Characters of Saiunkoku Monogatari
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- This article is about characters in the anime and manga Saiunkoku Monogatari.
Names are in Western order, with the surname after the given name.
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[edit] The Kou (Crimson) Clan
[edit] Shuurei Kou
(紅 秀麗 Kō Shūrei, Seiyū - Houko Kuwashima) - Shuurei Kou is the daughter and only child of Shouka Kou of the Kou clan, one of the two most powerful clans in Saiunkoku. She is sixteen years old when the story begins. As a descendant of the direct line, she has the title hime, which means 'princess' or 'lady'. Despite the high social status of her family, Shuurei grew up in relatively impoverished circumstances. Her father's job brought little income, and much of the wealth of their family home was given to the needy during the devastating fight for the imperial succession eight years ago. There are no servants at the Kou residence, so Shuurei has grown adept at household chores such as needlework, cooking and cleaning, traits unusual in a lady of high social standing. She has also held a number of odd jobs to earn money, acting as a professional erhu player, working as an accountant at Kochou's brothel in the Red Light District, and serving as a teacher at the local temple.
Shuurei suffered from a weak constitution as a child, but when her mother died after a sudden illness, Shuurei's health immediately recovered. This left her with feelings of regret and survivor's guilt over her mother's death. She still experiences fear and panic during summer thunderstorms, which remind her of her mother's sudden passing. Shuurei grew up side-by-side with Seiran and often confides in him, telling him virtually everything. She deeply cares for him, but it is unclear whether she has romantic feelings for him. Shuurei experienced first-hand the chaos the nation suffered during the fight over the succession, and her childhood dream was to become an imperial official and serve in government. She yearned for the power to change the lives of the people for the better. Shuurei studied for the official examination with her father, but after she learned women were ineligible to take the exam, she abandoned her dream to the children she taught at the temple school.
Due to Shuurei's status and abilities, Grand Master Shou offered her 500 gold pieces to become the Emperor's consort for six months. Shuurei's education, high social rank, relative poverty, and lack of influential relatives made her the ideal candidate. The Grand Advisors hoped Shuurei would be able to inspire and instruct Ryuuki, who had shown no interest in governing after ascending to the throne, to become a better emperor. She immediately agreed to the deal, swayed by the money (dearly needed for repairs to the house) and the opportunity to help influence her country for the better. Another factor was the persistent rumour that the Emperor was homosexual, which meant she would not have to worry about Ryuuki's romantic or physical interest.
Shuurei's unique combination of kindness, shrewdness and hard work earned her a good reputation during her stay in the Imperial Residence. She gained the friendship and respect of many up-and-coming officials including Kouyuu Ri, who agreed to tutor her. Shuurei's mission ultimately succeeded; Ryuuki became an active and respectable ruler thanks to her efforts. With her mission a success, Shuurei returned home, but as she was leaving, Ryuuki finally revealed his romantic feelings for her with a very public kiss. Shuurei, however, doesn't appear to return Ryuuki's feelings.
The summer after Shuurei left the Imperial Residence, Kouyuu Ri offered her a one-month position doing odd jobs for the Department of Treasury and Taxation. She had to dress up as a man to do so, but she won the respect of her employer, Kijin Kou, and met the Minister of Civil Affairs, Reishin Kou. Their support was key in the passing of a law to allow women to take the official examination. Shuurei passed the exam with the third highest score of the year, taking the "Tanka" spot, and at the age of seventeen became Saiunkoku's first female official.
At first, most of the officials hated the idea of having a female official. Higher ranking officials started to respect her after she passed a verbal test of the official exams in front of the entire counsel. After proving herself capable of performing the duties of an official, Shuurei, along with the other Shinshi, was officially inducted as an official. When the time came for the newly inducted officials to be assigned, Shuurei, along with Eigetsu, was assigned to be the governer of Sa(Brown) Province. This became the first time in history that two people became governors of one region.
[edit] Seiran Shi
(茈 静蘭 Shi Seiran, Seiyū - Hikaru Midorikawa) - Seiran Shi is a low-ranking army officer and the sole remaining retainer in the Kou household. Seiran was taken in thirteen years ago by Shouka Kou, and he has made a vow to spend his life repaying that kindness. He helps the Kou family by protecting them at their home, performing repairs on the family estate, and taking small guard jobs to earn money. He is a very skilled fighter and swordsman and is usually found following Shuurei to guard her, even when she doesn't know it. When Grand Master Shou asked Shuurei to enter the Imperial Residence as the Emperor's consort, Seiran was assigned to be a captain of the Emperor's personal guard as part of the deal.
