History Characters / SanoIchiro

!!Sano "Ueda" Reiko

* KidDetective: During ''The Cloud Pavilion'', Masahiro begins to show some of the same dectective skills that his father does, even helping out his parents with some of their cases.* KidSamurai: Masahiro's kidnapping in ''The Snow Empress'' forces him to mature faster than he ordinarily would have. This means having to kill his way out of certain situations.

* KidDetective[=/=]KidSamurai: Masahiro starts becoming the latter as of ''The Snow Empress'' and the former as of ''The Cloud Pavilion''. He is pretty much full on both by ''The Incense Game''.

* AnythingThatMoves: Many of his lovers are both women and men ([[HarmfulToMinors and minors]]) of various classes.

* BastardBoyfriend: Yanagisawa mainly uses his lovers for pleasure and/or to execute his plans. He's callous and emotionally distant in an effort to keep them from gaining power over him. This trait is lessened greatly after his love affair with Hoshina collapses, when he realizes others are using his affection to gain power in a similar fashion.

* BerserkButton: Don't even ''think'' about trying to usurp his position as second-in-command. More generally, don't attempt to take any power away from him. Shichisaburo learns that last point the [[{{Understatement}} hard way]]; after confessing his love to Yanagisawa, Yanagisawa feels the balance of power tilt towards his paramour. This enrages him to the point of beating up the actor and letting him take the fall for setting up the Shogun's mother as a murder suspect.

One of Yanagisawa's children and his protégé.

* BiTheWay: Her long-time paramour is a preist and she often helps herself to the palace servants, both male and female.

* AbusiveParents: Once Hirata disappears out of nowhere, Midori develops a habit of taking out her anger and frustration on her children. Unlike many other examples of this trope, Midori seems to be aware her abusive behavior.

* LikeIsLikeAComma: The shogun uses "ahh" in this way in almost every piece of his dialogue. No other character has a similar speech pattern. It's actually a way of showing his speech faltering as he can't make a decision, and he drops it after ''The Shogun's Daughter'' when he becomes more sure of himself.

* BiTheWay: Her long-time paramour is a preist and she h
* HistoricalDomainCharacter: Based on the real Keisho-in.
* IWasQuiteTheLooker: She likes to remind people of this whenever they'll listen.
* ParentalHypocrisy: Keisho-in refuses to accept her son's preference for those of his sex, yet she has no problem with helping herself to her son's concubines, the palace maids, and other women.
* RagsToRiches: She used to be the daughter of a grocer who eventually became the concubine of Iemitsu, the previous Shogun. After giving birth to Tsunayoshi, she became the mother of the next Shogun and, as a result, the highest ranking women in Japan.
* UpperClassTwit: Due to her original peasant upbringing, she lacks a lot of the refined mannerisms and education associated with the nobility. She doesn't bother to hide or change any of that.

* HatesTheirParent: He strongly resents his father for ignoring his existence until Yanagisawa needed a new pawn.
* NobleFugitive: Yoshisato, after being kidnapped by Ienobu's men, escapes and pretends to be a gangster, eventually becoming leader of the gang.

Originally a yoriki, Sano was promoted to the title of Most Honorable Investigator of Events, Situations, and People (aka sosakan-sama) after saving the Shogun's life.

* ByTheBookCop: He starts out by following the rules of Bushido strictly and always honoring the Shogun's wishes. He doesn't stick with this for very long.
* CowboyCop: Becomes this after befriending Dr. Ito and using his forbidden Western knowledge to find clues. As the series goes on and those behind the Shogun start making things more difficult for him to investigate directly, Sano has to flout his orders to find the truth, usually finding a loophole or way to sneak around and remain in his master's good graces while carefully stirring up trouble to find answers.

* GoodParents: He and Reiko love both of their children and raise them as people and not as pawns.
* HappilyMarried: Is happily married to Reiko.

* InterdisciplinarySleuth: Sano's past a tutor helps him question witnesses and find various clues. His training as a samurai is a boon when it comes to interacting with hostile suspects.
* KnightInSourArmor: Sano, as the series progresses. While he always knew life at court was dangerous, years of the shogun failing to show any appreciation whatsoever for Sano's loyalty gradually wears away at Sano's idealism.
* OfficialCouple: Is in one with Reiko. Once they come to an understanding, they quickly become devoted to each other.
* PapaWolf: Sano will harm anyone that threatens his children.

