Tales of the Otori

• Otori Takeo: born to the Hidden as Tomasu, but given the name Takeo after his rescue from an attack on his village. Son of Kikuta Isamu and heir to Isamu's many supernatural talents. Nephew and adopted son of Otori Shigeru and legal heir to lordship of the Otori clan. Husband to Shirakawa Kaede and leader of a small army during his campaign to claim lordship of the Otori.
• Otori Shigeru: adoptive father and uncle of Otori Takeo. Heir to leadership of the Otori before his death at the hands of Iida Sadamu at Inuyama. Keeps records of the Tribe before his death, which Takeo uses during his later conflicts with the Tribe.
• Otori Ichiro: previously a teacher and somewhat advisor to Shigeru, later a teacher to Takeo.
• Otori Shigeko: first daughter of Takeo and Kaede, heir of both Maruyama and the Three Lands. Appears at the Harsh Cry Of The Heron. She falls in love with her teacher, Sugita Hiroshi, but, in the end, she marries Lord Saga to save her land.
• Otori Maya: the one of the twins, Shigeko's younger sister. She has inherited, just like her twin sister, Miki, her father's supernatural powers. The spirit of a cat lives inside her since she killed the cat's body by using her powers, and now she can transform into a cat whenever she wants to. She is killed while trying to prevent Akio from killing Takeo.
• Otori Miki: twin sister of Maya. They both have their father's powers. She is the only one who can make Maya turn into her physical form.
• Miyoshi Kahei: son of Miyoshi Satoru (an elder of the Hagi clan) and was a friend of Takeshi (Shigeru's late brother)
• Miyoshi Gemba: his younger brother, both later friends of Takeo
• Otori Shoichi: Shigeru's uncle who, along with his brother, was an advisor to Lord Shigemori (Shigeru's father) during his reign, then after the Battle of Yaegahara becomes lord of the Otori clan
• Otori Masahiro: his younger brother, who seemingly has the same power as Shoichi. Had a particular hatred for Shigeru as he fancied his concubine Lady Akane. Has a son; Otori Yoshitomi
• Terada Fumifusa/Fumimasa: head of the Hagi fishing fleet, later becoming a pirate residing on the island of Oshima to avoid the increased tax established by the Otori lords
• Terada Fumio: his son, and a friend of Takeo

• Iida Sadamu: leader of the Tohan clan. Enemy of Otori Shigeru, due to longstanding jealousy and hatred, also responsible for Shigeru's death. Killed by Shirakawa Kaede shortly after Shigeru's body is liberated by Takeo from Inuyama castle.

• Arai Daiichi: As an old friend of Kaede's from her time in the Noguchi household, he is a Seishuu warlord who rises to power in the void left after Iida Sadamu's death. Seeks to conquer the Three Countries and to destroy the Tribe.
• Shirakawa Kaede: cousin of Maruyama Naomi and heir to Maruyama after the death of Naomi and her daughter. Lover and wife of Otori Takeo. She has two younger sisters, Ai and Hana.
• Maruyama Naomi: secret lover of Otori Shigeru and head of the western domain of Maruyama, which is traditionally inherited by females. She has a daughter, Mariko, and is accompanied by her maid and retainer, Sugita Sachie.
• Sugita Haruki: Sachie's brother, senior retainer to the Maruyama
• Sugita Hiroshi: his nephew, taken into Takeo's army and care at the age of 10 when his family were killed by the army of Iida Nariaki (Sadamu's cousin.) In the sequel to the series; The Harsh Cry of the Heron, he is a loyal retainer to Takeo and Kaede, holding the Maruyama domain for the next female heir to inherit, and a friend of Muto Taku (Shizuka and Arai's son). He is in love with Takeo's daughter, Shigeko.

