Characters / Jin

Characters from the Manga Jin. May contain unmarked spoilers.

Jin's Clinic

Jin Minakata

The main character of the story, Jin is an expert neurosurgeon from modern times who was shunted 138 years to the past.

• Age-Gap Romance: Most of his romance entanglements in the story, since he is around 35 at the start and most of the women pining for his affection is in their early twenties or younger. future!Jin did end up with Marie, who is about his age.
• Instant Drama, Just Add Tracheotomy: An emergency case early in the story requires Jin to perform a tracheotomy; the nearest cutting implement is unfortunately a sword carried by a magistrate. The crowd understandably reeled.
• I Owe You My Life: This is a pattern with him and his closest employees, although for Nokaze it's actually her senior's life.

Saki Tachibana

The sole daughter of the Tachibana hatamoto family. Jin saved her brother's life from a head injury, and later even Saki's own life from measles. From that point, she became determined to learn medicine from Jin. She acts mainly an assistant to Jin, similar to an expert nurse.

• Age-Gap Romance: There is a 20-year gap between Jin and her, but they did get married in the end.
• The Knights Who Say "Squee!": While her reactions is rather restrained from the readers' modern perspective, Saki can react very passionately to things she likes.
• Secret-Keeper: One of the few people who knew that Jin came from the future.
• Yamato Nadeshiko: She is very much a stereotypical one, at least until Jin comes along.

Jun'an Yamada

A physician originally from the Western Medical Institute. Jin saved him from death due to cholera, and he joined Jin's Clinic afterwards. Under Jin's guidance, he became an expert in penicillin synthesis and refining.

• Married to the Job: He does not seem to have any romantic entanglement whatsoever. He even ditched his own mother's funeral to check on the penicillin mold culture.

Genko Fukuda

A physician originally from the Medical Academy, and a former physician working directly under the Shogunate. Jin saved him from death due to a chronic peritonitis, and he joined Jin's Clinic afterwards. He is the most sought-after physician in Jin's Clinic mainly because his reputation as a former Court Physician and his expertise in Chinese medicine, which is more readily acceptable to the general public compared to Jin's Western medicine.

• Court Physician: He worked for the shogunate before his peritonitis surgery, but was retired after that.
• The Mole: Passes some information (mainly medical treatments and procedures) of Jin's Clinic intermittently to Genen Taki, but...
  • Feed the Mole: ...Jin doesn't mind much, since it will accelerate the modernization of Japanese medicine.

Yusuke Saburi

A physician originally from the Hanaoka School of Medicine. Jin saved him from death due to falling off the mainmast of a ship, and he joined Jin's clinic afterwards. He stayed in Jin's Clinic to learn as much as he can from Jin, before returning to his family to practice medicine in their domain.

• Jack of All Trades: The Hanaoka school of medicine taught elements of both Western and Chinese medicine to its students, resulting in physicians who are adept in both disciplines. Yusuke might not be as proficient as Junan or Genko in their respective disciplines, but his versatility means people trust him better where they distrust Western medicine. He is an expert in breast cancer however, and has diagnosed upwards of 3000 people mostly as research.
• Too Awesome to Use: The Tsusensan method of anesthesia Yusuke learned from the Hanaoka school allows for deeper and more lasting state of induced coma compared to the more conventional ether, but must be tightly controlled because it is quite dangerous. The synthesis of the anesthetic is also a tightly guarded Hanaoka school secret, plus applying the substance takes quite a long time making it unsuitable for emergency surgery. Jin only used the method twice, before settling on the simpler ether drop method going forwards.

Tachibana Household

Kyotaro Tachibana

The current head of the Tachibana hatamoto family after his father died of cholera. A young and capable samurai.

• Big Brother Instinct: has to fight this constantly with Saki, particularly with her putting her life on the line treating infectious diseases early on.
• Book Ends: His story starts with him bloody on Jin's hands, and ends the same way — unfortunately, the second time around he did not survive his wounds.
• Master Swordsman: He gave up his sword towards the ends of the story.

Ei Tachibana

The matriarch of the Tachibana family.

• Lady of War: While she does not go to actual wars, she does use the threat of injury (complete with a naginata) on Jin a few times.
• Picky Eater: This trait, combined with her natural stubbornness and heartbreak over Saki's broken betrothal, exacerbated her beriberi to the point of threatening her life.
• Yamato Nadeshiko: a very traditional one.

Townsfolk

Kiichi

One of Jin's first patients. A diligent and hardworking boy who would later follow in Jin's footsteps, becoming a doctor and eventually taking over Jin's Clinic.

