The Hong clan
The Hong clan is the second most powerful clan in the fictional country of Saiunkoku.[n 1] The clan's specialties are growing tangerines and creating special "seven-colored" ink. Their clan seal bears the emblems of a paulownia, bamboo, phoenix, and kirin. The clan's name translates as "red" or "crimson".
Their highest-ranked clan of retainers is the Ki (姫) family, who lives in a hidden mountain village and is led a mysterious, legendary military strategist with the customary title of Hōrin (referring to the phoenix and kirin of the Hong clan seal). Neither Reishin Hong nor his father, the previous clan leader, has ever formally met the Hōrin, who appears only during times of great crisis and can be recognized by bearing a distinctive seal of office.
Shurei Hong
Shurei Hong (紅 秀麗 Kō Shūrei?) is the daughter and only child of Shoka Hong, making her the eldest daughter of the Hong clan. She is sixteen years old when the story begins. As a descendant of the direct line, she has the title hime, which means 'princess' or 'lady'.
Despite the high social status of her clan, Shurei grew up in a separate household in relatively impoverished circumstances. Her father's job brought little income, and most of his personal wealth was either given to the needy during the devastating fight for the imperial succession eight years ago or stolen by his servants when his wife died. Without domestic servants, Shurei became adept at household chores such as needlework, cooking and cleaning, traits unusual in a lady of her theoretical rank. She has also held a number of odd jobs to earn money, such as professional erhu player, accountant at Kōchō's brothel in the Red Light District, and teacher at the local temple. She is the only person who can call Ryuki by his first name.
Later, it is revealed that Shurei may be infertile, which was why she continually rejected Ryuki's proposals. Although it is not clearly stated, it can be predicted that Shurei will end up marrying Ryuki, but if she really is barren, he will need to take at least one concubine. Whether or not Shurei really is barren is never stated in the novels.
In the anime adaptation, she is voiced by Houko Kuwashima.
Seiran Si
Seiran Si (茈 静蘭 Shi Seiran?) is the sole remaining retainer in the personal household of Shoka Hong, who took him in thirteen years ago. Since then, Seiran has repaid that kindness by protecting Shoka's family, performing repairs, and taking small outside jobs to earn money. He is a very skilled fighter and swordsman, and despite his amiable disposition, can be ruthless to those who endanger those he loves. He has known Shurei since her childhood and is very protective of her, but prefers to watch and help from the shadows.
Seiran is later revealed to be Seien, Ryuki's second-eldest brother, who had been known as the "flower" of the royal princes due to his physical and intellectual superiority, and was the only family member who showed kindness to Ryuki as a boy. This encouraged a conspiracy by Seien's maternal relatives to make him the next Emperor, but their plot failed. Seien was exiled with his unloving mother, Lady Suzuran, who was killed by the assassins sent after them.[1]
Left alone and incognito in distant Sa province, he joined Satsujinzoku, a murderous band of thieves who nicknamed him "The Little Whirlwind". Ensei Ro joined the group as well, and the two destroyed the band from within.[2]
Afterward, Shoka Hong found the young prince in the wilderness and took him in, giving him the new personal name 'Seiran', meaning 'Silent Orchid',[1] as well as the surname 'Si' ('Shi' in the original Japanese media, pronounced the same as the Emperor's family name but with different kanji).[3] Seiran has since embraced this new persona and does not discuss his past, although some characters become quietly aware of his former identity. Though he claims to be 21 years old, he is 26 years old at the start of the series.[n 2]
He is voiced by Hikaru Midorikawa in the anime version of the series.
Shoka Hong
Shoka Hong (紅 邵可 Kō Shōka?) is Shurei's father and the oldest son of the Hong clan. After declining the clan leadership, he was expelled from the main estates. He then moved to the capital where his younger brother, Reishin, got him a respectable but low-paying job as the head of the Royal Archives. The young prince Ryuki often visited the palace library, where Shoka was one of the few people who was kind to him.
On the surface, Shoka simply seems to be a gentle librarian who brews awful tea. But he is also a deadly fighter known as The Black Wolf, although the latter identity is known by almost no one except for Advisor Sho, Shusui, and Reishin. During the reign of the previous Emperor, Ryuki's father Senka, Shoka led the Wolves of the Wind, a group of expert assassins, but has since disbanded them. Shoka first met his wife when sent to kill her, but fell in love with her instead; he was also assigned to secretly protect Seien in exile.
In the fourteenth novel, Shoka finally accepts the clan leadership, replacing Reishin.
In the anime adaptation, he is voiced by Shuuichi Ikeda.
Shokun
Shokun was the mother of Shurei, adopted mother of Seiran, and wife of Shoka. She was known as a legendary beauty with a kind heart to match. She taught Shurei how to make manjuu buns (though Shurei becomes a much better cook than her), how to pick tangerines from the trees, and how to behave like a lady.
She also gave the name 'Seiran' to the boy she and Shoka found lying in the snow when the family traveled to Kiyō. The name meant 'Silent Orchid', and was given because the boy that they found never said a word and was presumed to be a mute. She grew very close to both Shurei and Seiran, and encouraged Seiran to smile all the time to make Shurei happy.
About eight years ago, Shurei was suffering from a long illness until Shokun died one stormy summer day, after which Shurei mysteriously recovered. Seiran promised at Shokun's deathbed that he would protect Shurei until she could walk her own path. Shokun was perhaps the only person Seiran regarded as a mother figure, and her death devastated him. Her tomb now lies on a hill facing the city; Seiran still visits it on occasion, such just before departing to Sa province to guard Shurei and Eigetsu.
Shokun is later revealed as the Rose Princess (Bara-hime) of the Hyo family. She had the ability to cure any illness and many men sought her hand in marriage. Her beauty even mesmerized the leader of the Hyo family, Riō, who locked her from the world. She was considered a threat by the previous Emperor and targeted for assassination by a woman called The Black Wolf, who failed and died. To continue the job, the Emperor appointed a new Black Wolf, nicknamed Kaito: Shoka Hong, whose first meeting with Bara-hime made him fall madly in love, abandon his mission, and carry her away. After some time and difficulty, she returned his feelings. Later, she lost her powers of healing but retained the power of one wish, which she used to make Shurei healthier in the cost of her own life.
The fourteenth novel identifies Bara-hime as one of the Immortal Eight Sages who served the first Emperor, specifically the Sage of Red, and states that upon Shokun's apparent "death", she sealed her spirit inside Shurei's body.
In the anime adaptation, she is voiced by Sonozaki Mie.
Koyu Ri
Koyu Ri (李 絳攸 Ri Kōyū?) holds the rank of Vice-Secretary of the Civil Affairs department, serving beneath his foster-father Reishin Hong.
According to the anime, Reishin adopted him thirteen years ago, when Koyu was an orphan living in the streets who survived by selling tickets to a simple street lottery of his own creation (the prizes included branches of plum blossoms and bags of salt). The novels give him a darker past: abandoned as a baby, he was re-orphaned a few years later when his first adopted parents were murdered; as a miserable child slave, he was sold from place to place until finally tied to a sacred tree as a sacrifice to the gods, from which Reishin rescued him and took him to Kiyo with Yuri-hime. After Reishin and Yuri-hime married, Koyu became their adopted child. In the novel, Koyu was originally named 'Ko' (光, "light") by the old couple who adopted him as a baby; Reishin insisted on keeping the original 'Ko' sound in the boy's new name, Koyu Ri, but changed its meaning by writing it a different way.
