumi's |
Father | Police officer |
| Boy's |
Father | Mixed-race boy's father; black American soldier |
| Ushikawa's |
Father | Toshiharu's father; ran family-owned health clinic |
| The |
Fee Collector | NHK fee collector |
| James George |
Frazer | Scottish social anthropologist and folklorist; author of The Golden Bough |
| Sigmund |
Freud | Austrian neurologist |
| Mr. Kawana's |
Friend | Former official in Manchuria; works in Ministry of Communications |
| Tengo's |
Friend | Former classmate and friend of Tengo; substitutes him at cram school during stay with father |
| Eriko |
Fukada | Seventeen-year-old writer of Air Chrysalis; New Writer's Prize participant; Aka: Fuka-Eri |
| Mrs. |
Fukada | Eriko Fukada's mother; died of stomach cancer |
| Tamotsu |
Fukada | Eriko Fukada's father; leader of Sakigake; close friend of Professor Takayuki Ebisuno; Aka: Leader |
| The |
Funeral Director | Zenkosha funeral director |
| The |
Girl | Unnamed 10-year-old female protagonist of Air Chrysalis; the Maza |
| The |
Girl's Father | Oldest member of "peese" group; helped found The Gathering |
| Benny |
Goodman | American clarinetist |
| Hansel and |
Gretel | Fictional characters from Grimm Brothers' story |
| Hansel and |
Gretel | Fictional characters from Grimm Brothers' story |
| W. C. |
Handy | American composer |
| Mad |
Hatter | Character from Alice in Wonderland |
| Franz Joseph |
Haydn | Austrian Classical period composer |
| Queen of |
Hearts | Character from Alice in Wonderland |
| The |
High-ranking Member | Sakigake member returning from trip |
| Adolf |
Hitler | German politician |
| The |
Hoarse-voiced | Hoarse-voiced little person |
| Billie |
Holiday | American singer |
| Vladimir |
Horowitz | Russian-American pianist |
| New |
Husband | Ex-wife's new husband; stepfather to Ushikawa's daughters |
| Tamaki's |
Husband | Tamaki's husband; mentally and physically abused Tamaki; killed by Aomame |
| Mick |
Jagger | English lead vocalist of The Rolling Stones |
| Leoš |
Janáček | Composer of Sinfonietta; Czech composer |
| Carl |
Jung | Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst |
| Franz |
Kafka | German-language writer from Prague |
| Michiko |
Kanba | Deceased former student of Yuji Komatsu |
| Mr. |
Kawana | Tengo Kawana's father; former NHK fee collector; had Alzheimer's disease |
| Tengo |
Kawana | Mathematics teacher at a private cram school; co-writer of Air Chrysalis; former classmate of Masami Aomame |
| Tengo |
Kawana | Mathematics teacher; part-time screener; co-writer of Air Chrysalis |
| The |
Keeper of the Beat | Little person who says "Ho-ho" |
| Tamaru |
Kenichi | Shizue Ogata's bodyguard and protector |
| Genghis |
Khan | Founder and first khan of the Mongol Empire |
| Yuji |
Komatsu | Editor of literary magazine; coach-like figure for Tengo |
| Mr. |
Kozu | Former tenant of Ushikawa's current apartment |
| Adam Johann von |
Kruzenshtern | Russian admiral and explorer |
| The |
Lawyer | Local lawyer handling Tengo Kawana's father's will |
| Michel |
Legrand | French composer for films including The Thomas Crown Affair |
| The |
Librarian | Part-time female clerk/librarian |
| The |
Little Girl | Young mother's daughter; saw Aomame crossing the road |
| The |
Little One | Masami Aomame and Tengo Kawana's unborn child |
| The |
Little People | Mystical antagonists in Air Chrysalis; neither good nor evil; Aka: The Voices |
| Gustav |
Mahler | Austro-Bohemian Romantic composer |
| Shrine |
Maidens | Assigned to carry the Leader's heir |
| The |
Mailman | Mailman who always comes to Tengo's apartment at 10am on red motorcycle |
| Another |
Man | Unnamed man implied by Shizue Ogata to have killed |
| Buzzcut |
Man | 5-foot young man with buzzcut; fetches Aomame from lobby; Tamotsu Fukada's bodyguard |
| Ponytailed |
Man | 6-foot young man with ponytail; fetches Aomame from lobby; Tamotsu Fukada's bodyguard |
| The |
Man | Unknown man who strangled Kumi Adachi in dream |
| The |
Man | Unnamed Sakigake member who answered phone when Tamaru called |
| Unknown |
Man | Unknown man that suckled at Tengo's mother |
| The |
Manager | Masami Aomame's sport club manager |
| Chairman |
Mao | Resident nicknamed for hair like Mao Tse-tung |
| Sonia |
Marmeladov | Female character from Dostoyevsky's *Crime and Punishment* |
| Supply |
Masters | Deliver food and supplies every Tuesday at 1pm to Masami Aomame's safe house; aka the silent men |
