The characters of the anime series Hanasaku Iroha:
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Ohana Matsumae
Age: 16
Voiced by: Kanae Itō
The main character. Ohana moves from Tokyo to her grandmother's hot spring inn Kissuiso after her mother Satsuki runs off with her boyfriend, leaving a huge debt in their name. Desiring drama but claiming to be pragmatic, Ohana resolves to work hard in her new environment after discovering the Kissuiso isn't what she thought it would be.
- Anguished Declaration of Love: For Ko twice in Episode 13 — to her mother and grandmother, and later to herself; in the latter case she decides to not chase after him for the time being. After being honest with her feelings in Episode 22, she plans on confessing to Ko after Enishi and Takako's wedding.
- Beware the Nice Ones: She explodes at Minko and Nako — the former for telling her to "die," and the latter for constantly running away — forcing them to tell her their least favorite foods.
- Big Eater: Subverted and Played for Laughs. She's forced into becoming one in Episode 20 to taste-test Minko's Omelete Rice. With obvious results.
- Borrowed Catchphrase: She'll often use Minko's to someone who annoys her.
- Break the Cutie: Has been subjected to this a few times, especially in Episode 1, when many of her expectations about the inn gets blown up in her face spectacularly. Fortunately she can cope well, and as such she has, time and again, gotten out of such situations changed for the better.
- Chaste Heroine: Due to her inexperience and obliviousness when it comes to love. Subverted in Episode 13, as it turns out that she does have feelings for Ko.
- Curtains Match the Window: She has light brown hair and eyes.
- Disappeared Dad: Her father isn't around, meaning either he's dead or divorced from Satsuki, since she took his surname but currently has a boyfriend (who she later dumps). Episode 22 reveals that he — whom, as it turns out, Satsuki loved dearly — died 15 years ago.
- Does Not Like Spam: Her idea of coping with people she doesn't like is to cook a dish with his/her most hated food, then she'll write why she hates that person in said food.
- Drunk on Milk: She's not very good with soda and can get drunk with it, as shown in Episode 13.
- Generation Xerox: Her strained relationship with her mother mirrors Satsuki's own strained relationship with her mother.
- And she wants to be like her grandmother.
- Get A Hold Of Yourself Man: Gives one to Jiromaru after he tells himself that he has no talent.
- I Didn't Mean to Turn You On: Does this to Tohru in the Sick Episode.
- I Just Want to Be Special: Realized this about herself thanks to Jiromaru's novel.
- Innocently Insensitive: Because of how busy she becomes at the Inn, she fails to realize how she's been alienating Ko.
- Ironic Name: Ohana means "family" and "no one gets left behind", right?
- Little Miss Snarker: Ohana is not shy in speaking her mind, a fact that lands her in hot water frequently with the hard-nosed people at the Inn.
- Love Hurts: In spite of her above inexperience with love, she starts to feel love's sting when she sees Ko with his co-worker Igarashi.
- Meaningful Name: Her name is Ohana Matsumae, which means "flower" in a polite tone. Her homeroom teacher notices it, when he meets her. Ohana also means "family" in Hawaiian, and her father chose it with this meaning in mind.
- My God, What Have I Done?: When she gets mad at Tohru and tells him to "die," copying how Minko acts towards her, she quickly realizes how hurtful her words are (and it nearly got them in a car accident because they were distracted) and apologizes, as she doesn't want him to literally die.
- New Transfer Student
- Nosebleed: Has a sensitive nose note that is prone to these.
- Oblivious to Love: Even she is aware of how dense she can be when it comes to other guys liking her. She was oblivious to Ko's feelings until he confessed to her in Episode 1 to her, and she is oblivious to Tohru seemingly developing feelings for her as well until Episode 21.
- Official Couple: With Kou.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: You know it's pretty serious stuff when even the upbeat, optimistic Ohana finally breaks down in tears.
- Parental Abandonment: Her mom abandons her when she elopes with her boyfriend.
- Plucky Girl: At the very least she tries to be, but the burdens placed on her at the Kissuiso bear her down to the point of almost breaking.
- She Is Not My Girlfriend: Insistent that "Ko-chan" is not her boyfriend.