• Foreshadowing: His fever dream in the start of the story foretold part of the ending.
• Heir to the Dojo: He inherited the clinic from Jin in the future.

Nokaze

A highly sought courtesan from Yoshiwara.

• Big Damn Heroes: When Yokohama burned, one of the patients in her sanatorium cannot escape. She went into the fire to rescue her. Luckily, Senkichi is escorting Jin in Yokohama and saved both women.
• Defrosting Ice Queen: After she left the red-light district, she is a lot more approachable.
• High-Class Call Girl: One of the most sought after in Yoshiwara.
• Hooker with a Heart of Gold: And how. After she sold herself to Lerond, she used part of the proceeds to help the incarcerated Jin. Later on she even established a sanatorium in Yokohama for sex workers who are unable to work due to disease, putting things she learned in her short stint at Jin's Clinic to good use.

Gihe Hamaguchi

A soy sauce enterpreneur with money and an appreciation of medicine.

• What Happened to the Mouse?: He starts falling off the storyline as soon as the penicillin production arc concluded, and all but vanished by mid-story despite purportedly still bankrolling the production plant.

Akane

An employee of a pastry and dango shop, renowned for her beauty.

• Informed Attractiveness: She is touted as the most beautiful dango shop girl in Edo, although her character design is really nothing too special.

Unsen Sakuragawa

A once-famous artist who has fallen in hard times.

• Starving Artist: His only livelihood is from drawing, and carpal tunnel put a damper on that. Fortunately, Jin is able to treat it.

Tanosuke Sawamura The Third

A famous kabuki performer who mainly plays feminine roles.

• Amputation Stops Spread: Tanosuke lost one of his feet to gangrene caused by lead poisoning.
• Dude Looks Like a Lady: He is an onnagata kabuki actor after all.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He can be a haughty diva, but is still capable of empathy and doing the right thing.
• Tempting Fate: When asked to dial down on the usage of lead skin paint by Jin, Tanosuke remarked that he only used the best stuff. This 'best stuff' actually contained more lead and this caused him to lose a limb later on.

Chukichi

A stage technician and member of the drama troupe that includes Tanosuke.

• Gadgeteer Genius: He comes from a long line of kabuki stage technicians and prop makers. His craftsmanship and penchant for innovation helps Jin on occasions, notably in the Princess Kazunomiya's poisoning incident.

Kichijurou Bando

A kabuki performer in his last legs of life, and troupe-mate to Tanosuke. Tanosuke enlisted Jin's service to help Kichijuro perform for the next season opener.

• Heroic Willpower: Jin noted that towards the end of the performance Kichijuro must have been in crippling pain and was only standing and performing on willpower alone. Sure enough, he collapsed after the curtain was closed and would die the next day.
• Make Them Rot: He is all but paralyzed by lead poisoning from the skin whiteners used in kabuki makeups, the chief symptom being the necrosis of his limbs.

Tatsugoro Shinmon

A respected fire brigade chief of Edo and one of Tanosuke's patrons. He looks stern, but actually a fair man with good judgement of character.

• A Father to His Men: Him to the entirety of Squad L of Edo Fire Brigade.
• Arbitrary Skepticism: He called the gadgets Chukichi made to be useless. Jin saved Senkichi's life with them and Tatsugoro admitted his shortsighted remarks.

Okoma

A seamstress with a dark past.

• Drugged Lipstick: Used a mouth-to-mouth sedative to knock out Gama and solidify her alibi.
• Full-Frontal Assault: In the receiving end of one for accusations of pickpocketing.

Gama

A slimy private investigator with ties to Okoma.

• Animal Motifs/Meaningful Name: He is broad-faced, stout, beady-eyed, with warty skin and a slimy demeanor. Almost like a toad...
• Attempted Rape: Comes close to raping Okoma while a ward of Edo burned nearby. Good thing Senkichi is also nearby.
• Dirty Cop: He has no qualms using his position to pressure Okoma in doing his bidding. Later on, he became one of Misumi's lackey.
• Tampering with Food and Drink: Misumi poisoned him this way after he botched an ambush on Jin near the end of the story.

Senkichi

A fire marshal, leader of a troop under Tatsugoro Shinmon. Okoma's childhood friend.

• Big Damn Heroes: Well he is a fireman, so with fires a constant threat this is somewhat a regularity for him. A specific case happened in Yokohama when Jin was about to go into the sanatorium fire to rescue Nokaze, but Senkichi went instead and succeeded in saving both.
• Number Two: He seemed to be Shinmon's main protege, as he is usually put in charge if Shinmon is out of town.
• Victorious Childhood Friend: He finally married Okoma after much hardship, including nearly dying from eating tainted fugu hotpot.

