List of Twelve Kingdoms characters

This is a list of characters in the novel series The Twelve Kingdoms by Fuyumi Ono and its anime adaption.

Kingdom of Kei

Youko Nakajima

Voiced by: Aya Hisakawa (Japanese); Dorothy Elias-Fahn (English)

Youko Nakajima (中嶋陽子, Nakajima Yōko) is a sixteen year old honour student in Japan who lives an ordinary life; her primary worry is her naturally red hair. When a man named Keiki suddenly appears at her school, he bows at her feet, swearing loyalty to her and offering protection. The school is then attacked by a giant bird, and she reluctantly accepts his protection. He gives her a sword and transports her across the Void Sea to the Twelve Kingdoms, where she ends up in the Kingdom of Kou.

Youko is initially confused by the changes that have been brought onto her, including a complete change in her appearance and being stranded in an unknown land with no means of returning home. As she searches for Keiki, she finds herself constantly battling against demons and being betrayed many times. While Youko becomes wary of trusting others, she eventually comes to befriend and trust a hanjyu named Rakushun. They escape to the Kingdom of En, where Youko learns that she is the heir to the throne of the kingdom of Kei, and although she is initially reluctant, she accepts the position through her growth in the story. In a later story arc, as the newly appointed queen, Yuko learns of several problems in her kingdom, including a revolt in the province of Wa. Subsequently, she is pulled into the search for Taiki when Tai general Risai beseeches Youko's help in finding him.

As the ruler of Kei, she is given the regnal name of Sekishi (赤子, "Red Child"), because of her bright red hair and because her councillors initially view her as a child. Despite being a weak character to begin with, appearing very withdrawn and not wanting to do anything that would bring attention to herself, Youko grows in strength and maturity, becomes empathetic towards the people around her, thinking articulately about her actions (especially as queen) and continues to do so until the end of the series.

Keiki

Voiced by: Takehito Koyasu (Japanese); Kim Strauss (English)

Keiki (景麒) is a kirin and the Saiho of Kei. Like all Kirin, Keiki abhors violence and prefers peaceful resolutions. Keiki appears as a very quiet and unemotional type, however does have caring qualities, especially seen towards the kirin Taiki.

Before meeting Youko, Keiki had taken a long time before selecting Youko's immediate predecessor, Joukaku (舒覚), to become the ruler of Kei. However, she was an ineffective ruler and fell in love with Keiki; her jealousy resulted in irrational acts including expelling all the women from the country and executing those who remained. Keiki contracted shitsudou and in order to save his life, Joukaku abdicated her throne and killed herself after a short reign of six years. Cured of his illness, Keiki set out immediately to find a new monarch for Kei.

He eventually finds Youko Nakajima, who had been living as a taika in Japan without any knowledge of the Twelve Kingdoms, and forcibly brings her back to the Twelve Kingdoms. They are separated on arrival and Keiki is captured and enchanted by Kourin, the kirin of Kou, so that he is unable to speak, summon his shirei, or return to human form. Forced to appear before Joyei (舒栄), Joukaku's sister and pretender to the throne of Kei, Keiki remains a prisoner of the false ruler until Youko, aided by the King of En, rescues him and frees him from his enchantment. After liberating Kei, Keiki continues to advise Youko on statecraft and politics.

Aozaru

Voiced by: Kousuke Okano (Japanese); Richard Cansino (English)

Aozaru (青猿) is the physical manifestation of the sentient spirit of the scabbard of the Suigūtō (the Water Monkey Sword). The sword is a royal treasure to the kingdom of Kei and can only be wielded by the kingdom's rightful ruler - as such, Youko is the only one who can draw the sword from its sheath. The sword was forged from a water demon that a previous great ruler of Kei had defeated while the scabbard was created from a long-tailed monkey demon. From the scabbard hangs a large jewel that can heal the one who holds it.

The sword is not only capable of killing demons and sages and breaking substances like metal chains, but is also capable of presenting visions of the past, future, and things in the distance. The sword and scabbard must be kept together, otherwise the phantasms of the sword appear unchecked while the spirit of the scabbard is free to act as it wishes. When Youko loses the scabbard, it appears in the form of Aozaru, the blue monkey, and taunts her with her doubts while the sword presents her with visions of things she does not wish to see. Eventually, Youko, overcoming her own doubts, kills the monkey and picks up the dead scabbard. Because she has killed Aozaru, the sword can be drawn from the sheath by anyone, though it can be wielded effectively only by Youko.