- Shipper on Deck: For Tohru/Minko. Ironically, Tohru has a crush on her.
- Sins of Our Fathers: She gets an awful lot of flak from Sui and Enishi due to her mother's strained relationship with them. Her plight at the Kissuiso is basically Ohana atoning for Satsuki's faults.
- Strong Family Resemblance: Enishi and Sui notes her resemblance to Satsuki. Hilariously lampshaded in Episode 12 when Tohru becomes friendly with Satsuki, and Minko wonders if he is attracted to older women or just their family.
- Supreme Chef: She has been cooking since she was in preschool.
- Tareme Eyes
- Thinks Like a Romance Novel: Ohana is a person that engages in frequent flights of fancy, thinking that her life and the world are just filled with whimsy; they're definitely not
- Vitriolic Best Buds: Is slowly becoming this with Minko.
- Wrong Genre Savvy: She initially thinks that her venture at the Kissuiso will play out as a whimsical tale, only to be brought back to a very harsh reality as soon as she arrives.
Minko Tsurugi
Age: 17
Voiced by: Chiaki Omigawa
One of the workers at Kissuiso and is usually seen helping in the kitchen. Minko has a rocky first start with Ohana after the former catches the latter pulling out her plants, as Ohana mistook them for weeds. In spite of her harsh personality, Minko is a capable and hard worker.
- A Day in the Limelight: Episode 19 and 20.
- Because You Were Nice to Me: Tohru was the first person to give her a chance at her dream, after all.
- Catchphrase: "Just die."
- Gratuitous Vietnamese: When Ohana calls her out on it, it leads her to try and come up with a new insult: "Hobiron"note .
- The Comically Serious
- Defrosting Ice Queen: She slowly starts to realize how dear Ohana is to her.
- Determinator: She takes her dream very seriously.
- Don't You Dare Pity Me!: Does not like it when Ohana tries to help her.
- Dogged Nice Girl: Towards Tohru.
- Dude Magnet: She's a coveted item at school, though she only has eyes for Tohru.
- I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: In Episode 21, in spite of her own feelings for Tohru, she demands for Ohana to date him after realizing that Tohru still has feelings for Ohana and wants him to be happy. But after realizing that she wants to date Tohru someday and is serious about her feelings, she decides to continue her one-sided crush.
- In-Series Nickname: She has two.
- "Minchi"
- "Minko-hime" (ie. "Princess Minko")
- Jerkass
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold
- Letting Her Hair Down: In school.
- Love Hurts: Is devastated when she sees Tohru meeting up with Yuina. Turns out the latter just wanted a hitch on his motorcycle.
- Perpetual Frowner: She rarely smiles, and only does so when Tohru is the subject.
- The Resenter: Towards Ohana.
- The Runaway: She ran away from her parents, who refused to let her become a chef before graduating high school, but thanks to Tohru — the only person in Kissuiso who gave her a chance to work — she can pursue her dream.
- She Cleans Up Nicely: She looks absolutely gorgeous when she tries Takako's wedding dress.
- Shorttank: She is not a fan of girly clothes and usually buys cheap t-shirts on bulk.
- Single-Target Sexuality"Anyone's a loser compared to Tohru!"
- Sitcom Arch-Nemesis: Initially towards Ohana.
- Tomboy and Girly Girl: To Ohana and Nako's girly girl.
- Tomboyish Ponytail: While working. She only lets her hair down during school.
- Tsundere: She closely gravitates to the trope, and she's mainly bound to it by her extremely bad temper.
- Unusual Euphemism: "Hobiron!"
- Unwanted Harem: Is one of the two most popular girls at school.
- When She Smiles: Given how little she does it, it's something like a mirage to behold
◊. - You're Not My Type: Played completely straight when a boy at school confesses to her. She then takes it a step farther by explaining exactly what her type is (Tohru), completely crushing the guy's hopes. However as of Episode 14, he's at it again.
Nako Oshimizu
Age: 17
Voiced by: Aki Toyosaki
Another employee at Kissuiso and a waitress. Nako is friends with Minko, who she nicknames "Minchi," and is very shy.
- Be Yourself: Sui gives her this piece of advice at the end of her spotlight episode.