| Steve |
McQueen | American actor starring in The Thomas Crown Affair |
| The |
Messenger | Young woman sent by Bat to deliver information to Ushikawa |
| The |
Middle-aged Couple | Driver-passenger of cream Toyota Corona Mark II |
| The |
Middle-aged Woman | Middle-aged woman driving silver Mercedes-Benz coupe |
| Yoritomo |
Minamoto | Brother of Yoshitsune; shogun |
| Yoshitsune |
Minamoto | General in Japan during Heian period |
| The |
Mixed-race Kid | Young boy of mixed race; orphanage with Tamaru; savant carver of rats |
| Mr. |
Miyama | Capital investment specialist; killed by Aomame with icepick |
| Ayumi's |
Mother | Favors her son over daughter |
| Boy's |
Mother | Mixed-race boy's mother; Japanese prostitute |
| Tengo's |
Mother | Tengo Kawana's deceased mother |
| Ushikawa's |
Mother | Toshiharu's mother; family clinic bookkeeper |
| Ayumi |
Nakano | Aomame's friend; traffic police officer; murdered |
| Yasuhiro |
Nakasone | Former Prime Minister of Japan (1982-1987) |
| Gennady |
Nevelskoy | Russian navigator and naval officer |
| The |
New Dog | New female German shepherd |
| Fake |
NHK Fee Collector | Aggressively knocks on Tengo, Aomame, and Ushikawa's apartments; impersonates NHK fee collector |
| Jimmy |
Noone | American jazz clarinetist |
| The |
Office Worker | Female office worker at Tengo's old elementary school in Ichikawa |
| Mori |
Ogai | Japanese army surgeon, novelist, poet; author of "Sansho the Bailiff" |
| Shizue |
Ogata | Mistress and widow of Willow House; wealthy; married into aristocracy; Aka: Dowager; Aka: Madame |
| David |
Oistrakh | Soviet Russian violinist |
| The |
Old Man | Man in-charge of ignition of incinerator |
| The |
Old Real-Estate Agent | Old real-estate agent with yellowed, mummy-like skin |
| Ushikawa's |
Older Brother | Doctor in Tokyo; took over family clinic in Urawa |
| Kumi Adachi's |
Older Sister | Kumi Adachi's older sister |
| Nurse |
Omura | Strongly built nurse attending Mr. Kawana's vitals; married to taxi driver; has two sons |
| George |
Orwell | English novelist; author of 1984 |
| Toshie |
Ota | Tengo and Aomame's former 5th-grade teacher; currently at Tsudanuma Elementary |
| Mr. |
Otsuka | Tamaki's father; absent |
| Mrs. |
Otsuka | Tamaki's mother; suffers mental stress; severe headaches |
| Tamaki |
Otsuka | Masami Aomame's deceased friend from high school; fellow member of the softball team |
| The |
Owl | Animal in Tengo's drug-induced hallucination; "Guardian deity of the Wood" |
| The |
Owner-Chef | Owner and chef of French restaurant; member of Aomame's gym |
| Seiji |
Ozawa | Japanese conductor |
| The |
Painter | Old friend of Girl's Father; Japanese-style painter |
| Tsubasa's |
Parents | Surrendered daughter to Sakigake |
| Mrs. |
Pear | Resident of Tengo Kawana's apartment; nicknamed for pear-shaped body |
| The |
Policeman | Young officer passing through Aomame outside the drug store on Route 246 |
| The |
Proprietress | Owner of the inn |
| Marcel |
Proust | French novelist, literary critic, and essayist; author of In Search of Lost Time |
| Jean-Philippe |
Rameau | French Baroque composer |
| Rodion Romanovich |
Raskolnikov | Male protagonist from Dostoyevsky's *Crime and Punishment* |
| Ronald |
Reagan | President of United States (1981-1989) |
| The |
Real Estate Agent | Provides detailed information on Masami Aomame's apartment lease |
| The |
Receptionist | School's receptionist |
| The |
Researcher | Gathers information on candidates for Sakigake; examines them from every angle |
| Chinless |
Resident nicknamed by Ushikawa |
|
| Pee Wee |
Russell | American jazz musician; clarinet and saxophones |
| Anwar |
Sadat | President of Egypt (1970-1981) |
| Gregor |
Samsa | Fictional character from Kafka's *The Metamorphosis* |
| Robert |
Schumann | German composer; composed *Carnaval* |
| The |
Screechy-voiced | Screechy-voiced little person |
| The |
Secretary | Dowager's male secretary; answers calls |
| The |
Secretary | School director's secretary |
| Gun |
Seller | Man who sold Aomame the gun with seven bullets for 500,000 yen |
| Peter |
Shrenk | Russian naturalist, ethnographer, and explorer |
| Jean |
Sibelius | Finnish composer of late Romantic and early modern periods |
| Ushikawa's |
Sister | Interpreter in Japan |
| The |
Small-voiced | Small-voiced little person |
| Shizue's |
Son-in-law | Shizue's former son-in-law; mentally and physically abused his wife |