Suzu

Voiced by: Naomi Wakabayashi (Japanese); Mela Lee (English)

Suzu (大木鈴, Ōki Suzu) was originally born to a poor farmer's family in Meiji era Japan. She is swept into the Twelve Kingdoms by a shoku after falling off a cliff when she was sold to pay off her family's debt. As a kaikyaku, she is unable to communicate with anyone and soon falls into despair. In the anime, she is first seen in an encounter with Taiki, whom she wishes to meet because he also grew up in Hourai, but she is injured and forced away from him by his protective nyokai. Suzu winds up travelling with travelling performers until they encounter an Sen-nin known as Riyo (梨耀), who is the first person Suzu meets who is able to understand her.

Riyo agrees to take Suzu when she returns to the mountains and grants Suzu the status of a sen-nin so she may understand the language of the Twelve Kingdoms. Suzu serves Riyo for one hundred years, but is forced to endure a great deal of abuse from Riyo, who reveals herself to be a cruel mistress who especially delights in abusing Suzu as she lacked the will to fight back. Shortly after Riyo attempts to torture Suzu with news of the new Queen of Kei, whose background was similar to Suzu's own, Suzu escapes and briefly finds shelter with the kindly queen of Sai. She eventually leaves for Kei in order to search for Youko, believing that she can rescue Suzu from difficult life, and befriends a boy named Seishuu, who has failing eyesight. When Seishuu is killed by Shoukou, the corrupt governor of Kei's Wa province, Suzu joins a revolutionary group dedicated to his downfall. Joined by a young woman named Youshi Chuu (中陽子, Chū Yōshi), Suzu additionally seeks to assassinate the Queen of Kei, as all evidence indicates that the queen has done nothing to stop Shoukou, and is initially unware that Youshi is actually Youko in disguise. She and Shoukei eventually befriend Youko and learn her identity as Kei's monarch; after Youko ends the revolt, Suzu is brought to Youko's court to become one of her ladies-in-waiting.

Shoukei

Voiced by: Houko Kuwashima (Japanese); Kate Higgins (English)

Shoukei (祥瓊, Shōkei) was the sheltered princess of Hou, until her father's government was overthrown due to his overly strict enforcement of the law; hundreds of thousands of his people were executed during his reign. When her father is assassinated, her mother and the kirin of Hou are killed before her; Shoukei is spared because she had been unaware of her father's actions. Her name is removed from the register of Immortals and stripped of her royal name; as a commoner, she can only use her given name, Sonshou (孫昭, Sonshō). Revoked her of status as member of Hou's royal family, Shoukei is forced to live anonymously as a peasant without any luxuries and displeased with the drastic changes in her life. To comfort herself, she enjoys singing a song about a doll from her time as the Princess of Hou, until she decides that she was nothing more than a doll herself when she was a princess. Shoukei is eventually forced to flee from Hou when her identity as the former Princess of Hou is discovered by impoverished townspeople who have been angry about her father's excessive lifestyle during his reign. She becomes jealous of Youko, the new Queen of Kei, whose rise in status coincides with Shoukei's own fall in fortunes.

Shoukei briefly serves the queen of Kyou, but she is treatly cruelly because the queen believed her to be too proud. She decides to steal clothes and jewellery from the palace and escapes to Ryu, where she meets Rakushun. When captured by Ryu government officials, she tries in vain to blame Rakushun for her crimes before attempting to bribe her way out of trouble. Shoukei gradually overcomes her jealousy of Youko, realizing that Youko must be something special to be friends with a forgiving hanjyuu like Rakushun. Shoukei leaves for Kei, but upon her arrival, witnesses a man condemned to be crucified in the Wa Province. Reminded of her father's own brutality, Shoukei throws a rock and is chased by guards until she is saved by a young woman named Youshi. Initially unaware her rescuer is Youko, Shoukei decides to find the Queen of Kei in order to warn her about the coming rebellion and, like Suzu, joins rebels revolting against Shoukou, the corrupt governor of Wa. Following the establishment of Youko's rule of Kei, Shoukei becomes a courtier in Youko's court.

Kingdom of En

Rakushun

Voiced by: Kenichi Suzumura (Japanese); Jim Taggert (English)

Rakushun (楽俊) is a hanjyuu with the form of a rat originally from the Kingdom of Kou. Rakushun is proud of being a hanjyuu and is somewhat uncomfortable in his human form; Youko only learns that he could appear as a human after quite some time. Though Youko is initially distrustful of him, he becomes her first good friend in the Twelve Kingdoms. He is very intelligent and knowledgeable, teaching Youko essential skills on how to live in the Twelve Kingdoms as well as politics and customs. He travels with Youko from Kou to En in hopes of being able to further his education since hanjyu are prohibited from higher levels of education in Kou. Rakushun eventually deduces that Youko is the rightful ruler of the Kingdom of Kei based on the unusual circumstances that have surrounded her since coming to his world; upon this discovery, he reassures Youko that he has faith in her and wishes to see what sort of country she will build when she doubts her ability to become Kei's new monarch. After Youko ascends the throne of Kei, Rakushun remains in En and enrolls in the country's Daigaku.