At age 16, Koyu became the youngest person in history to pass the official examinations, winning the top ranked "Jougen" spot. His motive for taking the Exams was to repay his upbringing by climbing to the top so he could stand at Reishin's side. He also wanted to be personally acknowledged after years of frustration from Reishin's cool and callous exterior.
Koyu eventually realizes that Reishin thinks of him as his own child, despite not having given him the direct-line clan family name. The surname Ri (李, "plum tree") represents Reishin's favorite flower. Furthermore, in the original Japanese, although the clan name (紅, Kō) is written differently from the first part of Koyu's personal name (絳, Kō), both kanji sound the same and have the same general meaning; in fact, while the clan name simply means "red", Koyu's name refers to an even deeper shade of crimson.
As the series begins, Koyu has been assigned directly to the Emperor, a position that infuriates him because the wandering Emperor never carries out his duties and can rarely even be found. After agreeing to be tutored by Koyu and assuming a more active role in government, Ryuki offers Koyu an iris flower as sign of trust. Koyu accepts the flower as a token of loyalty and his belief in Ryuki as a worthy Emperor.
Despite his reputation as a genius, Koyu is notorious for having no sense of direction. He dislikes speaking in public and is easily annoyed, especially by Shuei Ran despite the latter's claim to be his best friend. After passing the official exams, Koyu was deluged by marriage proposals from politically ambitious families but refused them all, stating that women are nothing but trouble. However, he willingly tutors Shurei and appears to regard her as a friend. The Hong family (specifically Kuro Hong in episode 19) intends to marry Koyu to Shurei to lead the Hong clan in the future.
In the 13th novel, Koyu is imprisoned under accusation of abusing his powers as Vice Chamberlain of Civil Administration department (because Reishin never does any work). He loses this position but remains an official.
In the anime adaptation, he is voiced by Nobuyuki Hiyama.
Reishin Hong
Reishin Hong (紅 黎深 Kō Reishin?) is in charge of the Civil/Public Administration Department, making him Koyu's bureaucratic superior as well as adoptive father. He finished second in the Imperial Exams, earning the title of Bougen. He is a good friend of his fellow official Kijin Ko, many of whose strange masks he makes despite being one of the few people who can withstand the sight of Kijin's bare face.
Despite usually seeming very cheerful, easy-going, and even childish, Reishin is described by Kijin as crafty and coldhearted, and he often engages in devious and secretive behavior, especially regarding his family. He is the only member of the Hong clan who knows that Shoka is The Black Wolf. After Shoka left the main estates nearly fifteen years ago, Reishin became the head of the Hong clan, but most outsiders have been led to believe that the clan leadership belongs to Kuro Hong, their youngest brother. Despite Shoka's public estrangment from their clan, in private Reishin remains very respectful to his older brother, whom he has been trying to protect since learning Seiran's previous identity as the exiled prince Seien.
Reishin is overprotective of Shurei, although he has gone to great lengths to keep her from learning about their kinship for fear that she might blame him for supplanting her father. He is reluctant to let her marry anyone else, and even expresses a wish to marry her himself until Shoka points out that Reishin is already married. He secretly sponsors Shurei to take the Official Exams; afterward, he is accused of manipulating the results and is sentenced to house arrest, outraging the Hong clan into a work stoppage that shuts down half of Saiunkoku. The charges are dropped upon the arrest of the real criminal, who started the rumors and was involved in illegal activities.
The books mention that Reishin plays biwa, as do his brothers. In the 13th novel, Reishin is finally exposed to Shurei as her uncle by her investigations on Koyu's behalf. Stripped from his position as the Chamberlain of Civil Administration department, Reishin returns to Hong province and (in the fourteenth novel) resigns his position as clan leader.
In the anime adaptation, he is voiced by Mitsuaki Madono.
Yuri-hime
Yuri-hime is Reishin's wife. She has only appeared in the gaiden and the 13th novel, which have not been animated. Her age lies somewhere in the five-year gap between Shoka and Reishin.
Her mother was Gyokukan, the paternal great-aunt of Shoka, Reishin, and Kuro. Gyokukan had been a celebrated beauty in the imperial capital, but returned to Hong province where Yuri-hime was disguised for many years as a servant boy named Yuzuriha. Reishin knew that Yuri-hime was really a girl and fell in love with her while they were both children; he continued to treat her rudely, but she was the only person he allowed to touch and cut his hair.
When Reishin decided to leave Hong province to follow Shoka and take the Imperial Exams, Yuri-hime was the only person he took with him. After bringing Koyu into their family, she warned the boy from trying to escape, supposedly because the Hong manor was haunted. To make him believe this, she arranged for the furniture to be rearranged all the time to make him lose his bearings, which destroyed his sense of direction.
Yuri-hime had been intended as Shoka's bride, but Shoka showed no interest in her and broke off the engagement. She won the interest of Kijin Ko by being one of the few people who didn't faint on seeing his real face, which made him like her and ask her out on a date (via message to Reishin); at first she was uninterested, but Reishin persuaded her to go and then spied on them with the reluctant Yushun Tei.
Koyu wanted Yuri-hime to marry Reishin and become his mother; she was equally fond of Koyu and thought of him as her own child. Kuro, whom she had helped to raise from childhood, sent his encouragement for her to marry Reishin, but his letter became blurred and Yuri-hime mistook the message as 'please find Reishin a bride', so she joined Kogaro to find an ideal wife for him. Reishin ransomed Yuri-hime from Kogaro and registered her as his wife while she was only half-conscious.
Afterward, she often traveled away from their home to perform Reishin's duties as head of the Hong clan. Koyu thought that Yuri-hime was an ideal partner for Reishin but that Reishin was not an ideal partner for her (since Reishin rarely shows his likes and dislikes), and he worried that Yuri-hime was unhappy. In response, Yuri-hime said that she was happy and would never leave them. Reishin has told her that she is the only person for whom he will play the biwa, and that since they already had a son (Koyu), they needn't have more children.
Unknown to most, she is the younger half-sister of the previous Emperor, Shi Senka, thus the title 'hime' or princess. She bears a strong resemblance to both Senka and Ryuki, which confused Seiran when he first met her a long time ago in the Hong residence. Her mother, Gyokukan, took Yuri-hime away to Hong province to avoid the traditional fate of the princesses of the Shi family, who were traditionally sent away to the Hyo clan. Gyokukan was later assassinated by Shoka on his first mission. Before Yuri-hime married Reishin, she managed to slip into the Palace and meet Senka, and was expected him to kill her. But partly due to the agreement Senka and Shoka had (Shoka accept the title of Black Wolf and the assignment to assainate Gyokukan on the ground that Senka agree not to act against his brothers and Yuri-hime), Senka spares her life. Instead, he asked her to stay in the Inner Palace and care for Ryuki, but at that moment Reishin burst in and dragged Yuri-hime back home.
She does not appear in the story until the 13th novel, when the news of Koyu's imprisonment makes her return to Kiyo and meet Shurei and Ensei. She later reveals her identity to Shurei as her aunt when visiting Koyu in jail. She plays biwa to Koyu, dissolving the trance cast by the Hyo clan. After her husband and child are stripped from their positions, many officials from the Hong clan decide to withdraw in sympathy. Reishin wants to return to Hong province, but to his dismay, Yuri-hime decides to remain in Kiyo with her son.