As the series begins Seiran claims to be 21 years old, but in reality he is 25 to 27 years of age. Seiran's true identity is Prince Seien, the second oldest of the six royal brothers who was known as the "flower" of the royal princes due to his pyshical and intellectual superiority over his brothers. Although, due Seien's potential abilities, his brothers and other royal families saw him as a threat to their success. After his grandfather and mother conspired to make him Emperor, he and his mother were exiled for treason, while his grandfather was executed. The other royal families saw this as a chance to annihilate Seien once and for all. Seien survived all the assassination attempts on his life, but his mother was killed. Seien's mother also thought of him as an unwanted child, blaming him for all the hardships she suffered, even with her last breath.
His true identity makes him Ryuuki's older brother and, arguably, the true heir to the throne. He has shown no interest in claiming the throne for himself, however, preferring to act behind the scenes and assist his younger brother. Shouka Kou and his wife gave Seiran his current name. His surname 'Shi' (茈) is pronounced the same as the Emperor's family name, but has different kanji. War General Taifu Sou and Shuuei Ran discover Seiran's true identity during a sword bout. Ryuuki discovers the truth shortly thereafter, when the two spar together during a swordsmanship tournament.
Seiran is very secretive and keeps to himself most of the time, usually putting others before himself. This makes Shuurei worry about him because he doesn't talk about himself much, while she talks to him about everything. Seiran has kept Shuurei ignorant of his true identity. The two are sometimes mistaken for a couple due to the amount of time they spend together, but there has been no evidence of romantic feelings on either side. His attitude towards her points more to him seeing Shuurei as his little sister. Seiran also cares a great deal for his younger brother Ryuuki. When the two were growing up, Seiran was one of the few people who treated Ryuuki with any kindness. Seiran became friends with Ensei Rou sometime during his exile, but does not treat him with much fondness. Although, when he's with Ensei, he feels comfortable enough to act in a way that he doesn't with anyone else. It turns out that the place that Seien was to be exiled to was Brown Province. He spent nearly a year there before wandering off and being taken in by Shouka.
Seiran sometimes feels useless because he doesn't have the rank or status to be able to protect Shuurei all the time and be by her side. This led him to officially enlist as a military officer. His first official assignment was to accompany both Shuurei and Eigestu to Brown Province as their exclusive officer. This position was higher than that of a provincial shogun. Along with the assignment, Ryuuki also offered him Kanshou, one of the twin swords that Prince Seien wielded. Kanshou and Bakuya were entrusted with Seien after he won the fighting tournament at the age of 12. They were forged from the same ore and were both wielded by Seien until he was exiled. Although, when they were young, Seien gave one of the swords, Bakuya, to his little brother, Ryuuki. As Ryuuki was offered Bakuya a long time ago, he decides to offer Kanshou to Seiran.
[edit] Shouka Kou
(紅 邵可 Kō Shōka, Seiyū - Shuuichi Ikeda) - The oldest of the Kou Family and Shuurei's father. He also took in Seiran into his home thirteen years ago. After turning down the position of being the head of the Kou family, he was kicked out of the main household. He then moved to the capital where his younger brother, Reishin, got him a job in the Palace. He works in the Palace as the head of the Royal Archives even though the pay is cheap. Ryuuki often visited Shouka in the Royal library when he was young because Shouka seemed to be one of the few people who treated him with kindness. His job is only that of a librarian, but he is highly respected by everyone.
At first, he just seems like a caring, gentle librarian who can't even make a proper tasting cup of tea, but it is later revealed that he is the legendary killer, The Black Wolf. He leads the group called the Wolves of the Wind. This was a group full of expert assassins that served the previous Emperor. He has the deadliest fighting skills, as seen when he slashed down nearly ten thugs in an instant to protect Seiran. His identity as the Black Wolf is still a secret to everyone except for Taishi Shou, Shusui, and Reishin. Shouka said that he actually disbanded the Wolves of the Wind.
