Characters
Note: Chinese names below are given in their Japanese pronunciation.
Watonai
Born of a Chinese father Roikkan and Japanese mother. He is a fisherman in Hirado in present-day Nagasaki Prefecture. He is dynamic and proud of his physical strength, but his mother warns him not to depend on sheer power and to beware of injury. He crosses to China to revive the Ming dynasty, under which his father served.
Roikkan
Known formerly as Tei Shiryu, a servant under the Ming government. His friendly offer of advice to the emperor aroused resentment, leading him to escape to Japan, where he changed his name to Roikkan, married a Japanese wife and lives as a fisherman in Hirado. When he learns from the Ming emperor’s sister that the Ming government has been overthrown, Roikkan goes to China with his son Watonai to restore the dynasty to power.
Nagisa
Roikkan’s Japanese wife and Watonai’s mother. She is not named in the original script, but she is known as Nagisa in Kabuki. She goes to China with her husband and son, where she meets her stepdaughter for the first time at Shishigajo Castle.
Kanki
General in charge of five regiments guarding Shishigajo Castle. He is known as brave and intelligent and an excellent warrior. He used to serve the Ming government, but now serves the Dattan nation.
Kinshojo
Kanki’s wife. Roikkan’s daughter by his first wife, Watonai’s stepsister. After reuniting with Roikkan, she asks her husband to help revive the Ming government.
Princess Sendan
Younger sister of Ming emperor. She refuses the emperor’s order to marry Ritoten, but promises to obey if the plum side beats the cherry side in a battle among the ladies-in-waiting. During this flower battle, the Dattan king attacks and destroys the Ming government. The princess escapes by a small boat to the Japanese port of Hirado with the help of Gosankei’s wife.
Komutsu
Watonai’s wife. She remains in Japan to look after Princess Sendan. She practices sword fighting in hopes of helping her husband later in China. She later receives word from the gods that she should follow, and crosses safely to China with the princess.
Shisoretsu
The 17th emperor in the Ming dynasty. He does not heed the warning of his loyal servant Tei Shiryu, relying instead on Ritoten. As a result, he is attacked by the Dattan army, where he loses his life and his country.
Gosankei
General of the Horse Guards under the Ming government. When the country is attacked by the Dattan army, he fights furiously to protect the emperor and his family. When the empress dies, he cuts open her stomach and removes the crown prince. He hides with the prince in the mountains and raises him in hopes of resurrecting the empire in the future.
Ritoten
General of the Right under the Ming government. To prove his loyalty, he cuts out his left eye and presents it to the emperor. However, the removal of his left eye was actually a sign to the Dattan army that he would betray the Ming government. He leads the Dattan attack on the Ming palace during the flower battle and murders the emperor.