Shoryu

Voiced by: Masaki Aizawa (Japanese); Lex Lang (English)

Shoryu (尚隆, Shōryū) is the king of En, once known by the Japanese name of Naotaka Saburou Komatsu (小松三郎尚隆, Komatsu Saburou Naotaka). Like Youko, Shoryu is a taika. He has ruled En for approximately five hundred years and is considered a genius of administration. However, Shoryu believes that all kings have the potential to be great and that he is by no means exceptional as a human being.

Originally the young master of the Komatsu clan during feudal Japan, his clan was wiped out shortly before he was found by Enki and accepting Enki's request to become the King of En in the Twelve Kingdoms. As king, he comes to be known as Shoryu, the Chinese pronunciation of the characters for his given name, Naotaka. When he ascends the throne, the Kingdom of En is in a terrible state; during his five hundred year rule, he has led the country to a state of extreme calm and prosperity.

He initially appears to Youko and Rakushun as Fuukan (風漢) and offers both protection and support to Youko as the new Queen of Kei. As such, Shoryu provides her with an army to rescue Keiki and retake the Kingdom of Kei. As a fellow taika, Shoryu feels that he should help guide Youko in her new life.

Enki

Voiced by: Kappei Yamaguchi (Japanese); Dave Wittenberg (English)

As a taika from Japan, Enki (延麒) is also known as Rokuta (六太). When the kingdom of En chooses to aid Youko to rescue Keiki and free the kingdom of Kei from its false queen, Enki and Rakushun travel through various provinces in Kei to persuade the governors to abandon the imposter. He also plays a part in helping the kirin of Tai. Enki appears as a young boy compared to other kirin like Keiki because he matured at a younger age. He and Shoryu share a good relationship and are able to treat one another in a casual manner.

Born during a time of civil war in Japan, the kirin of En was abandoned by his parents at a very young age and had been starving to death until his nyokai found him. As a result of his past, Enki possessed a strong aversion to kings, seeing them as warmongers and the ones responsible for destroying a country. Originally feeling that humans could not rule a kingdom properly, Enki was reluctant to choose a new king. Invoking a meishoku, he returned to Japan and met Naotaka Komatsu, the son of a seafaring king and a taika from the Twelve Kingdoms. Believing that Naotaka truly deserved to be the King of En, the pair return to the Twelve Kingdoms and Naotaka takes the throne as "Shoryu". Their trust in one another is strengthened when the King of En is forced to suppress a rebellion in his kingdom.

Kouya

Young Kouya Voiced by: Emi Motoi (Japanese); Megan Hollingshead (English)
Adult Kouya Voiced by: Akira Ishida (Japanese); Scott Page-Pagter (English)

Kouya (更夜) is a young boy who was abandoned by his impoverished mother when he was young, Kouya was raised by a youma he called Ǒkii-no (big one), who called Kouya Chiisai-no (little one). He met Rokuta when they are young and Enki revealed his wish to travel to Hourai, believing that it is a peaceful land and hoping to find his mother. Rokuta named his new friend Kouya, meaning midnight as they had met at midnight. Not wishing to forget his new name, particularly since he had forgotten the name his mother had given him, Kouya asked that Ǒkii-no call him Kouya and began to call Ǒkii-no Rokuta in order to remember his new friend.

Kouya eventually encountered Atsuyu, the governor of En's Baku Province, and was greeted with apparent kindness. In exchange for Kouya's loyalty, Atsuyu provided Kouya with a place to live and a formal education. As a result, Kouya becomes involved with Atsuyu's attempt to overthrow Shouryuu, the King of En, one hundred years into the king's reign. When Atsuyu is defeated, Kouya leaves En and becomes known as Kenroushin-kun (犬狼真君, Kenrōshin-kun), a heavenly sage tasked with guarding and protecting the people who travel the Yellow Sea. Since then, he has waited for Shoryu fulfill his promise to create a place where Kouya and Ǒkii-no can live in peace.