Jinmaku Kyugoro

A sumo wrestler who had been having difficulties with his elbow.

• Heel–Face Turn: In the most literal sense of the word, even. Jinmaku used to compensate his smaller stature compared to other sumo wrestlers by using unsavory tactics, in this case by sharpening the nail of his thumbs to hurt his opponents. This understandably is not popular with spectators and opponents alike. After his elbow is fixed by Jin, he discontinued the use of such tactics and starts to wrestle earnestly earning him better respect.

Shiranui Koemon

Jinmaku's rival in sumo and one of the top wrestlers in tournaments.

• The Rival: To Jinmaku. He seemed to acknowledge Jinmaku's importance for the sport as a whole despite Jinmaku using unsavory tactics.

Kogiku Nishimura

A samurai family daughter and later novice courtesan from Kyoto. Her cat Rai was crippled in a samurai raid that took his brother's life.

• Flat Character: her handful of appearances does not show much development.

Other Physicians

Koan Ogata

The head of the Western Medical Institute in the start of the story. His body may be old and bent, but he is as thirsty of knowledge as much younger men.

• Incurable Cough of Death: As in real life, tuberculosis killed him.
• Secret-Keeper: One of the few people who knew for sure that Jin came from the future, a secret that he would take to his grave.

Ryojun Matsumoto

Koan Ogata's successor as the head of the Western Medical Institute and an influential physician in his own right.

• Court Physician: He is often at court despite being the head of the institute.
• Number Two: Even before Koan's illness and subsequent resignation, he had been an influential member of the Western Medical Institute and essentially Koan's right-hand man.

Shunsai Misumi

The main antagonist of this story, and formerly a physician from the Western Medical Institute. Jin's decision to operate on Nokaze's breast cancer caused him to lose face with his noble employer, and he had been causing much grief to Jin ever since.

• Big Bad: He is behind much of Jin's grief for the later two-thirds of the series.
• Smug Snake
• The Man Behind the Man: Mainly acts through intermediaries. Jin only knew of his duplicity when he shows up to tie loose ends himself near the end of the story.

Genen Taki

An influential Court Physician who calls the shots at the Medical Academy. While he detests Jin in principle, he is shrewd enough to recognize Jin's ability and had even sought his help on a few occasions.

• Court Physician: particularly to Princess Kazunomiya.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold/Knight in Sour Armor: From the outside he may seem staunchly opposed to Western-style medicine and physicians trained in it, even belittling its practicioners. Yet, when push comes to shove, he is willing to put his influence in supporting fellow physicians. He also never used or condoned underhanded tactics and sabotage against Jin despite his apparent hostility; those are the work of disgruntled physicians from both sides.
• The Man Behind the Man: While he does not hold a formal position in the Medical Academy, he is immensely respected in the institution and it pretty much only moves with his say-so.

Ine Kusumoto

A physician from Uwajima, and the first Japanese woman trained in Western medicine. She is the daughter of Philipp von Siebold, a Dutch-employed German physician and scientist.

• But Not Too Foreign: She didn't get any color illustration, but she is stated to be a redhead. She is indeed drawn a little differently compared to other female characters.
• Rape as Backstory: Confides of her rape to Saki when the latter was feeling demoralized.

Anthonius F. Bauduin

A Dutch physician who heads a medical school in Nagasaki. He specializes in ophthalmology.

• Arbitrary Skepticism: Having never met Jin before, he is understandably critical on the purported efficacy of penicillin and only allowed Jin to teach its production method due to pressures from the Shogunate. This changed after Jin managed to save Glover's eye from infection with techniques even he, an ophthalmologist, does not know.

Samurai and Nobles

Rintaro Katsu

Better known in real life as Kaishuu Katsu, he is an influential samurai and a high-ranked navy personnel.

• Big Good: Katsu stands in Jin's side for the whole story, and sometimes helps him with his immense influence.
• Handsome Lech: His household is described by his own wife as 'a house full of mistresses'.

Ryoma Sakamoto

A protege of Katsu, he is a sea captain with a progressive mind.

• In Spite of a Nail: Despite Jin's intervention, he only lived a mere two weeks longer. The manner of Ryoma's death is vastly different, however. Here he was injured defending Souji from Shuusuke's sudden attack, and later died from meningitis caused by a Pseudomonas infection. In real life, he died in the same night he was attacked.
• Large Ham: He is loud and at times rather uncouth.
• Running Gag: Him taking Jin to red light districts for amusement.
• Secret-Keeper: One of the few people who knew for sure that Jin came from the future, a secret that he would take to his grave.