* ActionMom: Since she got the martial arts training usually reserved for men, Reiko can go toe-to-toe with other samurai. It's this skill that saves her on more than one occasion. She's also the mother of two children and will fight anyone who attempts to harm them.
* AmateurSleuth: Due to her father letting her help out with court trials, Reiko developed a taste for detective work. And she's really good at it, being able to get answers and go places that Sano would not otherwise be able to. However, this help usually earns scorn from her peers as being unladylike.
* [[CharacterTics Character Tic]]: In times of stress, Reiko has a tendency to touch her front chipped tooth with her tongue.
* GoodParents: She and Sano love both of their children and raise them as people and not as pawns.
* HappilyMarried: Is happily married to Sano.

* OfficialCouple: Is in one with Sano. Once they come to an understanding, they quickly become devoted to each other.

* BiTheWay: Keisho-in likes to help herself to her son's concubines from time to time.

* IWasQuiteTheLooker: Keisho-in likes to remind people of this whenever they'll listen.

* PapaBear: Sano will harm anyone that threatens his children.

!! Ueda Reiko

!! Hirata
Starting as a dōshin, Hirata became Sano's chief advisor after helping him catch the Bundori Killer.

* AtonementDetective: Before starting his partnership with Sano, Hirata let his previous master die while he fled for his life. Since that event, Hirata had been desperately trying to atone for his cowardice by committing the ultimate act a samurai can do: sacrificing himself in order to save his master. [[spoiler: By the end of the series, he does ultimately achieve this goal.]]
* MyGreatestFailure: The death of his previous master haunts Hirata; he could have tried to defend him, but he fled the scene instead.
* OnlyOneName: Among the main cast, Hirata is the only one who's family name ([[NameOrderConfusion or first name]]?) is never mentioned.

!! Niu Midori
After helping Sano with his first case, she becomes a lady-in-waiting to Lady Keisho-in.

* AbusiveParents: Once Hirata disappears out of nowhere, Midori develops a habit of taking out her anger and frustration on her children. Unlike many other examples of this trope, Midori seems to be aware her abusive behavior.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Experiences this after mistreating one of her children.
* YamatoNadeshiko: Midori is perfectly happy with being a housewife and partaking in traditional womanly activities. She also isn't afraid to call Hirata out whenever he leaves his family behind.

!! Yanagisawa Yoshiyasu
The Shogun's Chamberlain and the primary antagonist of the series.

* AbusiveParents: His parents saw him and his siblings as little more than tools for their own ambitions. Yanagisawa isn't much better to his own children.
* AnythingThatMoves: Many of his lovers are both women and men ([[HarmfulToMinors and minors]]) of various classes.
* BastardBoyfriend: Yanagisawa mainly uses his lovers for pleasure and/or to execute his plans. He's callous and emotionally distant in an effort to keep them from gaining power over him. This trait is lessened greatly after his love affair with Hoshina collapses, when he realizes others are using his affection to gain power in a similar fashion.
* BatmanGambit: His plans to undermine Sano's investigation usually fall into this. He comes to know Sano's methods and ideologies well enough to predict that his principal values won't allow him to ignore any clues, no matter how dangerous they are to himself or his family.
* BerserkButton: Don't even ''think'' about trying to usurp his position as second-in-command. More generally, don't attempt to take any power away from him. Shichisaburo learns that last point the [[{{Understatement}} hard way]]; after confessing his love to Yanagisawa, Yanagisawa feels the balance of power tilt towards his paramour. This enrages him to the point of beating up the actor and letting him take the fall for setting up the Shogun's mother as a murder suspect.
* DarkAndTroubledPast: Raised by a pair of abusive and unloving parents, he was used as a sexual plaything by several men. At an early age, he learned how to use his looks and cunning in order to rise in the ranks.
* DirtyOldMan: The first lover of the thirty-one-year-old Yanagisawa that we're introduced to is a preteen actor called Shichisaburo.
* EvilChancellor: He reinforces Tsunayoshi's bad habits and weaknesses in order to keep the Shogun under his control. To keep other's from usurping his position and power, he'll use whatever means necessary to get rid of the competition, including, but not limited to, malicious gossip, character assassination, and actual assassination.

