Noboru Kuroda, an angsty, nihilistic 13-year-old schoolboy living in Yokohama, is the protagonist of the novel. Like many teenaged boys, Noboru and his gang of friends believe that human life is meaningless and that society…
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Ryuji Tsukazaki
Ryuji Tsukazaki, the subject of the novel’s title and arguably its central character, is an eccentric, passionate 33-year-old sailor who has lived and worked on the freighter ship Rakuyo for more than a decade. At…
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Fusako Kuroda
Thirty-three-year-old Fusako Kuroda, Noboru Kuroda’s mother and Ryuji Tsukazaki’s lover, is a wealthy widow who runs her late husband’s imported luxury clothing store in Yokohama. Sophisticated, respected, and self-reliant, Fusako represents both traditional…
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The Chief
The chief is the murderous, authoritarian, highly intelligent leader of a cultlike gang of 13-year-old schoolboys, including Noboru. At the gang’s meetings, the chief lectures the other boys about “the uselessness of Mankind [and]…
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Yoriko Kasuga
Yoriko Kasuga is a popular actress and regular customer at Fusako Kuroda’s clothing store, Rex. Fusako treats Yoriko kindly but secretly resents her because Yukio is naive and desperate for attention. In particular, Yoriko…
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Noboru Kuroda’s father (and Fusako Kuroda’s husband) died five years before the events of the novel. The reader learns little about him, except that he used to own Rex, the store that Fusako…
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Minor Characters
The Housekeeper
The Kurodas’ housekeeper maintains their extravagant house and helps Fusako keep Noboru in line. She’s friendly and professional but strongheaded. The housekeeper is also highly suspicious of Ryuji when Fusako starts seeing him. She once worked for a wealthy foreign family, and she comments on their strange customs.
Number Two
“Number two” is one of the boys in the chief’s gang (along with “number one,” “number four,” “number five,” and Noboru, who is “number three”).
Mr. Shibuya
Mr. Shibuya is the loyal manager at Rex, Fusako Kuroda’s luxury store. He is an expert on elegant European clothing and has dedicated his life to selling it. He has even traveled around Europe to build contacts with major brands.
The Chauffeur
Fusako Kuroda’s chauffeur drives her to pick up Ryuji Tsukazaki when he returns for the winter.