Shouzan Sakuma

An influential samurai well-respected by many, he was assassinated during rising tensions between the Shogunate and the Choshu domain.

• Heroic Willpower: Clung to life for ten whole days after being injured by eight slashes. Jin could do nothing with the tools he have at hand, but alleviate his pain and hope for the best.
• Time Travel: He traveled forward to the modern age after a fall in his childhood, but returned after being injured (and possibly dying) there.

Shuusuke Higashi

A young samurai who initially fought for the Choshu side.

• Absurdly Sharp Blade: While the depiction of swords and swordsmanship in the series had been fairly realistic, Shuusuke's sword outright bisected Misumi's head to the chest for some reason.
• Artistic License - Firearms: The bullet Jin extracted from his thigh is clearly a spitzer-style projectile, which doesn't see widespread use until around 1900.
• Heel–Face Revolving Door: Switches sides a handful of times over the course of the story. He ultimately took Jin's side in the very final confrontation of the story, and kills Misumi who earlier in the day had paid him to kill Jin.
• Master Swordsman: Per Ryoma's observation.

Kichinosuke Saigo

Better known as Takamori Saigo, he is an influential samurai from the Satsuma domain.

• Big Prick, Big Problems: His testicles are massive and it causes him difficulties in horseriding. Jin suspected filariasis, but was unable to treat it due to lack of effective medicine.
• Blood Knight: Notably more eager to pursue violent and military solutions rather than diplomatic ones.
• Large and in Charge: While he is not that much taller than others, he is stout.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: To the goal of deposing the shogunate and modernizing Japan, he agrees with more moderate voices like Ryoma or Katsu. The problem is that he wants the Tokugawa clan to go down entirely with the institution, whether peacefully or in a bloodbath.

Souji Okita

Captain of Shinsengumi's Second Division and an expert swordsman.

• Gadgeteer Genius: Souji made a schematics of a cat wheelchair for Kogiku's crippled cat, despite never depicted having an education for it. Sparks a 'what could have been' moment near the end of his life.
• Incurable Cough of Death: As in real life, tuberculosis killed him.
• I Owe You My Life: He felt indebted to Ryoma who shielded him from Shuusuke's sudden attack, so he defied his superiors and used his Second Division to make sure that Ryoma's comatose form is safe no matter what.
• Master Swordsman: Although tuberculosis is sapping his strength, he is still quite a formidable fighter.

Princess Kazu-no-Miya

An imperial princess and Iemochi Tokugawa's wife.

• Animal Motifs: A comb she gifted Saki is engraved with mandarin ducks, a symbol of everlasting love and strong marriage.
• Perfectly Arranged Marriage: Her marriage to Iemochi seems to be a happy one, despite it being mostly arranged to strengthen Iemochi's position.
• Tampering with Food and Drink: She was poisoned while watching a performance from the Kinokuniya kabuki troupe. Jin was present and aided the effort to cure her, but was instead accused of poisoning her. The whole debacle was masterminded by Misumi.

Hisashige Tanaka

A maker of mechanical curiosities and inventor.

• Gadgeteer Genius: He heads a shogunate shipyard in Nagasaki, and had been a inventor before that.
• Renaissance Man: Not only was he a brilliant inventor and industrialist, he apparently went to medical school as well.

Foreigners

Thomas Glover

A Scottish merchant and acquaintance of Ryoma.

• Arms Dealer: Notable in that he deals in a fair manner. Other merchants will typically sell old and surplused firearms at a premium to the Japanese; Glover sold them new model guns at a fairer price.
• Eye Scream: He was attacked while riding a horse and got an eye injury. Of course, this was the better outcome, as he would have surely been killed had his horse not reared in panic while attacked. Jin saved his eye with a delicate surgery and penicillin.

Jean Lerond

A rich French merchant from Yokohama who are infatuated to Nokaze and later marries her.

• Babies Ever After: He had a son with Nokaze, named Julian.
• Large and in Charge: A wealthy French merchant who is about a head again taller than Jin, who is already a fairly tall man compared to other Japanese person.
• Locked Out of the Loop: He was never briefed about Nokaze's metastatic cancer even until the end. Nokaze even wrote to Jin that Jean thought her coughing and shortness of breath was simply generalized postpartum exhaustion.

Spoiler Character

Marie Lerond

A physician of modern times, introduced in the last pages of the manga. She is a descendant of Jean and Nokaze's son, Julian.

• Déjà Vu: She felt that she had walked the streets of Tokyo before, hinting at some sort of genetic memory inherited from Nokaze.
• Married to the Job: A busy woman who counts herself as 'once-divorced' due to her work treating people, often in remote places.