!! Tokugawa Tsunayoshi
The fifth shogun of Japan.

* ExtremeDoormat: Tsunayoshi is relatively easy to persuade.

!! Lady Keisho-in
Tsunayoshi's mother and former concubine to the previous shogun.

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! Main Characters

* ExtremeDoormat: Tsunayoshi is relatively easy to persuade.

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* BeserkButton: Don't even ''think'' about trying to usurp his position as second-in-command. More generally, don't attempt to take any power away from him. Shichisaburo learns that last point the [[{{Understatement}} hard way]]; after confessing his love to Yanagisawa, Yanagisawa feels the balance of power tilt towards his paramour. This enrages him to the point of beating up the actor and letting him take the fall for setting up the Shogun's mother as a murder suspect.

* TragicStillbirth: [[spoiler:Reiko spends most of ''The Iris Fan'' in mourning after her third pregnancy resulted in the miscarriage of her third child. She can't help but wonder if her involvement with the previous case had a hand in it.]]

Originally a yoriki, Sano was promoted to the title of sosakan-sama- Most Honorable Investigator of Events, Situations, and People- after saving the Shogun's life.

* HonorBeforeReason: Sanos' biggest strength and weakness. His strive for truth and justice usually ends up butting his and his family's lives in danger, but it's this same strive that lets him find the real culprit and help innocents from being wrongly punished.
* PapaBear: Sano is more than willing to harm anyone that threatens his children.

* ActionGirl: Since she got the martial arts training usually reserved for men, Reiko can go toe-to-toe with other samurai. It's this skill that saves her on more than one occasion. She even took on a group of grown men as a child.
* ActionMom: Is more than willing to fight for herself, her husband, and her children.
* AmateurSleuth: Due to her father letting her help out with court trials, Reiko developed a taste for detective work. And she's really good at it, being able to get answers and go places that Sano would not otherwise find. However, this help usually earns scorn from her peers as being unladylike.

* TragicStillbirth: [[spoiler:Reiko spends most of ''The Iris Fan'' in mourning after her third pregnancy resulted in the death and miscarriage of her third child. She also can't help but wonder if her involvement with the previous case had a hand in it.]]

* OnlyOneName: Among the main cast, Hirata is the only one who's family name (or first name?) is never mentioned.

* AbusiveParents: Once Hirata disappears out of nowhere, Midori develops a habit of taking out her anger and frustration on her children. Unlike many other examples of this trope, Midori seems to be aware of this.

The Shogun's Chamberlain and the main antagonist of the series.

* BastardBoyfriend: Yanagisawa mainly uses his lovers for pleasure and to execute his plans. He's callous and emotionally distant in an effort to keep them from gaining power over him. This trait is lessened greatly after his love affair with Hoshina collapses, when he realizes others are using his affection to gain power in a similar fashion.

* DirtyOldMan: The first lover of his that we're introduced to is a preteen boy called Shichisaburo. Yanagisawa was thirty-one years old.
* EvilChancellor: He reinforces Tsunayoshi's bad habits and weaknesses in order to keep the Shogun under his control. In order to keep other's from usurping his position and power, he'll use whatever means necessary to get rid of the compition, including, but not limited to, assassination.

* ParentalFavoritism: While Reiko loves both of her kids, she admits that she favors Masahiro, due to him being born first.

A list of characters from the ''Literature/SanoIchiro'' series.

* TragicSillbirth: [[spoiler:Reiko spends most of ''The Iris Fan'' in mourning after her third pregnancy resulted in the death and miscarriage of her third child. She also can't help but wonder if her involvement with the previous case had a hand in it.]]

* AbusiveParents: Once Hirata disappears out of nowhere, Midori develops a habit of taking out her anger and frustration on her children.

Starting as a doushin, Hirata became Sano's chief advisor after helping him catch the Bundori Killer.

* AtonementDetective: Before starting his partnership with Sano, Hirata let his previous master die while he fled for his life. Since that event, Hirata had been desperately trying to atone for his cowardice through a selfless act that will save his new master. [[spoiler: By the end of the series, he does ultimately get what he wants but dies in the process.]]