- Buxom Beauty Standard: Her well-endowed figure is pointed out a few times.
- Lampshaded by Minko when she and flat-chested Ohana wears the same dress.Minko: I never realized how sexy that dress was.
- It gets funny when Nako tries on the wedding dress Ohana made for Takako. It's so tight the back can't be zipped shut (the looks on Ohana's and Yuina's faces after realizing this are priceless), and Ohana concedes that they need Minko for this.
- Lampshaded by Minko when she and flat-chested Ohana wears the same dress.
- Cowardly Lion: Still incredibly timid, but jumped into the water to save Jiromaru without skipping a beat. She also learns to stand up to her mother's neglect of her children in the movie, taking a lesson from Ohana.
- The Ditz: A mild version.
- Hidden Depths: She has been taking swimming lessons since she was three.
- The Nicknamer: Apparently aspires to be one. After brainstorming several nicknames for Minko and settling on "Minchan," she chokes and calls her "Minchi," which sticks.
- Promotion to Parent: She is seen taking care of her siblings while her parents argue about child-raising.
- Sexy Soaked Shirt After rescuing Jiromaru from killing himself.
- Shrinking Violet: Normally, unless she's at home taking care of her siblings.
- What Beautiful Eyes!: Ohana's mother said this to her.
Yuina Wakura
Age: 16
Voiced by: Haruka Tomatsu
Ohana's and Minko's classmate (and Nako's schoolmate) and the daughter of Kissuiso's prestigious rival, Fukuya. She is, along with Minko, considered one of the prettiest girls in school and enjoys popularity with the boys. She has a habit of affecting various accents to amuse herself.
- A Day in the Limelight: Episode 14 and 15.
- Arranged Marriage: Episode 14 reveals that she's engaged to Yosuke Himawari, a distant relative of hers.
- Brief Accent Imitation: Loves doing this. She fakes a Kansai accent on Ohana's first day at school and fakes a different accent every time she meets with Ohana.
- Green-Eyed Monster: She cleans the Fukuyo's baths — the very first time she worked in her life — because Yosuke once said that he'd rather marry someone like Ohana than her because the former likes working at a hot spring inn.
- Hidden Depths: She turns out to be far more perceptive than her appearance suggests.
- In-Series Nickname: "Yuina-hime" (ie. "Princess Yuina").
- No Sense of Personal Space: She can get really touchy-feely with the other girls from time to time.
- The Rival: Subverted in that she is on friendly terms with Ohana, but gets briefly jealous of her when Yosuke suggested he wants a wife who loves working at an inn (like Ohana). She appeared to be one towards Minko when the latter witnesses her leaving with Tohru on his motorbike, but again subverted when it turns out that she just wanted a ride on his motorbike and nothing more.
- Sugar-and-Ice Personality: Inverted. She's introduced as a quirky, yet nice airhead; but later episodes show that she can also be very blunt.
- Third-Person Person: From time to time.
- Unwanted Harem: She's just as popular as Minko.
Tomoe Wajima
Age: 28
Voiced by: Mamiko Noto
Head waitress of Kissuiso. Tomoe loves gossip and wants compensation for the sharing of it.
- A Day in the Limelight: Episode 7.
- Large Ham: She has her moments. Especially when she's beating role-players at their own game in episode 7.
- Springtime for Tomoe: The entire plot of episode 7 is her deliberately trying to piss off the guests so that Sui would fire her and she could go back home. Joke's on her, because the customers are all military roleplayers who loved her drill-sergeant routine. The experience even convinced her to stay.
Koichi "Ko" Tanemura
Age: 16
Voiced by: Yūki Kaji
Ohana's best friend from Tokyo and is affectionately called "Ko-chan" by her. Ko confesses to Ohana upon learning that she is moving away.
- Betty and Veronica: The Betty to Tohru's Veronica.
- Childhood Friend Romance: Has had a crush on Ohana for quite some time.
- Curtains Match the Window
- Dogged Nice Guy: Towards Ohana. To the point that he tries to visit Ohana in Episode 8, but he fails to meet with her. Ironically enough, he has a Dogged Nice Girl of his own — his co-worker, Igarashi.