It was later revealed that he met his wife after being assigned a mission to assassinate her. Since he fell in love with her, he of course couldn't go through with it. The previous Emperor also gave him a mission to secretly protect the exiled Seien from assassination attempts.
[edit] Kouyuu Ri
(李 絳攸 Ri Kōyū, Seiyū - Noboyuki Hiyama) - Kouyuu Ri holds the rank of Vice-Secretary of the Civil Affairs department, serving beneath Reishin Kou. Kouyuu was an orphan living in the streets before he was adopted by Reishin thirteen years ago; he survived by selling tickets to a street lottery of his own design in which the prizes included branches of plum blossoms and bags of salt. Kouyuu became the youngest person ever to pass the official examinations at the age of 16, taking the top ranked "Jougen" spot. As the series begins, Kouyuu has been assigned directly to the Emperor, a position that infuriates him because the wandering Emperor never carries out his duties and can rarely even be found. After Ryuuki agrees to be tutored by Kouyuu, however, and begins taking an active role in government, Ryuuki offers Kouyuu an iris flower as sign of trust. Kouyuu openly accepts the flower as a token of his loyalty and his belief that Ryuuki is a worthy Emperor. Kouyuu often works closely with the Emperor and revises the work that Ryuuki does, such as written proposals.
Despite his reputation as a genius, Kouyuu is notorious for having no sense of direction. He gets lost in the palace within 30 steps and it sometimes takes him two hours to get to a destination that only takes 15 minutes for another person. (Though, he does seem to find his way when there's trouble.) He has a close relationship with Shuuei Ran, though he loudly denies being the latter's friend. He's easily annoyed and gets nervous speaking in public. He frequently states that women are nothing but trouble and refused all offers of marriage after he passed the official exam, despite receiving many proposals from families eager to tie themselves to an up-and-coming star. He frequently tutors Shuurei, however, and appears to regard her as a friend.
It's been revealed that Kouyuu's reason for taking the Exams and climbing to the top was to stand by Reishin's side and pay him back for everything that he did. He also wanted to be acknowledged by Reishin, but was frustrated by the older man's cool and callous exterior. He thought that Reishin adopted him on a whim and wondered whether any of his efforts made a difference. He has since realized, however, that Reishin thinks of him as his own child and that the plum blossom, after which Kouyuu Ri is named, is Reishin's favourite.
The Kou family (specifically Shouka Kou's younger brother in episode 20) has the intention of marrying Kouyuu to Shuurei to lead the Kou clan in the future.
[edit] Reishin Kou
(紅 黎深 Kō Reishin', Seiyū - Mitsuaki Madono) - In charge of the Civil/Public Administration Department and has been head of the Kou family for nearly fifteen years. Shouka's younger brother, Shuurei's uncle, and Kouyuu's boss as well as adoptive father. He said his reason for adopting Kouyuu was because his older brother adopted a child so he wanted to adopt a random child to share his brother's experience. Although, Shouka revealed to Kouyuu that Reishin thinks of him as his own child. He's good friends with Kijin since he's allowed to be around him when he's not wearing a mask. He's also the one making all those different masks for Kijin. Kijin describes him as being crafty, coolheaded, and coldhearted, but Reishin is usually seen very cheerful, easy-going, and sometimes childish. He sometimes plays tricks on other officials.
He decided not to publicly reveal that he is the head of the Kou Clan, so only a few know of his status. He even hides the fact that he's Shuurei's uncle from her because he believes that she blames him for kicking her father out and becoming the head of the family. In fact, he's been trying to protect his older brother ever since he found out that Shouka adopted the exiled prince, Seien. He respectfully calls Shouka his elder brother and actually likes the fact that Shouka corrects his mistakes and that his elder bother scolds him for being too strict in front of others. He truly acts like a little brother to Shouka and is always so happy when seeing him. Reishin is also very protective of Shuurei and watches her from the shadows, often getting angry at Ryuuki for saying that he'll one day marry her. While hiding behind a door, he once threw a wooden fan at Ryuuki for almost saying that he's going to marry her. Though, Ryuuki didn't notice it was him since Shouka walked in and said it flew out of his hand. He also secretly becomes Shuurei's sponsor so she can take the exam.
He and Kijin are always seen as very serious people in public but, they both always have a sort of comedic attitude when they're alone together or when it's just them and Shouka.