Kuro Hong
Kuro Hong (紅 玖琅 Kō Kurō?), the youngest brother of Shoka and Reishin, acts as the proxy head of the Hong clan and most outsiders believe him to be the true leader. A man of traditions and family loyalty, Kuro urged their father to pass over Shoka (whom he viewed as useless) in favor of Reishin as the next clan leader. This did not prevent Kuro from avenging his despised brother's honor some years later, when Shokun's death stunned Shoka too much to notice when his servants stole all of his valuables. The proxy head issued orders to find the thieves and show them the tortures of Hell. Their severed ears and eyes were sent to their families to warn them against such disrespect towards a member of the Hong family.
Unbeknownst to Shurei, Kuro comes to the capital to extend the full protection of the Hong clan when she embarks on the path to become an Imperial official. When Reishin is accused of manipulating the exam results for her benefit, Kuro protests by ordering the Hong work stoppage that brings half of the country to a halt. Kuro also intervenes on Shurei's behalf when she is appointed as the co-governor of Sa province; the travel pass for the journey bears the clan crest of Kijin Ko, as the minister who issues the pass, but in the special "seven-colored" ink that can only be made by the Hong clan and marks her as a person of importance to them.
Kuro intends Shurei and Koyu to marry one another to lead the clan in the future.
In the anime adaptation, he is voiced by Ryōtarō Okiayu.
The Shi clan
The Shi clan is the imperial clan of Saiunkoku. Shi province, where the clan lives and the imperial capital, Kiyo, is located, is said to be geographically in the center of Saiunkoku, and all the other provinces border it. So far, there has been no evidence found to contradict this statement. The Shi clan's seal bears the purple iris, a motif given to those especially trusted by the Emperor, such as Shuuei Ran, Koyu Ri, Shurei Hong, Eigesu To, and Seiran Shi. The clan's name translates as "purple".
Ryuki Shi
Shi Ryūki (紫 劉輝?) , Seiyū - Tomokazu Seki and Akemi Okamura as young Ryuki
The reigning emperor of Saiunkoku, Ryuki Shi is nineteen years old when the story begins.
As the youngest of the previous Emperor's six sons, each from a different mother, he was an unlikely candidate to ascend to the throne. In childhood, Ryuki was badly treated by his mother and most of his half-brothers, who would beat him and lock him in a storage house for hours. Seien was the only member of the family who showed kindness to him. Ryuki often took refuge in the garden or the imperial archives; in the latter location, he first encountered Shoka Hong, who tutored the young prince and encouraged War General So-Taifu to teach him swordsmanship.
Ryuki ultimately rose to the throne due to his father's dying wish, after Seien was exiled for treason and the other four princes killed each other over the succession. Secretly hoping for many years that Seien would return and take his place as Emperor, Ryuki avoided any involvement in politics or government, wandering the palace for hours so no one would be able to find him. He even spread rumours that he preferred the company of men to fuel speculation he could not produce an heir.
His avoidance of responsibility comes to an end when he meets Shurei, who tells him of her dreams of making a better life for the nation's people. Charmed by her earnest and nurturing personality, he decides to undertake the task of becoming a respectable Emperor. After she returns home, he passes a law allowing women to take the official exams, which brings Shurei back to the palace and enables her to pursue her dreams.
Ryuki's devotion to Shurei reveals a capacity for subterfuge and cunning that may have helped him survive the fight for the succession. He initially pretends ignorance of government in order to study in her company. Although he has a very real fear of darkness and solitude because of his childhood experiences, he also uses that fear as an excuse to sleep in her room at the palace. When someone tries to poison Shurei, Ryuki conceals the plot from her and even takes the poison in her place, as part of his plan to identify the culprit.
Ryuki's romantic pursuit of Shurei has been complicated by his lack of experience in courting women, as well as Shurei's initial belief that he was homosexual and therefore more interested in Seiran. Even after discovering Seiran's true identity, Ryuki harbors some jealousy that Seiran spends more time with Shurei and is a closer confidant of hers. After she leaves the palace, Ryuki sends her many absurd gifts such as boiled eggs, blocks of ice, and even a straw voodoo doll. Before sending Shurei to Sa province as co-governor, Ryuki privately tells her that she is the only woman he wants to marry, although he is later forced to reconsider this for reasons of state.
Senka Shi
The previous Emperor of Saiunkoku, and father to Ryuki, Seiran, and the other four princes. During his lifetime, he loved only one woman but was unable to marry her. For political reasons, he ended up with six simultaneous concubines, each of whom bore him a son, but he refused to name any of them as Empress and never visited each woman again after she gave birth. The Sixth Consort was especially bitter about this abandonment and took out her anger on her son, Ryuki.
Senka fell sick in his youth, causing chaos in the royal court, and died almost a decade later. During his reign, he used the Wolves of the Wind to assassinate some of the lesser noble clans for their misdeeds, but allowed the families of the Eight Colored Clans to remain unpunished for much worse crimes. He also came up with the Official Exam system to minimize the nobles' political influence and admit other social classes to participate in the government. For that reason, he was deeply disliked by the survivors of the minor noble families, but also highly respected and feared.
Three men accompanied Senka from the start of his coronation: Yosei Sho-Taishi (Advisor Sho), So-Taifu, and Enjun Sa-Taiho, all of whom bear the title of 'Choutei Sanshi' (three royal advisors) and also serve Ryuki as his designated successor.
The novels reveal that Senka died from protecting his second son, Seien, from a deadly curse sent by the Hyo clan and Lady Suzuran. Before his illness, he entrusted both Ryuki and Seien to Shoka's protection.
The Four Shi Princes
Sons of Senka, the previous Emperor of Saiunkoku. They were born from four different mothers and competed fiercely against each other, agreeing only in wanting to eliminate Seien (the most talented of all six princes) and bully Ryuki (though they didn't dare touch him whenever Seien was around). After Seien's exile and their father's grave illness, the brothers' fight for the throne caused civil war in Saiunkoku, ending only with Advisor Sho's intervention. The four princes were executed and some of their followers were exiled. Ironically, it was their bullied youngest brother, Ryuki, who survived them all and was crowned as Emperor.
The Ran clan
The most powerful clan in Saiunkoku, directly below that of the royal family. Their clan seal is described as "Twin Dragon Lotus Spring"[双龍蓮泉]. The specialty of the clan is producing salt from the water margins of Ran province. The Shiba are their main clan of retainers. The clan's name translates as "indigo".
The Ran family manor, Kougaijyou (Lake Sea Castle) is located in Ran province, the province named after and run by the Ran clan. The province's capital is Gyokuryuu, a canal city that resembles Venice, and is aid to be even more beautiful than the imperial capital, Kiyo. Ran province is also famous for the Garyuu Mountain Range.
Shuei Ran
Ran Shūei (藍 楸瑛?) , Seiyū - Toshiyuki Morikawa
The fourth oldest of the five sons of the Ran family, Shuei Ran is the General of the Shaorin army. He has legendary fighting skills thanks to his training by the Shiba clan, retainers of the Ran clan who excel in swordsmanship; the only opponents who can beat him at full strength are Koku-Daishogun and Haku-Daishogun. He recognizes Seiran's past identity from his swordfighting techniques, and the novels call him and Seiran the greatest military officials of Ryuki's reign as Emperor.
