Characters
Ohatsu
Courtesan in Osaka’s Tenmaya pleasure house. She swears her love to Tokubei, a young clerk, and ultimately chooses to die with him.
Tokubei
Clerk at a soy sauce merchant. A prototypical wagoto role offering a realistic portrayal of a gentle gallant. Duped out of money by a friend and branded a thief, he resolves to commit suicide with his lover.
Aburaya Kuheiji
Owner of an oil shop. He borrows money from Tokubei on a promise to return it in three days, but ends up cheating and humiliating him, driving him to suicide.
Hiranoya Kyuemon
Owner of a soy sauce shop and Tokubei’s uncle. He wants to marry the clerk off to the stepmother’s niece and pass the shop to him.
Tenmaya Sobei
Owner of Tenmaya pleasure house. A kind person who worries about Ohatsu.