He was accused of manipulating the results of the Official Exams and was temporarily confined. Being the head of the Kou Clan, his arrest outraged the Kou Clan causing nearly half the country to cease functioning. The charges were later dropped after the arrest of the real criminal, who was involved in illegal activities and was the one who started the rumors about Reishin.
[edit] The Shi Clan
[edit] Ryuuki Shi
(紫 劉輝 Shi Ryūki, Seiyū - Tomokazu Seki) - Ryuuki Shi is the reigning emperor of Saiunkoku. He is nineteen years old when the story begins. The youngest of six brothers, he was an unlikely candidate to ascend to the throne. Of his five elder brothers, four killed each other over the succession and one was exiled for treason. As a child, Ryuuki was badly mistreated by his mother and his brothers, except for his brother Seien, who seemed to be the only one who truly cared for him. His other brothers and mother used to beat Ryuuki and lock him in a closet for hours at a time, telling him his birth order was bad and that he stole affection from his siblings. These experiences led to a lingering fear of the dark and sleeping alone. Ryuuki often took refuge in the garden or the imperial archives, where he first encountered Shouka Kou. Shouka tutored the young prince and encouraged War General Taifu Sou to teach him swordsmanship.
Due to his father's dying wish, Ryuuki ultimately rose to the throne. Hoewever, he avoided any involvement in politics or government, wandering the palace for hours so no one would be able to find him. He even spread rumours that he preferred the company of men to fuel speculation he could not produce an heir. Ryuuki secretly hoped that Seien, his beloved older brother, would eventually return and take his place as Emperor. Ryuuki's avoidance of responsibility came to an end when he met Shuurei, who told him of her dreams of making a better life for the nation's people. Ryuuki decided to take on his responsibilities and become a respectable Emperor.
When Ryuuki first met Shuurei, he was charmed by her earnest and nurturing personality, going so far as to compare her to a nagging mother while devouring half a dozen of her red bean-paste buns. Ryuuki's romantic pursuit of her has been complicated by his lack of experience courting women and Shuurei's initial belief that he is homosexual and therefore more interested in Seiran. Even after discovering Seiran's true identity, Ryuuki harbors some jealousy over the fact that Seiran spends more time with Shuurei and she confides in him more. Ryuuki's devotion to Shuurei has also revealed a capacity for subterfuge and cunning, providing an explanation for his survival during the fight over the succession. When Ryuuki agreed to participate in politics, he initially pretended ignorance of government in order to study together with Shuurei. He used his fear of darkness as an excuse to sleep in her room at the palace. He also concealed from Shuurei the attempts to poison her in order to determine the true identity of the conspirator, going so far as to take poison that was intended for her. After Shuurei left the palace, Ryuuki sent her many absurd gifts such as boiled eggs, blocks of ice, and even a voodoo doll made from straw. To get Shuurei back to the palace and enable her to pursue her dreams, he passed a law allowing women to take the official exams. Before sending Shuurei to Brown Province as governor, Ryuuki privately told her that he would not take anyone else as his wife other than Shuurei.
[edit] The Ran Clan
[edit] Shuuei Ran
(藍 楸瑛 Ran Shūei, Seiyū - Toshiyuki Morikawa) - The General of the Shaorin army. Part of the Ran family, one of the two greatest clans. The fourth oldest of five brothers. A very skilled swordsman and is usually calm, but likes to tease others. He was supposed to be guarding the Emperor with Kouyuu, but since Ryuuki was nowhere to be found, he and Kouyuu were left in the library for a month being bored.
He claims to be Kouyuu's best friend, though Kouyuu keeps denying it. Shuuei is usually the one that gets Kouyuu all riled up by mentioning things like his lack of direction and his woman-hating ideals. Unlike Kouyuu, Shuuei is a womanizer. He often mentions how nice it is to spend time with women and was seen surrounded by a horde of women after winning the fighting tournament. He's also a regular at the Red Light District and usually spends time with the number one woman in the number one brothel.
Along with Kouyuu, Shuuei also receives a flower and swears his loyalty to the current Emperor, establishing Ryuuki's reign since he is now backed up by the top two upcoming officials of the palace. He knows Seiran's true identity. Later, he reveals to Kouyuu that nine years ago, his elder brothers' ordered him to track down Prince Seien's whereabouts, but he didn't succeed.