| The |
Spy | Sakigake spy planted in organization |
| Joseph |
Stalin | Revolutionary and former Prime Minister of the Soviet Union |
| Kamila |
Stösslová | Married woman; muse of Leoš Janáček |
| Johan August |
Strindberg | Swedish writer |
| The |
Striped Cat | Striped cat with flea collar peeing in dried flower bed of apartment |
| Buzzcut's |
Superior | Receives report from Buzzcut regarding Ushikawa's death |
| George |
Szell | Hungarian-born American conductor and composer |
| Akira |
Tagawa | College student; stabbed by Shinnosuke Akutagawa |
| Antoku |
Taira | Child emperor; drowned by Tokiko Taira |
| Kiyomori |
Taira | Military leader and kugyō of late Heian Japan |
| Tokiko |
Taira | Wife/concubine of Kiyomori; Aka: Nun of Second Rank |
| Long Ears |
Tall thin old man; nicknamed by Ushikawa |
|
| Nurse |
Tamaki | Young new nurse at reception desk |
| Nurse |
Tamura | Middle-aged front desk nurse with glasses from sanatorium; widow living with mother |
| Koji |
Tasaki | Contact person on Aomame's old address in Adachi Ward; Aomame's uncle |
| The |
Taxi Driver | Owner of the taxicab |
| The |
Taxi Driver | Taxi driver who took Aomame to Shinjuku Station West exit |
| The |
Taxi Driver | Taxi driver; took Aomame via detour to Metropolitan Expressway No. 3 near Ikejiri exit |
| The |
Taxi Driver | Taxi driver stuck in traffic; no passenger |
| The |
Teacher | Public school teacher for children of Sakigake |
| Georg Philipp |
Telemann | German Baroque composer |
| Tamaki's |
Tennis Club Senior | Tamaki's (one-year) tennis club senior; rapist |
| The |
Tenor-voiced | Tenor-voiced little person |
| The |
Thin-haired Man | Aomame's partner from previous night |
| Hideki |
Tojo | Japanese General; Prime Minister of Japan (1941-1944) |
| Leo |
Tolstoy | Russian writer |
| Mel |
Tormé | American musician |
| The |
Truck Driver | Young driver of refrigerated truck; absorbed in manga |
| Ushikawa's |
Two Daughters | Toshiharu Ushikawa's two daughters |
| Aomame's |
Uncle | Aomame's maternal uncle; temporary guardian |
| Ayumi's |
Uncle | Police officer; sexually assaulted Ayumi |
| Toshiharu |
Ushikawa | Short, unattractive, creepy director of New Japan Foundation for Advancement of Scholarship and Arts; hired investigator by Sakigake; Aka: Bobblehead |
| Rembrandt |
van Rijn | Dutch painter |
| The |
Vegetarian Cat | Meets the Rat |
| The |
Vice Principal | Vice Principal of Ichikawa Municipal Elementary School |
| Queen |
Victoria | Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland |
| Lech |
Walesa | President of Poland (1990-1995) |
| Keiichi's |
Wife | Devout member of Society of Witnesses; married to Keiichi; two children |
| Ludwig Josef Johann |
Wittgenstein | Austro-British philosopher |
| The |
Woman | Resident inside Safe House; informed Shizue of Tsubasa's whereabouts |
| The |
Woman | Woman who answered Tengo's call in Komatsu's office |
| The |
Woman | Woman Tamaru Kenichi impregnated |
| The |
Woman | Woman answering phone at Yoyogi Cram School for Tengo |
| Kyoko |
Yasuda | Tengo Kawana's older and married girlfriend |
| Mr. |
Yasuda | Kyoko Yasuda's husband |
| Mr. |
Yasuda | Kyoko Yasuda's husband |
| Trummy |
Young | American jazz trombonist |
| Real Estate Agent |
Young agent from agency in front of Koenji station |
|
| The |
Young Lawyer | Young lawyer from Center for Victims of Domestic Violence |
| The |
Young Man | Masked young man delivering meals to Komatsu during captivity |
| The |
Young Mother | Driver of red Suzuki Alto with a Nerima Ward license; dented bumper |
| Tamaki's |
Younger Brother | Neglected and ignored by parents |
| Ushikawa's |
Younger Brother | Research doctor at university |
| Mao |
Zedong | Chinese communist revolutionary |
| Aristotle |
| Ancient Greek philosopher and polymath |
| Bat |
| Toshiharu Ushikawa's anonymous information broker; hoarse voice |
| Bun |
| Female German shepherd at the Willow House |
| Kurumi |
| Painter's daughter |
| Noah |
| Character from Noah's Ark |
| Plato |
| Ancient Greek philosopher |
| Real Estate Agent |
| Real estate agent from Koenji |
| Saeko |
| Woman of Safe House; currently looks after Tsubasa |
| Toru |
| Boy from middle school befriended by the Girl |
| Tsubasa |
| Ten-year-old girl recently taken to Safe House; sexually abused by Sakigake Leader |
| Walrus |
| Character from Alice in Wonderland |