Near the beginning of Ryuki's reign, Shuei briefly worked as a civil official until being disappointed that the new Emperor wasn't interested in politics and kept disappearing. Switching from the civil service to the military, Shuei joined the Left Uringun army and rose to the position of Shogun.
Usually calm himself, Shuei likes to tease others, and claims to be Koyu Ri's best friend though Koyu keeps denying it. Shuei enjoys provoking Koyu by mentioning the latter's woman-hating ideals and lack of direction. Unlike Koyu, Shuei often mentions how nice it is to spend time with women; he was surrounded by a horde of women after winning the fighting tournament, and often flirts and sleeps around with the palace ladies. He does this in the hope of attracting the attention of Shusui, who has been irritated by his behavior into saying that he treats the Imperial Harem like the Red Light District (where Shuei is a regular visitor to the number one woman at the number one brothel). When Shusui helped him once in the past, it was love at first sight for him, but Shusui does not even remember the meeting. Seiran calls him 'saifu #1' (wallet #1) since he pays for the ingredients every time he dines at Shurei's house.
Shuei and Koyu met during the Imperial Exams, in which Shuei took the second highest honor as Bōugen (the same title that his younger brother later earned). The two men become reacquainted after being assigned by his superior (Koku-Daishogun) as respectively the personal guard and advisor to Ryuki-- who is nowhere to be found, leaving Shuei and Koyu in the library for a month of boredom.
In the novel and drama CD, Shuei's brother(s) Setsuna Ran sent him to Kiyo as a child to assist one of the princes (later identified as Prince Seien). He encountered the young prince under attack in an alley and tried to help him, but Shuei's swordfighting skills weren't strong enough to defeat the assassins, and Seien told him that he was weak and useless. Seien even defeated Shuei in a sword battle in front of Setsuna Ran and Emperor Senka. Humiliated, Shuei retreated back to Ran province and continued intensive training with childhood best friend Jin Shiba. However, by the time Shuei returned to the capital, the prince who mocked him had been banished for treason; his elder brothers ordered him to track down Prince Seien's whereabouts, but he was unable to do so.
Along with Koyu, Shuei receives and accepts a flower (a purple iris which he later engraves on his sword) from Ryuki, a symbol of steadfast trust that establishes the young emperor's reign with the support of the top two rising officials of the palace. Over time, Shuei's loyalties become increasingly torn between the emperor and the Ran clan, causing him to return the iris sword to Ryuki and retire to Ran province. After being disowned by the Ran clan, at his own request, he returns to Ryuki, convinced that the Emperor accepts his responsibilities and wants Shuei's support for his own merits, not just for his family connections.
Ryuren Ran
Ran Ryūren (藍 龍蓮?) , Seiyū - Hidenobu Kiuchi
He is eighteen years old when the story begins. Although the youngest of the five Ran brothers, he has been marked as the genius of their generation by the name/title "Ryuren", which he received at age four and is only bestowed by the clan on rare, worthy individuals.
A lover of art and nature, Ryūren is also highly skilled in martial arts. His genius is matched only by his eccentricity. He plays the yokobue flute in a cacophonic style that can alter people's mental health and cause birds to fall from the sky. (In the novels, Ryuren is actually very good at playing other musical instruments, so it surprised his brothers that he chose to play yokobue instead.) He also favors strange, flashy clothing that may include vegetables as fashion accessories, and his nickname for Shuei is "foolish elder brother #4".
He earned the nickname ‘Ryuuteki tobaku-shi’ (龍笛賭博師/dragon flute gambling master) while wandering around the country and playing cards, which his family allowed on the condition that Ryuren would take one of the top three places in the Official Exams. When he comes to the capital just before the exams, his dorm becomes known as the "Cursed 13th Building" because instead of studying, Ryuren prefers to play his flute, driving other examinees insane. Seven officials resign after having incomprehensible conversations with him. The only person who can cope with his behavior is Shurei, whom he promptly dubs his "Soul Friend #1". Eigetsu becomes his "Soul Friend #2", and Yogetsu is eventually counted as "Soul Friend #2.5".
Ryuren takes the Official Exams with Shurei and Eigetsu and passes with the second highest score, taking the "Bougen" spot, but then skips out on the Shinshi Ceremony that inducts the examinees as new officials. He claims that the wind called to him to start a new voyage, i.e. resume wandering because he has now fulfilled his promise to excel in the exams.
When Ryuren wanders back to the capital, Ryuki gives him the important task of delivering the governor's seal to Shurei and Eigetsu in Sa province. Shurei tells Ryuren to stay clear of their dangerous political situation, but Ryuren says that the danger is why he wanted to stay involved, and that his "Soul Friends" are the only people who can take advantage of him.
Ryuren claims to have no interest in becoming an Imperial official or the head of the Ran clan. However, in season 2, Kuro Hong seriously weighs a proposal from the Ran clan to marry Ryuren to Shurei.
Setsuna Ran
The three oldest Ran brothers live in the water stronghold of Ran province and act as a single entity to lead the Ran clan. Ryuki refers to them as the 'sleeping dragons'.
Episode 23 of Season 2 reveals them as triplets. They bear the collective name "Setsuna" but also have individual names: 'Yuki' (snow), 'Tsuki' (moon), and 'Hana' (flower). In Saiunkoku, multiple births were usually seen as bad luck, causing such infants to be killed at birth, but their father spared their lives and raised them to become indistinguishable from one another. They were taught by Shoka Hong in their childhood and grew close to him, but they still don't get along with Reishin.
Fourteen years before the story begins, the triplets lived in the capital and served as a government official (in their collective identity of "Setsuna Ran"). After Emperor Senka became ill and the succession dispute fell into chaos, the triplets returned to their home and never returned.
When their youngest brother was given the name Ryuren at the age of four, the triplets took it upon themselves to let him grow without the influence of other clans. They assumed the leadership of the Ran clan, causing a stir in the country because for the first time more than one person was appointed as head of one of the Eight Honorable Clans. They sent Shuei to the capital as a young boy, and later allowed Ryuren to wander across the country on the condition that he would take one of the top three places in the Imperial Exams.
Only the oldest triplet, Yuki, is married; although his wife can recognize him, even she can't tell the other two apart. At the end of season 2, they banish Shuei for successfully identifying them individually.
Gyokuka
The wife of Yuki Ran. She has a very cheerful, rational mindset. She loves the outdoors and is a great cook.
She first came to the Ran household as a potential concubine for the previous head of the Ran clan, and was excited by the prospect of becoming stepmother of the five Ran brothers. Although not a legendary beauty, she charmed Shuei, but Gyokuka was oblivious to him and fell for Yuki instead, despite the latter's very cold and cynical attitude. Her marriage to the oldest triplet devastated Shuei, causing him to flee from Ran province.
Jyūsan-hime Ran
Ran Jyūsan-hime (藍 十三姬?) , Seiyū - Megumi Toyoguchi
Jyūsan-hime is the half-sister of the five Ran brothers. She was raised by her mother's family, the Shiba clan, who trained her as both a fighter and as a princess. The literal meaning of her name is "Thirteenth Princess", although she also had the childhood nickname "Hotaru" (firefly).