- Green-Eyed Monster: Showed slight jealousy when he overheard Ohana interacting with Tohru in Episode 9.
- In-Series Nickname: Ko-Chan
- Official Couple: With Ohana.
- Shrinking Violet: A mild version.
Satsuki Matsumae (née Shijima)
Age: 38
Voiced by: Takako Honda (adult) and Kanae Itō (child/teenager)
Ohana's mother and a novelist. Satsuki runs off with her boyfriend after he gets into debt and leaves Ohana with her grandmother, who she does not get along with.
- The Ace: She's an excellent Madam Matron and the person who'd obviously take the mantle at the Kissuiso if she actually wanted it.
- A Day in the Limelight: Episode 13.
- Abusive Parents: Subverted. She may not be the best mother in the world, but she does care for Ohana.
- Big Sister Bully: Enishi mentioned that she used to bully him in the past.
- Cool Big Sis: But in Episode 6, he also admits to Ohana that she used to cheer him up just as their mother used to for no reason.
- Generation Xerox: Sui and Enishi note the strong resemblance between mother and daughter. It also turns out that her strained relationship with her daughter mirrors that between her and her own mother.
- Happily Married: Her conversation with Ohana about how she still has feelings for her late husband, Ayato, seems to indicate that their relationship was this. Home Sweet Home eventually reveals that she truly fell in love with him because he is accepting of who she is, Warts and All.
- Hidden Heart of Gold: She may be neglectful of her daughter and has a job she doesn't agree with, but she genuinely does care about Ohana and works hard at her job in spite of it.
- I Just Want to Be Special: Just like her daughter, this desire is a root of her conflict with her mother, feeling she's getting nowhere stuck in Kissuiso.
- Mrs. Robinson: Played for laughs. Ko initially thinks that Satsuki will play porn for him on the TV when she invites him to her apartment. She actually shows him a clip of excerpts taken from the movie crew that filmed at the Kissuiso, unwittingly learning that Ohana hasn't given up on him and thus refueling his desire for the girl.
- Parental Betrayal: Her negative review of Kissuiso is seen as a betrayal to Ohana, who decides to drag her to Kissuiso so she can write a review based on her experience there. It turns out she wants to go voluntarily, and it is hinted that she only writes negative reviews when asked of her by her higher-ups.
- Passing the Torch: Subverted. Satsuki is more than prepared and groomed to take over the Kissuiso; she just doesn't wanna. This is one of the main aspects of the conflict between her and her family.
- Really Gets Around: Implied during her teenage years. Subverted, as it turns out she only had eyes for Ayato.
- Refusal of the Call: One of the reasons Sui decides to close down the Kissuiso is because Satsuki is refusing to take the mantle, all the while Enishi is just not prepared to do it.
- Sailor Fuku: In her teenage flashbacks.
- Stacy's Mom: Ko outright tells her that she is, among all of his friends' moms, the prettiest one. Considering that Ohana resembles her so much, it's not a stretch that he'd find Satsuki attractive too.
- Strong Family Resemblance: Judging by old pictures and flashbacks, she is her mom, except with blond hair. Ohana also closely resembles her when she was a teenager.
Sui Shijima
Age: 68
Voiced by: Tamie Kubota (elderly) and Takako Honda (adult)
Manager of Kissuiso and Ohana's estranged grandmother. Sui carries a cold demeanor and quickly puts Ohana to work while she stays at the inn. She does not have a good relationship with Ohana's mother Satsuki, and has stated that she had disowned her.
- Abusive Parents:
- Makes Ohana work at Kissuiso from her first couple of minutes after arriving and isn't above slapping Ohana thrice as punishment for accidentally disrupting customers. Subverted in that she treats all her staff with the same level of strictness, and are paid decently for their work.
- And played straight with Satsuki, though because she believes in putting work ahead of family.
- Alliterative Name
- Bad Boss: Played with. She's not above physically disciplining her employees, but nevertheless she pays them well for their work.
- Defrosting Ice Queen: She starts to warm up to Ohana slowly, but the first time she really shows her softer side is in Episode 6, when she's visibly surprised and almost pleased when she sees Ohana and Nako in the old kimonos she designed.