Kingdom of Kou

King of Kou

Voiced by: Takaya Hashi (Japanese); Bob Papenbrook (English)

The King of Kou, known also as Chou (張), has ruled his country for fifty years and has tried his best to improve the state of Kou. However, he comes to feel that he will never be able to bring Kou the prosperity seen by the neighbouring kingdom of Sou and En, whose rulers have ruled for six hundred and five hundred years respectively. When Joukaku (舒覚) (posthumously known as Yo-ou (予王, the Prophet)), the ruler of Kei, dies after a reign of six years, the King of Kou comes to fear Youko's ascension to the throne of Kei, believing that as a taika like the King of En, she will be able to bring the ruined country the same prosperity and Kou will continue to fall behind.

As such, the King of Kou secretly supports the false queen Joyei (舒栄), the younger sister of Joukaku who seized the throne without being chosen by Keiki, and makes various efforts to capture and kill Youko. In the anime, these efforts include manipulating Yuka Sugimoto so that Youko will be unable to attain the throne of Kei. After his eventual death as a result of Kourin sacrificing herself, the King of Kou is posthumously known as Saku-ou (the Foolish King, the Wrong King).

Kourin

Voiced by: Yuko Sasaki (Japanese); Wendee Lee (English)

Kourin (塙麟) is the kirin of Kou. She attempts to dissuade the King of Kou from attacking Youko and from losing faith in his own ability as a ruler by constantly comparing himself to the Kings of En and Sou. As a kirin, she is bound to obey his orders, regardless of her willingness to do so; under his orders, she reluctantly captures Keiki when he tries to bring Youko to the Twelve Kingdoms and orders her shirei and the demons they command to pursue and attack Youko. In the anime, she sacrifices herself to stop the King of Kou from attacking Youko. With the death of his kirin, the King of Kou will die within a year.

Kingdom of Tai

Taiki

Taiki Voiced by: Rie Kugimiya (Japanese); Johnny Yong Bosch (English)
Takasato Voiced by: Kousuke Okano (Japanese); Johnny Yong Bosch (English)

Taiki (泰麒) is the kirin of Tai, though is not fully mature and is actually a heina (an immature kirin), and Koki, a rare black kirin. Like Youko, Shouryuu, and Enki, he is a taika from Hourai; as a result, he is known by the name Kaname Takasato (高里要, Takasato Kaname). His nickname, Kouri (蒿里), derived from an alternate pronunciation of "Takasato" and was given to him by Gyousou after Taiki chose him as the new King of Tai. After many years in Hourai, Taiki is eventually taken back to the Twelve Kingdoms in order to fulfill his role as the kirin of Tai. However, when the kingdom of Tai falls, both the King of Tai and Taiki go missing.

Fifteen years before Youko Nakajima's arrival in the Twelve Kingdoms, Taiki's ranka had been blown over to Hourai by a shoku. He is returned to Mount Hou ten years after his disappearance, after being found by Enki. Taiki is cared for and educated in his role as the kirin of Tai by his nyokai, Haku Sanshi, but is initially unable to transform into his beast form because he had been in human form for so long. He eventually chooses Gyousou to become king; while Taiki is uncertain of his choice and initially terrified of Gyousou, he eventually realizes that his fear was recognition of the "aura of the ruler" required of the one chosen by the kirin to become a true king. In addition to Haku Sanshi, Taiki also as a powerful toutetsu youma, Gouran, as his shirei. Before his disappearance, Taiki was close to Keiki and was called "half-pint" by Enki.

After his disappearance, Taiki is eventually revealed to be alive in Japan and attends high school. In the anime, he is a student at Youko, Yuka, and Asano's school and appears repeatedly in volumes four and five of the anime and referred to at times. Due to the sudden stop of the anime, Taiki's story was never finished and leaves the unresolved situation in which Rokuta is yet looking for him in Japan. In the novels, he is rescued and returned to Mount Hou by the combined efforts of Risai and the kings and kirins of the Twelve Kingdoms.

Gyousou

Voiced by: Keiji Fujiwara (Japanese); Chris Kent (English)

Gyousou Saku (乍驍宗, Saku Gyōsō) is a famous general of Tai. After the death of the previous King of Tai, Gyousou ascended Mount Hou in hopes of becoming the new king. Though Taiki is terrified of Gyousou and unsure if he has chosen the right person to become the King of Tai, Taiki eventually realizes his fear of Gyousou was how he recognized Gyousou was to become king. Upon Gyousou's recognition as Tai's new king and his departure from Mount Hou, he chooses to present Taiki with the nickname Kouri as a sign of what he hopes will be a prosperous age for Tai.

Because of his predecessor's extravangance, Tai was nearly bankrupt and had fallen into a state of civil war. Gyousou reduced the royal palaces expenditures to a bare minimum. War continued to escalate in Tai and eventually both Taiki and Gyousou disappear and are thought to be dead. Though Taiki is eventually found to be alive in Hourai, Gyousou remains missing, though is believed to be still alive.