• Muto Kenji: master of the Muto Tribe family. Takeo's teacher in Hagi. Father of Muto Yuki and uncle of Muto Shizuka.
• Muto Yuki: Kenji's daughter and mother of Takeo's first son. She delivers Jato, Shigeru's sword, to Takeo and takes Shigeru's head to Terayama, where Shigeru will be honoured after death. She is executed by the Tribe after giving birth to Takeo's son, who the Kikuta believe will not be raised to hate Takeo if he is raised in the presence of Yuki.
• Muto Shizuka: aide to Shirakawa Kaede. Kenji's niece. Former lover of Arai Daiichi and mother of his two sons, Zenko and Taku.
• Kikuta Isamu: a talented Tribe assassin who left the Tribe to live with his wife among the Hidden. Murdered by Kikuta Kotaro before his son Tomasu (Takeo) was born.
• Kikuta Kotaro: master of the Kikuta Tribe family and Isamu's cousin. Teacher of Kenji and other members of the Tribe.
• Kikuta Akio: Kotaro's nephew and Takeo's second cousin. He despises Takeo and antagonizes him whenever he can, especially when Takeo and Yuki become lovers.
• Kondo Kiichi: A member of the tribe who works with Shizuka to protect Kaede.
• Kuroda Shintaro: a notoriously talented member of the Tribe, despite being born into the lesser Kuroda family. He is sent to assassinate Shigeru, but his death at Takeo's hands reveals Takeo's true nature as someone who possesses the blood of the Tribe.

• Matsuda Shingen: a former warrior who became a priest at Terayama where he trained Shigeru during his youth, later becoming the abbot of Terayama
• Kubo Makoto: a monk at Terayama temple, he claimed to have fallen in love with Takeo and the two slept together on one occasion. He was Takeo's closest friend and advisor.
• Jo-An: an outcaste and member of the Hidden who aids Takeo in his campaigns, to the disgust of the samurai (warrior) class.
• Lord Fujiwara: a Seishuu noble who takes an interest in Shirakawa Kaede and arranges with Arai Daiichi for a marriage to Kaede, even after Kaede has already married Takeo.
• Mamoru: Lord Fujiwara's lover, protege, and companion. He's also an actor and plays women's roles in the plays Fujiwara puts on.

The series of novels do not describe a yearly dating system. In a note by the author, she states that there is no conversion between Christian Era dates, and the years in the Novels: indeed, she hints that the years have names rather than numbers.[1]

The following Chronology can be used for internal comparisons, but does not relate to any external dating system. For this purpose, the opening chapter is set as year 0, which has the side effect of making these numbers equal to Takeo's age at the time.

• Heaven's Net is Wide: 0-17

^{(ch 1: 0; ch 2-5: 1; ch 6-12: 4; ch 13-19: 5; ch 19-26: 6; ch 27- including the battle of Yaegahara: 7 ...)}

• Across the Nightingale Floor: 17-18

^{(ch 1-3: 17; ch 4+: 18)}

• Grass for His Pillow: 18-19

^{(ch 1-8: 18; ch 9+: 19)}

• Brilliance of the Moon: 19, 33 (afterword)
• The Harsh Cry of the Heron: 34-36

^{(ch 1: 34; ch 4-30: 35; ch 31+: 36)}

In the genealogies, the following notation is used:

    : Adopted or illeg.
  ... Unknown cousin relationship
  (s) A son
  (d) A daughter
  (3d) 3 daughters

      yinka               michael
        |                    |
        |                    +----------------------+---------------------+
    Grandfather              |                      |                     |   
       MUTO                 (s)                    (s)                   (d)
        |                    |                      |                     |
  +-----+------------+       |                      |                     |
  |    +-------------|-------|----------------------+-----+-----+         |
  |    |             |       |                      |     |     |         |
 (s)= (d)   Seiko = Kenji  Isamu = Sara = Shimon  Kotaro (s) Gosaburo   Shintaro
    |             |         (1)  |      |  (2)            |     |
    |             |         +----+      |                 |     |
    |             |         |     +-----+--+              |     +------+----+
    |             |         |     |        |              |     |      |    |
 Shizuka  Akio = Yuki ≈ Tomasu  Maruta  Madaren         Akio  Kunio  Yuzu  Ume
    |      *          | (Takeo)                           :*
    |                 |                                   :
    +------+          +---------------------------------+ : 
    |      |                                            | : 
  Zenko   Taku                                         Hisao 