- Evil Matriarch: Subverted.
- Foreshadowing: She initially didn't intend to slap Ohana until the girl actually asked her to do it, thus showing right there what would be the extent to which she'd been willing to punish Ohana; though she remains stern, she never once does it again (Ohana herself doesn't do anything warranting a slap-fest like that ever again).
- Four Is Death: Was rejected four times by her husband before he accepted her hand in marriage.
- Good Smoking, Evil Smoking: Smokes a traditional Japanese pipe.
- Happily Married: She and her late husband were this.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Metaphorical example — by shutting down Kissuiso, she allows her employees to pursue their true goals in life, even if it means giving up the one thing she enjoyed the most.
- Hidden Heart of Gold: The only times she shows her softer side is when she's by herself, though she's friendly with Denroku.
- I Have No Daughter: Has this attitude towards her daughter Satsuki, though it turns out that she wanted Satsuki to succeed her.
- I Was Quite a Looker: According to several older customers in Episode 6. And in flashbacks in Episode 21, the audience sees why◊.
- Insistent Terminology/They Call Me Mr Tibbs: She demands to be addressed as "Madam Manager" rather than "Mom" or "Grandma" at work.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Ultimately confesses to Ohana that she'd rather shut down Kissuiso than crush her employees' dreams with her own nigh-selfish desire to keep the inn going.
- No-Respect Guy: As revealed in Home Sweet Home, people were initially skeptical of her abilities after taking over Kissuiso from her recently-deceased husband. Thus she strives to improve herself and the inn's services, even if it means becoming borderline abusive towards both her employees and even her own family.
- Parental Favoritism: Always made it very clear that she would've wanted Satsuki to succeed her in taking over the inn.
- Pet the Dog: Personally makes Satsuki's favorite food, stewed fish cakes, alongside her dinner.
- Stealth Mentor: Possibly to Ohana if Episode 3 is any indication.
- Wham Line: "I'm thinking of sealing the Kissuiso and the logs after the Bonbori Festival this year."
- Yamato Nadeshiko: She looks the part and carries a traditional Japanese pipe but she's a lot meaner than the trope standard.
Enishi Shijima
Age: 32
Voiced by: Kenji Hamada (adult) and Yōko Hikasa (child)
Ohana's uncle and Satsuki's brother, who is, personality-wise, the opposite of his mother, sister, and niece.
- Accidental Pervert: When he first meets Ohana, he accidentally bumps into her and gropes her butt.
- A Day in the Limelight: Episode 16 and 17.
- Brother–Sister Incest: Tomoe suggests that the reason he likes Takako is because she has a similar personality to Satsuki. He hastily denies it. It's later revealed that they used to attend college together.
- Happily Married: To Takako.
- Lovable Coward: Doesn't have much of a backbone when it comes to Sui, Satsuki, or Takako, and he was quite the crybaby when he was a kid.
- Throw the Dog a Bone: Finally gets a break in Episode 16, when Sui gives him a chance to run the inn.
- The Unfavorite: Sui doesn't hide her preference for Satsuki over him to take over Kissuiso. She changes her tune a bit after he grew some balls and took charge, and later, after Satsuki calls her out on it, saying she should act more like a mother.
Tohru Miyagishi
Age: 23
Voiced by: Junji Majima
Assistant chef at Kissuiso and serves as a strict supervisor towards Minko. Ohana is somewhat intimidated by Tohru's constant yelling at Minko and initially greatly disliked him after having a conversation with him.
- Betty and Veronica: The Veronica to Ko's Betty.
- Dogged Nice Guy: Towards Ohana.
- Green-Eyed Monster: Subverted. He is well-aware that Ohana has feelings for Ko and spends the majority of his time in Tokyo with tasting cuisine and playing a sushi crane game to distract himself while Ohana goes to see Ko (at his suggestion).
- I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: In spite of his own feelings for Ohana, he forces her to meet with Ko when they are visiting Tokyo so that she can come to terms with her feelings for him. In Episode 22, he admits to Minko that he does have feelings for Ohana, but he doesn't plan on doing anything about it.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He yells at Minko whenever she screws up at cooking, but he also gives Ohana advice — in his own rude way — when he questions her on her self-reliance and is perceptive to the fact that she doesn't have many friends. In Episode 5, he also shows his appreciation for Ohana's concern for him by pinching her nose. He eventually reveals how much he cares about Minko in episode 22.