Shuuei often flirts and sleeps around with the palace ladies. He does this in the hope of attracting the attention of Shusui. It was love at first sight when Shusui helped him once in the past. Although, Shusui does not remember the meeting between them.
[edit] Ryuuren Ran
(藍 龍蓮 Ran Ryūren, Seiyū - Hidenobu Kiuchi) - The youngest of the five brothers of the Ran family. He is eighteen years old. It is said that, out of his four older brothers he was the most worthy of the name Ryuuren Ran because he is a genius. He calls his older brothers foolish and doesn't call them by their name, rather: Shuuei = "foolish elder brother the fourth". Recently, he's called Shuurei, Soul Friend #1, and Eigetsu, Soul Friend #2 (He refers to Yougetsu as Soul Friend #2.5).
He does things on his own time and is quite impulsive: when he was going to buy ingredients for chicken stew with Shuurei, he ended up buying soy beans, then he traded that for boiled eggs, then traded the eggs for spring onions, then the spring onions for wood blocks, then flowers, then fish, then straw, and then he gave away the straw to a little girl and just ended up with one stalk of straw. Later in the series, he goes ghost hunting after hearing about a late-night ghost. He also pulls out his flute and plays it without warning, often off key. Since he can't be easily told what to do and is very unpredictable, he's necessary in the Ran family. Although, because of this behavior many find him weird and annoying, so they usually distance themselves from him. Shuurei was the only one who put up with him, so he said that she's now his soul friend.
He travels to different places playing cards, but is only allowed to wander around if he takes the official exams and finishes in the top three. He wanders off again and is finally seen again taking the final exams with Shuurei and Eigetsu. He declares that Eigetsu is also his soul friend since he's Shuurei's friend. He passes the Official Exams with the second highest score, taking the "Bougen" spot. Though, while the others were all concentrating on studying in the dorms, Ryuuren didn't study once and preferred to sleep, eat, and play his flute. The preparatory dorm he was staying in ended up being called the Cursed 13th Building because his flute playing drove other examinees insane and seven officials resigned after having incomprehensible conversations with him. After passing the exams, he decided to skip out on the Shinshi Ceremony, which inducts the examinees into becoming officials. He claimed that the wind called to him to start a new voyage. He most likely left to wander around again since he already fulfilled his promise in ending up in the top three in the official exams.
He claims to have no interest in becoming an official nor the head of the Ran clan.
[edit] The Kou (Yellow) Clan
[edit] Kijin Kou
(黄 奇人, Kō Kijin, Seiyū - Kazuhiro Nakada) - In charge of the Department of Treasury and Taxation (Finances). Wears a mask all the time and always has his hair loose. He actually has many different kinds of masks since he changes them all the time, but he's never seen without one. His masks also has a button which opens the part that covers his mouth and nose, so he could drink or eat in public. Many find him mysterious, eccentric, and strange. He's a bit strict and is quite a slave-driver, but also has a nice side since he's seen comforting Shuurei during the thunderstorm. He already knew that Shuurei was a girl when she started working for him but, he found her helpful so he stayed quiet about it and he knew that she was Reishin's niece.
Very few people know his actual name, Houju. He often gets into meaningless, friendly arguments with Reishin. He and Reishin have a very friendly relationship.
People assumed that he wears a mask because he's ugly, but in fact, he wears a mask because he's so beautiful that everyone fell in love with him, even men. When he took the imperial examinations, candidates and officials in the same examination hall were besotted with him and did not do their duty. 30 officials were sacked because of this. He started wearing a mask when the woman he loves rejected his marriage proposal by saying, "I can't stand beside someone with a face like yours." In the end, the woman married Reishin. He started wearing masks on their wedding night.
[edit] The Sa Clan
[edit] Enjun Sa
(Seiyū - Naoki Bandou) - One of the three Grand Officials of the Palace. Taiho is Sa Enjun's title. He had offered Ryuuki to take his granddaughter as wife, but was refused. Always wanted to be the top, but Taishi was always above him. He sort of grew an inferiority complex towards Shou Taishi because he could never beat him. Shou Taishi even found out his plot to kill Ryuuki and make Seien his puppet Emperor. Though, Seien refused to be Emperor and before collapsing, due to a knock-out powder, he fatally wounded Taiho in the back by throwing a small dagger. He died from the wound and in his last moments was comforted by his friend, and rival, Shou Taishi . He had adopted the little girl Kourin eight years ago. His so-called plot to kill Ryuuki is actually a plan to help the emperor to help him settle his family back in the state of Sa. As Taiho Sa's family back in the state of Sa will be a threat to the emperor, Taiho Sa had to kill himself so that the family will lose their pillar of support. Only then will the emperor be able to get rid of his family. It is later revealed that he is the Sage of Sa.