Risai

Voiced by: Naomi Shindou (Japanese); Michelle Ruff (English)

Risai (李斎) is the general of Tai's Jou Province and well-known, though she is not as renowned as Gyousou. When Taiki's return to the Twelve Kingdoms is announced, she is among the many who ascend Mount Hou in hopes of being chosen as the new king. She is a sennin (sage) as a result of becoming a general of Jou since the governor of Jou, who has a lived a long life, requires those who serve him to also possess longevity as well to retain their usefulness. Taiki develops a friendly relationship with her, but in the end does not recognize her as Tai's new king. After Gyousou ascends the throne of Tai, she remains a loyal subject.

When Taiki and Gyousou both mysteriously vanish during another civil war, she and military commanders and civil servants oppose the governor who places himself in charge of the kingdom. While many are arrested, Risai is among the few who successfully escape arrest and continues to search for Gyousou and Taiki. She eventually flees to Han and then finds refuge in Kei, where she beseeches Youko to somehow find either Taiki or Gyousou in order save Tai from a corrupt and totalitarian rule by an usurper whose rule violates the Mandate of Heaven.

Kingdom of Kyou

Shushou

Shushou (珠晶, Shushō), the queen of Kyou, has ruled for over 90 years, but she has the appearance of a young girl, since that was when she was chosen to become the new ruler. She ascended the throne twenty-seven years after the death of the previous king. Though strict and capricious, she has demonstrated herself to be a wise monarch. She also appears to have above-average strength in the anime, being able to make Shoukei bow her head to her with only a finger.

Before becoming king, Shushou lived in Renshou, the capital of Kyou, as the daughter of a wealthy merchant. Though she lived a comfortable life and received a good education, she found herself unable to see ordinary people continue to suffer in a country without a king. At the age of twelve, she ran away from home to go on a pilgrimage and climb Mount Hou in order to be selected as the next ruler of Kyou. Her story is told in one of the novels that were not animated, Tonan no Tsubasa (The Aspired Wings).

She and Kyouki have an odd relationship; she often lectures Kyouki not to be so naive and sympathetic. On some of these occasions, she slaps Kyouki, but explains her reasons and comments that she wishes she had a shorter kirin so it would be easier for her to slap him.

Shoukei, after her identity as the former princess of Hou is discovered by local townspeople, is sent away to Kyou, and reluctantly agrees to serve Shushou. Shushou shows no sympathy for Shoukei, believing that Shoukei was a fool who did nothing but play while Hou suffered and lacked the discernment to see her father's wrongs, and only allowed her to be brought to Kyou in order to prevent more chaos in Hou. It is believed that Shushou likely influenced Lord Gekkei, the Marquis of Hou's Kei Province, to lead revolt against the king of Hou in order to end his errant rule and appears to support his temporary rule of Hou as it prevents Hou from collapsing and reduces the amount of refugees who come to Kyou.

Hourai

Yuka Sugimoto

Voiced by: Aya Ishizu (Japanese); Karen Strassman (English)

Yuka Sugimoto (杉本優香, Sugimoto Yuka) is one of Youko’s classmates in Japan and gets transported to Kou along with Youko and Asano. She enjoys fantasy books and is thrilled to be part of the adventure, believing that she is destined for greatness. Destined to be a rival, she becomes extremely jealous of Youko when she finds out that Youko is the "chosen one" and believes herself to be just as worthy. The king of Kou takes advantage of this to convince her to fight against Youko. She later realizes her mistake after making up with Youko, and Youko sends her back to Japan. After her return, she becomes friends with Taiki, who has lost his memory as a being from the Twelve Kingdoms. In the novels she is only mentioned in passing and does not go to the Twelve Kingdoms but remains in Hourai (Japan); instead, she serves as a plot device to show Youko's lack of resistance to peer pressure.

Ikuya Asano

Voiced by: Yuji Ueda (Japanese); Joshua Seth (English)

Ikuya Asano (浅野郁也, Asano Ikuya) is another one of Youko’s classmates who is transported to the kingdom of Kou. He goes missing after a battle between Yuka and Youko and is not seen by either of them for some time. Asano eventually becomes part of a group of Shusei and works for them as they traveled through the kingdoms. However, being in a completely alien country and lacking the ability to speak or understand the language, the strain has taken a toll on his sanity. Eventually, Asano questions the reason he was ever brought to Kou and seemingly can't find a reason for his life to go on. He dies at some point later in the anime. In the novels, Asano does not exist and Youko attends an all girls school.

Other Characters

Shokou

Voiced by: Tom Wyner Info coming soon...