Setsuna Ran sends Jyūsan-hime to the imperial capital as a potential bride for either Ryuki or Seiran. Because she looks very similar to Shurei, the two women exchange places to avert an assassination plot from a rogue member of the Shiba clan. After Shusui resigns from the palace, Jyūsan-hime succeeds her as chief lady-in-waiting and is likely to become Ryuki's consort if Shurei continues to reject his proposal of marriage.
The Ko clan
Although this clan's name in Japanese sounds exactly the same as the name of another clan, Kou(the Hong clan's name in Japanese), thekanji characters for the two names are extremely different. The Ko clan's surnmae translates as "yellow".
Kijin Ko
Kō Kijin (黄 奇人?) , Seiyū - Kazuhiro Nakata
The chief minister of the Department of Treasury and Taxation (Finances) is generally called Kijin Ko; almost no one knows his original personal name, Hōju (凤珠?). Many people consider him mysterious and eccentric, especially for his unusual appearance. He leaves his hair loosely flowing instead of binding it up according to custom, and is almost never seen without one of the masks from his wide collection. These masks usually conceal his entire face, although they have a lower panel that can open to uncover his mouth when he eats or drinks in public. Many of the masks were made by Reishin Hong, who is one of his few close friends and with whom he often enjoys meaningless arguments.
In his official capacity, Kijin tends to be very strict, but he is gracious to Shurei when she begins to work for him. Although she is disguised as a man, he already knows that she is Reishin's niece but does not identify her to the rest of his department, and he comforts her when she is upset by a violent thunderstorm. When she falls ill, he brings flowers to her: tsubaki (camellias) in the anime, orchids in the novel. He also teases Reishin into a rage by claiming he is thinking about marrying her.
Although his masks are widely assumed to conceal a deformed or hideous appearance, in fact they serve the opposite function by concealing a face of such dazzling beauty that it can drive people insane. The masks also muffle the true sound of his voice, which is as silky and beautiful as his hair. When he took the imperial examinations as a young man, his beauty caused the legendary occasion of "The Nightmare Exam" by distracting everyone else in the hall so much that thirty officials had to be sacked and only two other candidates, Reishin and Yushun, passed the exams at all; he won third place, receiving the title of Tanka.
After proposing to the woman(Yuri-hime) he loved, he received the rejection message "I can't stand beside someone with a face like yours." However, the message had really been sent by Reishin, who loved the same woman and eventually married her. On Reishin's wedding night, Hoju changed his name to Kijin (which everyone else already called him, as a nickname meaning "weirdo") and began to wear masks, which he has continued to do by official sanction.
During Reishin Hong's trial for malfeasance, Kijin removes his mask in front of the court to confront a corrupt official, who nearly loses his mind as a result; the other officials are warned to look away but some of them forget to plug their ears, causing them to faint or go into hysterics.
edit]The Sa clan
The Sa clan is known as the least distinguished of the Eight Colored Clans. Likewise, Sa Province is the most unstable and the least prosperous of the eight provinces in Saiunkoku. The Sa clan is portrayed many times as corrupt and greedy, going as far as deposing the governors sent there by the Emperor and securing puppet governors in their place, thus increasing the clan's power in Sa province. The Sa province capital is Koren. The clan's name translates as "brown".
Enjun Sa (Sa-Taiho)
Sa Enjun (茶 鴛洵?) , Seiyū - Naoki Bandō
As one of the three Grand Officials of the Palace, Sa Enjun has the title of Taiho. He also has a long history of frustrated ambition, especially since the Sa clan has the least respect among the Eight Colored Clans. He never manages to surpass Advisor Sho, his longtime friend and fellow Grand Official.
Most of Enjun's family lives in Sa province, including his wife and granddaughter. Enjun maintains a small household for himself in the imperial capital; after the young girl Korin collapsed in front of his residence eight years ago, he took her in and found her a position in the palace as a lady-in-waiting.
Enjun offers his granddaughter, Shunki, as a prospective bride for Ryuki; when she is rejected, Enjun plots to overthrow Ryuki and replace him with Seiran as a puppet emperor. Unfortunately, Seiran is unwilling to cooperate, leading to a confrontation in which Seiran fatally wounds Enjun just before being knocked unconscious. Enjun's dying moments are tended by Advisor Sho, who discovered the conspiracy.
Enjun's actions are eventually revealed as a deliberate campaign to destroy the corrupt and power-hungry members of his own family, whose infighting killed his only son nine years ago. His treason further undermines the prestige and power of the Sa clan, and also encourages the emperor to move against its seat of power in Sa province.
Korin
Kōrin (香鈴?) , Seiyū - Eri Sendai
Introduced as Shurei's young lady-in-waiting at the palace, Korin retains a deep loyalty to her adoptive father, Enjun Sa. After Ryuki rejects Enjun's granddaughter as an imperial consort while apparently favoring Shurei, Korin tries to poison both Shurei (to avenge the insult to the Sa clan) and herself (to protect Enjun).
Upon Enjun's death, she is sent to live with his widow Eiki in Sa province. She returns to the capital with Ensei to deliver information about the developing crisis there.
While traveling back to Sa province with Ensei, Seiran, and the two newly-appointed co-governors Eigetsu and Shurei, Korin is mistaken for Shurei and thus kidnapped and imprisoned with Eigetsu. When her captors Meisho and Sōjun start to doubt her identity, she convinces them that she is indeed Shurei by accepting their challenge to re-write the poem which made the poet Senshi Mei famous. Korin and Eigetsu escape to Kinka with the help of Sōjun's youngest brother, Kokujun.
Reunited with Ensei, Seiran, and Shurei in Kinka, Korin shows some signs of romantic feelings for Eigetsu, although her manner towards him is a mixture of concern, annoyance, and often exasperation.
When Eigetsu's bond to Yōgetsu weakens, he leaves Korin by telling her that he loves her and finally kisses her. They reunite after Yōgetsu voluntarily enters a state of hibernation in order for Eigetsu to be with her. After that, she decides to stay in Sa province serving Eigetsu.
Eiki
Hyō Eiki (縹 英姫?) , Seiyū - Mami Horikoshi
As Enjun's consort, Eiki remained in Sa province to act on his behalf as clan head while he carried out his duties as Taiho in the imperial capital. Much of their long marriage was spent separated in this fashion. After Enjun's death, his ambitious younger brother Chusho imprisons her and Shunki.
Eiki was born to the Hyo clan, the mysterious shadow lineage of Saiunkoku. As such, she would not have normally married outside her family, but she fell in love with Enjun and pursued him until he gave in. She retained some of the supernatural powers of the Hyo women, such as the precognition which turned her against Advisor Sho because she always knew that he would be involved in Enjun's death. She also sealed off the powers and voice of their granddaughter Shunki during the girl's childhood.
Shunki Sa
Sa Shunki (茶 春姫?) , Seiyū - Rumi Shishido
The granddaughter of Enjun (Sa-Taihō), her father and mother were murdered nine years ago by her cousin, Sakujun Sa, though that fact is unknown to her. Her ability to speak was sealed by her grandmother, Eiki, when she was a child, and so she communicates primarily through writing.
Because she is of the main Sa line of descent through Enjun, she is a threat to Chūshō and other branch family members during their power struggle. For her own protection, she is hidden away and watched over by Shōrin and Yōshun, under orders from Ensei Ro.
