Characters
Minamoto Yoriie
Second shogun of the Kamakura shogunate, 20 years old. He is studious, well educated and rational, and unable to accept things he doesn’t understand or injustice. He can be short tempered. Unlike his father, who established the dynasty, he was born a shogun and is proud of his position. He is determined to learn the secret of his father’s suspicious death.
Hatakeyama Shigeyasu
Son of a warrior who contributed to the establishment of the Kamakura shogunate, 21 years old. He is handsome, a skilled martial artist, and a loyal servant to the government. However, he harbors a secret regarding the death of Yoriie’s father.
Kozuo
A servant in the shogun’s household, 17 years old. She is of low birth but beautiful and in love with Shigeyasu. She is shocked to learn from Shigeyasu that she was the unwitting source of a devastating incident.
Oe Hiromoto
Senior adviser to the former shogun and an important figure in the establishment of the Kamakura shogunate. A deputy guard in the government office in his mid 50s. One of only three people who know the truth of the former shogun’s death. He supports Shigeyasu, who is under pressure, and keeps the secret even from the current shogun.
Amamidai
Hojo Masako. Wife of the present shogun’s late father, in her mid 40s. She became a nun after her husband’s death, taking her current name. She has been emotionally hurt by her husband’s death, which came from his love for Kozuo, and tries to keep the truth a secret.
