Characters
Hisamatsu
Son of a samurai retainer to a lord in Izumi Province. Because the household was disbanded due to scandal, he was adopted by his wet nurse’s brother, the farmer Kyusaku. He works as a clerk at an Osaka pawnbroker, where he falls in love with the shop owner’s daughter. He is framed for embezzlement and his salary stolen, and he is forced to return to his hometown.
Osome
The daughter of an Osaka pawnbroker. She was raised in a wealthy household with no hardship, a veritable princess in a box. She is only 16 when she falls for Hisamatsu, but is so desperately in love that she is willing to die if she cannot be with him. She is pregnant with Hisamatsu’s child.
Omitsu
Kyusaku’s stepdaughter. She is a cheerful country girl and dedicated to her parents. She adores her stepbrother Hisamatsu and is overjoyed to learn that she is to marry him.
Kyusaku
A farmer in the village of Nozaki Mura. He has raised Hisamatsu since he was a baby and has sent him to serve a large pawnbroker. He plans eventually to marry the boy to his stepdaughter Omitsu.
Otsune
The widow of the pawnbroker Aburaya and Osome’s mother. She has run the pawnbroker since her husband’s death. Having run up large debts to another pawnbroker, she has agreed to marry her daughter to the latter.