After her grandmother unseals her voice, Shunki uses her strange powers to rescue Kokujun together with Shurei. When Kokujun accepts the burden of leading the Sa clan, she vows to be always by his side.
Chūshō Sa
Sa Chūshō (茶 仲障?) , Seiyū - Masami Iwasaki
After Enjun's death, his younger brother Chusho seizes power in Sa province by imprisoning Eiki and the acting imperial governor. Disregarding the cost and chaos involved, he orders a search for the seals of the previous governor and orders the Satsujinzoku to intercept the new co-governors, Shurei Hong and Eigetsu To. He plans to force the Hong clan into an alliance by marrying Shurei to one of his grandsons, whom he views as pawns.
Sōjun Sa
Sa Sōjun (茶 草洵?) , Seiyū - Junichi Suwabe
Sojun Sa is the eldest grandson of Chusho and matches him in blind ambition. He works with the Satsujinzoku to kidnap Eigetsu To and Korin (whom they had mistaken for Shurei); believing that the group is under his grandfather's control, he attempts to shift the allegiance of their leader, Meishō, and gain their support for himself.
Sojun is eventually killed by Sakujun, his next youngest brother, although he blames their third brother Kokujun for it.
Sakujun Sa
Sa Sakujun (茶 朔洵?) , Seiyū - Takehito Koyasu
The middle grandson, Sakujun finds the world very boring and seeks to amuse himself without regard for morals. To relieve his boredom, Sakujun became involved with the Satsujinzoku when he was a teenager. Fourteen years ago, he found and recognized the young prince Seien (later Seiran) collapsed in the snow and brought him into the gang. Nine years ago, when his great-uncle Enjun Sa tried to rein in Sakujun's behavior from a distance, Sakujun covertly retaliated by killing Enjun's son and daughter-in-law because they were available and vulnerable to him.
When his grandfather Chusho tells him to marry the Hong princess, Sakujun assumes an alias as Lin Senya, a merchant's son, and arranges to meet Shurei in person. Although she is twelve years younger than him and has a very different personality, he becomes sufficiently intrigued by her to arrange the murder of his older brother, Sojun; this places Sakujun as the next in succession to become the Sa clan head, giving him more power to resist the Hong clan if he marries Shurei against their wishes.
With his typical devious perversity, he eventually allows Shurei to poison him without her knowledge. He is later assumed to be dead, although his body is never found. In the second series, he makes a dreamlike appearance to one of the characters (presumably as a spirit).
Kokujun Sa
Sa Kokujun (茶 克洵?) , Seiyū - Kousuke Toriumi
The youngest of the three brothers. He is kind, but is considered the weakest because of it. He reminds Lady Eiki and Sakujun of the young Enjun.
Kokujun is fond of his cousin Shunki, and he releases Seiran and Ensei from confinement so they can rescue her. Ensei lectures him harshly instead, encouraging Kokujun to take action himself by safely bringing Eigetsu and Korin to Kinka, concealing his knowledge that Korin is not really the female co-governor.
When the ring of the Sa clan is recovered, Kokujun takes on the leadership of the Sa clan with Shunki's support. He is close friends with Ryuren Ran and admires him very much.
The Hyo clan
Although not one of the fabled Eight Colored Clans of Saiunkoku, the Hyo clan holds an important position. It was founded by the first Emperor's sister, Sou Youki, and the daughters of the imperial Shi clan are still routinely sent to them to be trained as priestesses or married. Otherwise, the Hyo clan almost never marries outside itself although there have been a few rare exceptions such as Eiki Hyo, who chose to marry Enjun Sa. The Hyo clan's seal bears eight petals, each of a different color, and a full moon.
Many members of the Hyo clan have supernatural powers, especially the women. Their founder sealed off 108 spirits into a mirror by playing the erhu; after Shoka Hong frees the spirits by deliberately shattering the mirror, Shusui is able to pacify them by playing the erhu herself.
Riō Hyo
Hyō Riō (縹 璃櫻?) , Seiyū - Toshihiko Seki
He is the head of the Hyo clan and maintains a youthful appearance, despite being about eighty years old. He accuses Shoka of stealing Shokun and Shusui from him, and is eager to meet Shurei because she looks like his lost Bara-hime.
Riō
Riō (璃櫻?) , Seiyū - Yuki Kaida
Riō's son has exactly the same name (both pronunciation and kanji) as his father. First seen during the plague in Sa province, he follows his father's orders and goes on missions for him. Ryuki often confides his feelings for Shurei to him. Riō currently works in Kiyō as the Head of Sentoshō (Department of the Cave of Immortals).
Ruka Hyo
Hyō Ruka (縹 瑠花?) , Seiyū - Kyōko Hikami
The older sister of Riō (senior). She is just as obsessed with him as he is with Bara-hime; because of Shurei's resemblance and kinship to Shokun, Ruka wants to take over the girl's body so her brother will finally look at her in the same way. Unlike her brother, her physical appearance reflects her true age, although in the anime she projects the apparition of a younger woman when speaking to others. Her son Ren is the real mastermind of Jyasenkyō, which started the problems in Sa province during Shurei and Eigetsu's time as governor.
Shusui
Shusui (珠翠?) , Seiyū - Akemi Okamura
She is Shurei's main lady-in-waiting and a well-known beauty of the Imperial Harem. Her beauty is said by Ryuki to be comparable only to Kocho, the famous courtesan in the Red Light District. She is deeply attached to Shoka, although he doesn't return her feelings, and is the only person who says that his tea is delicious. She is terribly bad at embroidery (which Ryuki likes to tease her about); when she attempts to make a sunflower-like floral pattern, Shoka mistakes it for a lion. Shusui appears kind and caring to Shurei and Ryuki, although Ryuren is suspicious of her swift agility in dealing with Korin's clumsiness.
She is actually from the Hyo clan. When Shoka took Shokun away from the clan, he also brought Shusui, whom he adopted and sent to the palace. She became an assassin as part of the Wolves of the Wind. Sa-Taiho believes that she is an assassin loyal to him, but she is actually a double agent under the orders of Advisor Sho, the real master of the Black Wolf and Wolves of the Wind.
In the second season of the anime, Shusui starts to hear sounds in her head; fearing to fall back into the control of the Hyo clan, she attempts suicide. When she passes out in Shuei's arms, she breaks his heart by calling out Shoka's name instead. He later uses Shoka's name to snap her out of a hypnotic trance. Afterward, she insists on remaining in Ran province to face the Hyo clan, leaving her position as head lady-in-waiting of the Imperial Harem. She is deemed officially missing (though the Emperor knows where she is) and her position has been filled by Jyuusan-hime of the Ran clan.
Inhabitants and officials of the Imperial capital, Kiyō
Yushun Tei
Voiced by: Kanna Nobutoshi
One of Shurei's and Eigetsu's assistant officials. First seen in Sa province, but permanently moves to the capital with his appointment as Prime Minister.
He is a mild-mannered man in his late thirties, and walks with a cane. In the anime, Ryo Anjuu says that Yushun is from a very noble family that even surpasses the power of both the Ran and Hong clans. Despite his gentle exterior, Yushun is considered to be dangerous and very powerful. Yushun is an effective politician who can accurately predict the current situation, and can be so persuasive in debate that the Merchant Alliance was reluctant to even enter negotiations with him.