[edit] Chuushou Sa
(Seiyū - Masami Iwasaki) The younger brother of Sa Enjun. Has plans to become the next Head of the Sa Clan.
[edit] Soujun Sa
(Seiyū - Junichi Suwabe) Eldest grandson of Sa Chuushou. He has two brothers, Sakujun and Kokujun. Soujun is also familiar with Seiran and Ensei.
[edit] Sakujun Sa
(Seiyū - Takehito Koyasu) The middle brother.
[edit] Kokujun Sa
(Seiyū - Kousuke Toriumi) The youngest of the three brothers.
[edit] Imperial officials and palace servants
[edit] Ensei Rou
(浪 燕青 Rō Ensei, Seiyū - Kentarou Itou) - First seen as a traveller who was taken in by Shuurei when she saw him passed out, due to a summer heat wave, near the entrance of her house. She invited him into her house to eat. When Seiran returned home, Ensei recognized him and called him "The Little Whirlwind". He seems to be an old acquaintance of Seiran, but Seiran doesn't seem to like his presence even though they seem to have a friendly relationship. They were most likely old acquaintances during Seiran's time in Brown Province. Seiran assigned him to be Shuurei's temporary bodyguard while he's off fighting bandits. Also assigned to be the temporary administrator for the Department of Treasury and Taxation by Kijin. Seiren finds out he's been defending against the thieves from Brown Province every night.
He used to be the Governor of Brown Province. He was not an official since he didn't take the examination. High officials from the Brown Province were assassinated or bribed so no-one wanted to become an official there anymore. Grand Guardian Enjun Sa announced that whoever could turn the tables on an assassin would be made provincial Governor. Ensei was appointed as temporary governor and was able to do defeat all the assassins that sneaked up on him and he was even great at governing. Though, once Enjun died, no-one wanted to accept Ensei as a high official since he didn't even take the imperial examination. He then left to see the new Emperor and ask him to appoint a legitimate governor. The reason the thieves were after him was because there was a bounty placed on his head. He returned to Brown Province and then came back to escort Kourin to the Capital. He once again returns to Brown Province, but this time as Eigetsu and Shuurei's official assistant.
He has a cross-shaped scar under his left eye.
[edit] Eigetsu To
(杜 影月, To Eigetsu, Seiyū - Daisuke Namikawa) - A shy and very intelligent thirteen year old boy from Seika Village in the Koku Province. He came to the Capital to take the Imperial Exams after passing the Provincial Exams at the age of twelve. His money was given to him by all the people in his village, to wish him well. He later lives with the Kou family since he sends most of what he earns to his village.
Eigetsu possesses dissociative identity disorder. He turns into a completely different person after consuming alcohol. Yougetsu is the name of his other persona. In this state, he becomes more confident and somewhat arrogant but, more mature when it comes to certain things (His voice also becomes deeper). He has superior fighting abilities, agility, and great strength. He was able to stop the blade of a sword with two fingers, then breaking it, and even throwing the guy holding the sword into a wall. Also, after winning a drinking contest at the Red Light District, he ended up beating up three guys from a notorious gang and stole their money afterwards. Before passing out, he insisted that Shuuei, who found him after the fight, bring him to the number one brothel in the Capital. This resulted in Eigetsu waking up at the brothel not knowing how he got there nor the exact details of what happened while he was intoxicated.
Yougetsu still retains Eigetsu's intelligence making him very calculating and strategic. He also spends most of his money on special, expensive sake without telling Eigetsu, leading him to believe he was robbed. Even though Yougetsu calls Eigetsu a dim-witted fool, he always looks out for him. He even made sure that Eigetsu's Exam token was safe since he thought that Eigetsu would lose it during all the commotion. He gave the token to a businessman and asked him to deliver it, along with the sake he ordered, to the number one brothel the following night.