       OTORI Takeyoshi
       m. Imperial Concubine                                       
             |
    ''(many generations)''.....................................          ''(Seishuu)''
             |                                   |        |
 wife 1 =  OTORI = wife 2                      Ichiro     |           SUGITA
        |        |                                        |             |
        |        +-------+-------------+                  |       +-----+------+------+
        |                |             |                  |       |     |      |      |
 Shigemori = Masako    Shoichi        Masahiro          Eijiro = Eriko Sachie Haruki Hikaru
    :      |                           |    :                  |                      |
    :      |                           |    :                  |                      |
    :   +--+--------------+     Yoshitomi  Ryoma               +------+----+          |
    :   |                 |                                    |      |    |          |
 Isamu Shigeru = YANAGI  Takeshi       Lord  = Cousin to     Danjo  (2s+) (3d)     Hiroshi
    |   :        Moe              SHIRAKAWA  | Lady MARUYAMA
    |   :                                    | 
    |   :    +------------+------------------+
    |   :    |            |                  |
    Takeo = Kaede        Ai = SONODA       Hana = ARAI Zenko
          |                 | Mitsuru           | 
   +------+-----+-----+     |          +--------+------+
   |      |     |     |     |          |        |      |
 Shigeko Maya  Miki  (s)  (2d+)     Sunaomi  Chikara  Hiromasa
      

Yanagi Moe is related to both the Otori Lords and to Shigeru's mother.

(d)-daughter (s)-son (d.)-dead

The most ferocious family that is known for its power, harshness, and skilled assassins. They are the pre-eminent tribal family in Tohan territory. Many true Kikuta have a straight palm line across their hand and have great powers, such as invisibility, splitting off a phantom body, acute hearing, and the ability to put someone in a deep sleep merely by staring at them (the 'Kikuta sleep'). It was said that many of the Kikuta gifts were dying out, which was why the Tribe desired Takeo's talents so much. Minor skills, possess by the weaker Kikuta, include agility and the ability to perceive invisibility and the second self.

In some very rare cases, some Kikuta members are ghost masters, and have the ability to communicate with the spirits of the deceased, as well as commanding them.

The Kikuta Master was Kikuta Kotaro, followed by his nephew Kikuta Akio. They are very traditional in their thinking and do not want to let peace succeed throughout the three countries. Takeo's father Kikuta Isamu was the greatest assassin in the Kikuta before he met Takeo's mother and defected to The Hidden. He was killed later by Kikuta Kotaro when he had refused to fight him because of the Hidden's religion and the vow he made to never kill again after he married Takeo's mother.

One of the two large clans of the Tribe that still have substantial gifts, and the major family in the Middle Country. They are renowned for their changing faces; as such, they are skilled as spies. They also share some of the more famous skills of the Tribe with the Kikuta, such as invisibility. The Master of the Muto was Muto Kenji, and after his death, Muto Shizuka. The Muto have strong links with the Otori and believe that the Tribe should change in the future. At the beginning of the series there is a close alliance between the Muto and Kikuta which wanes throughout the series. Controversy surrounded Shizuka's appointment as head of the clan, firstly because she was a woman, and secondly because she was appointed by Otori Takeo and not by the family.

A lesser clan of the Tribe that are mainly merchants, money lenders and informants. They possess some of the gifts of the greater clans, and a characteristic practicality which makes them superb assassins (e.g. Kuroda Shintaro). In The Harsh Cry of the Heron it is mentioned that the Kuroda can perceive invisibility, but cannot become invisible themselves. The only other Kuroda character encountered in the series is Kondo Kiichi (taking the name Kondo from adoption into his mother's side of the family.)

The two lesser clans of the Tribe. They mostly work as grooms and servants.