During Ensei's term as governor of Sa province, Yushun serves as his assistant. When Ensei resigns the position and leaves, Yushin remains there as the temporary governor, performing his duties while voluntarily locked into a tower to protect him from the Sa clan. Yushun loses his official status and is left in a dangerous position when Shurei and Eigetsu are appointed as co-governors of Sa province, but Ensei assures them that Yushun will be entirely safe, even from Sakujun Sa.
Yushun first appears in the 28th episode of the anime's first season as an official sent from Koren to help Shurei and Eigetsu, who had just arrived in Kinka. Under the alias of Official Yū Jun, he readily gives advice to the young co-governors. Only Ensei knows his identity, and the two men work closely together to support Shurei and Eigetsu. Yushun orders the military forces throughout the province to quell the riots instigated by Chusho Sa, and to capture the corrupt members of the Sa clan. When Shurei and Eigetsu find out that "his" tower has burned down, he reveals his real identity as Yushun Tei and says that he was rescued by Ensei's master, who extracted him from the locked tower and left him on the streets of Kinka, where he revived the next day.
Yushun is a very good friend of Kijin and Reishin, who both took the official exams with him. In the trio, he is older by a few years. He passed first in the Exams (with the title Jogen), with Reishin passing second (Bogen) and Kijin third (Tanka). A side story of the manga shows that he first met Shurei during her childhood, when she gave him some of her homemade buns.
In the novels, he was in love with Rin Sai, Sho Sai's twin sister, even before Rin proposed to him, but he never thought that he had a chance because of the age gap. He rejected her annual proposals for ten years because he didn't want her to get involved in the Sa conflict. This made him very depressed, and also caused much drama for Ensei and Sai Sho. When Sa province is finally under control, he accepts Rin's proposal in the Autumn Festival and they are married. They are referred to as newlyweds in episode 38 of the first season anime.
Ryuki promotes Yushun to Prime Minister, giving him a feathered fan as a sign of office. Yushun's political actions disturb the noble families enough to potentially endanger his life; despite his protests that he does not need protection, Seiran is assigned as his personal guard.
Yosei Sho (Sho-Taishi, Advisor Sho)
Seiyū - Kōji Ishii
As one of the three Grand Officials of the Palace, he is generally referred to as "Advisor Sho" or "Sho-Taishi"; Taishi (太師) is his title, not his name. Sho-Taishi's personal name is revealed as Yosei by Eiki Hyo (Sa) in episode 36. He is close friends with his fellow Grand Officials, Sa-Taiho and So-Taifu, all of whom also served Ryuki's father, the previous Emperor.
Advisor Sho does not serve the country for its own sake. He is only loyal to a worthy Emperor, whose life he will do his best to protect. During the battle for the imperial succession eight years ago, he refused to support any one of the battling princes, and since then he has done the bare minimum to ensure the country's survival while waiting for a worthy ruler to appear.
When he realises that Ryuki has the right potential, he makes sure that no one threatens Ryuki's place on the throne. He persuades Shurei to come to the palace as a temporary Imperial consort, which motivates Ryuki to become worthy and exposes Enjun Sa-Taiho's assassination plot. Although saddened by Enjun's death, he considers it necessary. Advisor Sho also controls the Black Wolf and the Wolves of the Wind, but after he endangers the lives of Shurei and Seiran, Shoka stops obeying his orders and vows to kill him someday.
When comforting the last moments of his friend Enjun, Advisor Sho takes on the supernatural appearance of a young man surrounded by a white aura. Later, he is able to summon Enjun's spirit. In fact, he is the Sage of Shi (Purple), one of the immortal Eight Sages who served the first Emperor.
Sō-Taifū
Seiyū - Mitsuru Ogata
One of the three Grand Officials of the Palace and a War Hero. Taifu is his title, not his name. He is a fighting master and served the previous emperor. He is great friends with Advisor Sho, and has taught swordsmanship to both Ryuki and Seien (Seiran).
He knows of the actual existence of the Eight Sages, and is often aware of Advisor Sho's plans.
Kocho
Kochō (蝴蝶?) , Seiyū - Kaori Yamagata
Kocho is the mistress of Kogaro, the most prestigious pleasure house in the red-light district. She is fond of Shurei, who worked as her accountant for many years. Not only is she one of the most sought-after courtesans, she is also the underground boss in charge of the region. She bestows Shurei with a makeup set, with the lesson to use it for strength and support.
Dr. Tō
An old doctor who works in the Imperial Palace. At one point he is seen treating Ryuki. When Shurei asks the Palace's doctors to help treat the plague in Sa province, Dr. Tō convinces the other doctors to join Shurei's cause and learn surgery.
Suou (Tan-tan) Shin
Shin Suou (榛 蘇芳?) , Seiyū - Anri Katsu
Works in the persecution department. He proposes to Shuurei under his father's orders despite lacking personal interest in her. When he first appears, he is bearing many tanuki-themed accessories including a golden statue, causing Seiran to nickname him 'Tan-tan'.
He does not like putting effort into anything and is both intrigued and annoyed by Shuurei's continual determination to do her best. However, Tan-tan can clearly perceive a situation's complete context or a person's true character, making him a valuable asset, and he tries to lessen Shuurei's naiveté by showing her the evils of the world.
Seiran considers Tan-tan to be a practical influence on Shurei and is unusually willing to engage him in conversation. Nevertheless, Seiran also likes to pelt Suou with bamboo shoots and make him pay for random purchases, calling him 'saifu #2' (wallet #2, after Shuei as #1)
Tan-tan is roped into the counterfeit paintings investigation by Shurei and ends up arresting his father, who was used in a larger plot. He saves Shurei from being fired when Riku Seiga steals her research proposal. Since then, Tan-tan has followed Shurei and re-entered the persecution department as her assistant.
Sa Province inhabitants and officials
Ensei Rō
Rō Ensei (浪 燕青?) , Seiyū - Kentarou Itou
Ensei makes his first appearance as a half-starved man lying in front of Shurei's estate. Seiran somewhat dislikes him because of their shared past in the Satsujinzoku gang in Sa province, when Ensei earned the nickname of "Little Staff King" for his prowess in using a pole or staff as a weapon, although Ensei's true specialty is close-range unarmed combat. He has a cross-shaped scar under his left eye and initially sports a bushy beard which irritates Shurei and makes many people describe him as a bear, which finally convinces him to shave it off and remain clean-shaven.
Ensei was formerly the governor of Sa province. Before his term, officials in Sa province were often assassinated or bribed, reducing the quality of candidates willing to accept those positions. In an unprecedented move, Enjun Sa-Taiho announced that whoever could turn the tables on an assassin would be made provincial governor. Ensei was appointed as temporary governor at age 17 and was able to competently foil assassination attempts as well as maintain order.
The death of Enjun, Ensei's primary political backer, reduces the acceptance of Ensei as the legitimate governor. To ward off political upheaval, Ensei leaves to determine the new Emperor's political personality and to request replacement by a new governor. On his journey, he is targeted by thieves and assassins because of the high bounty placed on his head by the Sa family.
After Shurei's term as governor of Sa province is suspended, Ensei continues to help her out because he admires her.