- The Mentor: To Minko and a bit towards Ohana.
- Oblivious to Love: He is unaware that Minko has a crush on him. Until Episode 22.
- Sitcom Arch-Nemesis: In Ohana's opinion.
- Tsundere: To Ohana.
Renji Togashi
Age: 42
Voiced by: Tarou Yamaguchi
Head chef at Kissuiso.
- Benevolent Boss: He seems to be one as he frequently stops Tohru from browbeating Minko over her cooking blunders.
- Good Scars, Evil Scars: Has one across his left eyebrow.
- Impossibly Tacky Clothes: His fashion sense is most often than not Lampshaded, usually by Tohru, sometimes by Tomoe or Nako.
- Not So Stoic: He turns out to work horribly under pressure.
- Running Gag his stupid fashion sense, accentuated by frequently reading men's fashion magazines during his free time.
Takako Kawajiri
Age: 30
Voiced by: Ayumi Tsunematsu
An apparently wealthy business consultant for the inn who Enishi cannot say no to. She later becomes his wife, making her Ohana's aunt.
- Affectionate Nickname: Enishi likes to call her Taki-san, even though she apparently doesn't approve.
- Cool Aunt: Once she marries Enishi and chaperones Ohana to Tokyo, she shows her chops to the girl when stuff gets messy, gaining her admiration.
- Gratuitous English: She peppers her business pitches with English slogans and business-speak.
- Gratuitous French: In Episode 21.
- Happily Married: To Enishi later.
- Hidden Heart of Gold: She's actually a really nice, strong and independent woman who sincerely loves Enishi in spite of his shortcomings.
- Not Quite the Right Thing: Her schemes on the Inn's operation make sense initially, though Sui and Ohana tend to rebuke her initiatives with further inquiries, exposing just how much she'd be overlooking if these were implemented.
- Tsundere: Seems to act like one towards Enishi in Episode 17.
- Zany Scheme: For a business consultant, she sure loves dishing out erratic plans to improve the inn's public image.
Taro Jiromaru
Age: 31
Voiced by: Jun'ichi Suwabe
A customer (and eventually part-time worker) at Kissuiso and supposedly a famous novelist.
- A Day in the Limelight: Episode 3.
- Berserk Button: He gets furious when his draft to his novel "of the century" accidentally gets discarded.
- Dirty Old Man: Though he's not that old.
- Hidden Heart of Gold: Turns out he's much nicer than his actions suggest.
- Male Gaze:
- Does a bit of one to Ohana in Episode 1, briefly distracting her and accidentally letting Minko's futon fall on two customers.
- And she along with Minko and Nako are the main characters in his novel... and it's that genre.
- Appears again from Episode 8, when he's sent room to room to evaluate which of the new guests might be a hot springs inn reviewer. The room with the two women gets particular scrutiny.
- This happens again in Episode 13 when Satsuki undresses in front of him and he's Distracted by the Sexy.
- Throw the Dog a Bone: Also gets a bone in Episode 16, when Enishi asks the director to use one of Jiromaru's scripts for the movie.
- Tsurime Eyes
- Work Off the Debt: Turns out that he cannot pay his bill, so he gets sent to work in the inn.
- Yuri Fan: Most of his stories are this.
Denroku "Beanman" Sukegawa
Age: 73
Voiced by: Cho
Kissuiso's janitor and head of its maintenance section. Denroku is nicknamed "Beanman" because he shares the same surname as a bean-selling company and has worked at Kissuiso since it first opened.
- Ambiguously Gay:
- He blushes when Jiromaru threaten to tie him up.
- He also seems very pleased when the young master happily embraces him, and was absolutely nonchalant about Satsuki's nudity while he worked.
- Ambiguously Bi; However, Sui stated that he has a son, much to Tomoe's shock.
- Eyes Always Shut
- Improbable Hairstyle: Just look at this younger version of him◊.
- In-Series Nickname: "Beanman."
- Miniature Senior Citizens