Eigetsu tells people that he's weak against alcohol and that he prefers not to even smell it. He's definitely aware of the existence of Yougetsu since they are able to communicate once Eigetsu consumes enough alcohol (Eigetsu, who got thrown into a barrel of alcohol, asked Yougetsu to save Shuurei when they got involved in a fight). The Bosses of Downtown even started arguing about who could claim Eigetsu into their clan after seeing his monstrous abilities. Though, Eigetsu already decided on taking the Exams and becoming an official.
Eigetsu passes the Official Exams with the top scores, being the youngest person in history to pass at the top of the year, taking the "Jougen" spot. At a banquet, he got asked by many high officials to marry into their family and was forced to drink Sake causing him to have to run out so he wouldn't cause a ruckus as Yougetsu inside a noble's house. Even being the Jougen, after becoming a Shinshi, many officials gave him trouble, like asking him to shine their shoes and "accidentally" kicking him, since he turned down all the marriage proposals.
Eigetsu, along with Shuuei, was assigned to be one of the governors of Brown Province. He made history after becoming the youngest governor the country has ever had and by being part of the first co-governors system.
He will be disappearing soon.Yougetsu will be taking over him.Eigetsu must not drink wine.He must swore off wine forever in order to exist.
[edit] Shusui
(Seiyū - Akemi Okamura) - She is Shuurei's main servant at the palace. She was revealed to be a part of the Wolves of the Wind as an assassin. Taiho Sa had believed that she was an assassin loyal to him, but was actually working as a double agent under the orders of Taishi Shou.
She is deeply fond of Shouka, but he doesn't seem to feel the same way. She was terribly bad at embroidery, but is somewhat improving (She made a handkerchief that she intended to have a sunflower-like floral pattern, but Shouka mistook it for a lion).
[edit] Kourin
(Seiyū - Eri Sendai) - Introduced as Shuurei's other servant at the palace. She was adopted by Taiho Sa after he saw her collapsed in front of his house due to the war eight years ago. She looks up to him a lot and was even willing to poison Shuurei and then sacrifice her life for him by drinking poison. After his death, she was sent to Taiho Sa's wife so she could live there. She's currently travelling back to the Capital with Ensei to give some information about the Sa Clan.
[edit] Taishi Shou
(Seiyū - Kouji Ishii) - One of the three Grand Officials of the Palace. Taishi is his title and not his name. It was his plan to bring Shuurei to the palace as the temporary wife of the Emperor. He also had a master plan to expose the true mastermind of the plot to kill the Emperor. He says that he doesn't serve the country and is only loyal to a worthy Emperor. By introducing Shuurei to the palace, the Emperor was finally worthy to rule and Taiho Sa's plot to kill the Emperor was exposed. He had been able to control the Black Wolf and the Wolves of the Wind, but after risking Shouka's daughter and Seiran's life, Shouka decided not to follow his orders any longer and vowed to kill him.
He served the previous emperor. He saw Taiho Sa as a close friend of his for many years and was saddened by his passing, but thought that it had to be done. He and Taifu are also great friends.
He seems to be more than human since he was seen as a young man with a white aura surrounding him when he went to comfort his friend, Taiho, during his last moments. He also summoned Enjun Sa's spirit, who seems to be a friend of his in the past. It is later revealed that he is one of the eights sages, the Sage of Shi, that served the first Emperor.
He once made a pact with someone that he will only serve the emperor he deemed fitting and will do everything he can to help him survive and nothing more. That's why during the imperial succession battle eight years ago, he did not do anything to ensure that the country is in great condition. He did only the bare minimal to ensure the country will survive while he searched for the king worthy of him. When he realised that Ryuuki was finally turning into the kind of king he was searching for, he made sure that no one threatens Ryuuki's place on the throne.
[edit] Taifu Sou
(Seiyū - Mitsuru Ogata) - One of the three Grand Officials of the Palace and a War Hero. Taifu is his title, not his name He is a fighting master and had served the previous emperor. Great friends with Taishi. He often knows the plans that Taishi comes up with and is aware of the actual existence of the Sages.
[edit] Misc
[edit] Kochou
(Seiyū - Kaori Yamagata) Kochou is the mistress of Kougarou, a pleasure house in the red-light district. Shuurei had been working for her for many years as an accountant.