Eigetsu/Yogetsu To
To Eigetsu/Yōgetsu (杜 影月/阳月?) , Seiyū - Daisuke Namikawa
Eigetsu is a shy, intelligent thirteen-year-old boy. He was born in Seika village, Koku province, but the rest of the village was wiped out by plague; he was raised by a doctor, Doshu, who found him as a child on the brink of death. After Eigetsu passed the Provincial Exams at the age of twelve, their entire community contributed money to send him to take the Imperial Exams. He turns up in Kogaro, Kocho's pleasure house, with no memory of how he got there and without his valuable Exam Token.
Eigetsu does not like to consume alcohol or even smell it, because it literally turns him into another person: Yogetsu, who is brash, arrogant, and an excellent fighter. When Eigetsu first arrives in the capital, Yogetsu takes over; after winning a drinking contest in the Red Light District, he beats up three gang members, steals their money, and spends most of it on premium sake.
Yogetsu is also very intelligent, in a calculating and strategic way; although he often refers to Eigetsu as a dim-witted fool, he also looks out for him. Thinking that Eigetsu might lose the Exam Token in all the commotion, he gives it for safekeeping to the sake merchant and tells him to deliver it with the expensive sake to the best brothel in the city. Before passing out, Yogetsu also tells Shuei Ran to take him to the same destination, which is how Eigetsu ended up in Kogaro.
Eigetsu befriends Shurei and becomes the youngest person in history to win the position of Jougen (top score for the year), beating the previous record set by Koyu Ri. Initially, he is deluged by proposals by ambitious officials who want him to marry their daughters, but he refuses them all and they turn against him as he starts his career, assigning him petty duties like shining their shoes and then "accidentally" kicking him.
When Ryuki appoints him and Shurei as the new governors of Sa province, Eigetsu is again the youngest person to ever win that position, as well as one of the first set of co-governors to share such an office. When they enter the province, Eigetsu is captured by the Satsujinzoku along with Korin, who is pretending to be Shurei. Eventually they are saved by Seiran, Ensei, and Ryuren (as well as Yogetsu) and finally reunite with Shurei in the provincial capital.
The anime's second season reveals that Yogetsu is actually another one of the Eight Sages, Byakuya (the Sage of Haku/white). When Doshu found Eigetsu, Yogetsu saved the child's life by strengthening his dying soul and granting him twenty more years of life, but after that, Eigetsu himself would die and Yogetsu would live on in his body. Later, Doshu became gravely ill, so that Eigetsu willingly surrendered ten of those years to Yogetsu in order to extend his foster-father's life.
When Eigetsu has only one month left to live, Sa province is plagued by an epidemic which he recognizes as the same disease that wiped out his native village. He tells Korin about his imminent fate and confesse his feelings to her, then sets out by himself to the affected area in the hope of directly helping some people before his death. But when Eigetsu's life is due to end, Yogetsu decides to go into a deep sleep to let Eigetsu keep living.
Though Eigetsu has a great part in handling the unrest in Sa province, his actions are considered reckless by the central government. He is demoted and is made the assistant to Yu Kai, the new governor of Sa province and the former governor of Koku province.
Yū Kai
The Governor of Koku province and a renowned ladies' man. He is said to be the oldest man to ever hold the position of governor in Saiunkoku. He asked the previous Emperor to let him govern both Koku and Sa provinces, but was refused because of his old age. Kai was the guardian of Eigetsu when he applied for the ministerial exams, and passed Shin Ka's medical documents on to Shurei.
When Shurei and Eigetsu are appointed as the co-governors of Sa province, they ask Kai to succeed them as governor in the event of their deaths. When they are dismissed from those positions, he does succeed them and gives up Koku province to govern Sa province and become Eigetsu's mentor.
Meishō
Meishō (瞑祥?)
Meishō is the leader of the Satsujinzoku, the Killing-Blade Outlaws, which is supported by Sakujun Sa. He takes advantage of the instability of Sa province and gains control of certain major cities, working with Chūshō Sa and the Sa clan. Though he works with them, Meishō conceals Sakujun's involvement, allowing Sojun to believe that the Satsujinzoku answers to Chūshō.
Meishō has a past with both Seiran and Ensei, but does not know that both of them were involved in wiping out the Satsujinzoku over a decade ago. In the end, he loses his life to Seiran in combat.
Shōrin and Yōshun
Seiyū - Noriaki Sugiyama
Shōrin is the leader of a group in Sa province called the Condors. He and his younger brother Yōshun are entrusted by Ensei to look after Shunki.
His father incurred a great debt of gratitude from Shoka Hong in their past. Though only thirteen, Shōrin is quite skilled as a tracker, with acrobatic skills and good endurance. At Shunki's request, he takes her to Kinka in order to help Kokujun.
Sho Sai
Sai Shō (柴 彰?) , Seiyū - Susumu Chiba
Sho is the head of the merchant guild in Kinka, second largest city in Sa province. He decides to help the new governors of Sa, Shurei and Eigetsu, in exchange for peace within the province. He is the younger twin of Rin Sai.
Though his father is the head of the military of Kinka, he and his sister opt for the merchant life instead. He repeatedly promotes the idea of using eight-tenths of his power to help, saving two-tenths for emergencies.
Shin Sai
Sai Shin (柴 進?) , Seiyū - Jin Nishimura
The military commander of the city of Kinka in Sa Province, Shin is mistaken by Shurei for the head of the merchant guild when they first meet. He is the father of the twins Sho and Rin Sai, and was angered when the two chose to pursue the merchant's path.
Rin Sai
Sai Rin (柴 凛?)
Rin is Sho's twin sister, and renowned as the "manliest woman in Sa province." When first encountered, she is the head of the Merchant Guild in Koren. After her term of guild leadership expires, she becomes an inventor. When Shurei calls doctors to treat the disease in Sa province, Rin designs a smooth knife suited to surgical operations; Rin later designs a centrifuge-like device to separate out sand from adulterated salt.
She fell in love with Yushun Tei when he was still Ensei's assistant and repeatedly proposed to Yushun on the Autumn Festival (an event similar to Valentine's Day, when girls give handmade gifts to someone they like). For years, Yushun had always rejected her.
When the Sa conflict ends, Rin announces her last attempt to propose to Yushun: if he rejects her again, she will give up and wish for his happiness when he returns to Shi province. When Rin approaches Yushun, he seems to be asleep, so Rin just gives her gift, wishes for his happiness, and turns to leave-- but suddenly Yushun grabs her wrist. They are described as newlyweds when they go to Shi province for the New Year's celebrations.
Miscellaneous
Dōshu
Dōshu (堂主?) , Seiyū - Kōji Yusa
A kind doctor who found and saved Eigetsu in Koku Province, later becoming his adopted father and mentor. His real name is Ka Shin(華真), revealed in episode 6 of the second season. It was thanks to his previous research that the epidemic in season 2 was solved. He treated both Eigetsu and Yogetsu as his beloved children, even though Yogetsu was much, much older than Ka Shin and therefore very irritated by this. He taught Eigetsu to smile and live life to the fullest, and passed on his medical knowledge to him before he died.
Dr. Yō
Dr. Shikō Yō took care of Shurei when she was young and sickly. He is a renowned doctor who lives outside the capital, but his old friend Advisor Sho calls him to the capital to consult about the plague in Sa province. Dr. Yō teaches the imperial doctors how to surgically remove the worms that cause the disease. Later, he is revealed as another of the Eight Sages (the Sage of Ko/Yellow). Like Advisor Sho, he looks much younger in his sage form.
0 comments:
Post a Comment