Characters
Princess Toki
The daughter of Hojo Tokimasa, a general on the Kamakura side, and the fiancée of Miuranosuke, a warrior on the Kyoto side. She desperately loves Miuranosuke even though he is the enemy and leaves her own family to take care of his mother. As a condition for marriage, she is asked to kill her father.
Miuranosuke Yoshimura
A senior servant on the Kyoto side. He returns home from the battlefield in concern over his mother’s illness. He does not fully trust his lover Princess Toki as she is the daughter of the enemy and demands that he kill her father as a condition for marriage. He is aiming to reverse his side’s desperate war situation.
Tozaburo, actually Sasaki Takatsuna
A farmer named Tozaburo, who lived near Tokimasa’s war camp, was captured because of his close resemblance to Takatsuna, a high-ranking enemy official. After an examinaiton, he is tattooed in the face to distinguish him from Takatsuna. He volunteers to rescue Princess Toki and is recruited as a soldier. In fact, this is actually Takatsuna himself, who has gambled on this strategy.
Nagato
Miuranosuke’s mother. She has become ill, and her worried son abandons the battlefield to check on her. The strong-willed mother refuses to allow her son to see her and orders him to return to the battlefield to do his duty. She thrusts a spear held by Princess Toki into her own chest so that her son will not worry about her and concentrate on defeating the enemy. In the original script, she is not named.
Okuru
Wife of the peasant Tozaburo. After her husband has agreed to die in place of Takatsuna, she follows the orders of Takatsuna.
Tonda Rokuro
A retainer on the Kamakura side under Hojo Tokimasa. He sneaks into the village and waits for the opportunity to rescue Princess Toki. When he threatens to divulge the princess’ plan to kill her father, he is killed by a spear suddenly thrust out of the well by Takatsuna.
Tozaburo
A former soldier who retired out of fear and now lives as a farmer. He has long been ill and jumps at the offer to take Takatsuna’s place and die for money. However, before his head is even presented to the authorities for identification, the scheme has been discovered.
