Kou Shuurei is the eldest daughter of the Crimson Clan, a sixteen-year-old girl when the story begins. She aspires to become Saiunkoku"s first female official in the Imperial Court, and her journey towards her dream and beyond is focused throughout the series.
Shi Ryuuki is the reigning emperor of Saiunkoku and nineteen years old as the story begins. As the youngest of the previous Emperor"s six sons, each from a different mother, he had been an unlikely candidate to ascend to the throne. During childhood, Ryuuki was badly treated by his mother and most of his half-brothers, who would beat him and lock him in a storage house for days in a row. Seien was the only member of the family who showed kindness to him. Ryuuki often took refuge in the garden or the imperial archives; in the latter location, he first encountered Shouka Kou, who tutored the young prince and encouraged War General Sou-Taifu to teach him swordsmanship.
This paper toy is a chibi Ran Shuuei, the general of the Shaolin Army and the fourth eldest of the five sons of the Ran Clan, based on the Japanese light novel series The Story of Saiunkoku (aka Saiunkoku Monogatari), the papercraft is created by Larry-San.
Ran Shuuei has legendary fighting skills thanks to his training by the Shiba clan, retainers of the Ran clan who excel in swordsmanship; the only opponents who can beat him at full strength are Koku-Daishogun and Haku-Daishogun. He recognizes Seiran"s past identity from his swordfighting techniques. The novels call him and Seiran the greatest military officials of Ryuuki"s reign as Emperor.
Usually calm, Shuuei likes to tease others, and claims to be Kouyuu Li"s best friend though Kouyuu keeps denying it. Shuuei enjoys provoking Kouyuu by mentioning the latter"s woman-hating ideals and lack of direction. Unlike Kouyuu, Shuuei often mentions how nice it is to spend time with women; he was surrounded by a horde of women after winning the fighting tournament, and often flirts and sleeps around with the palace ladies. He does this in the hope of attracting the attention of Shusui, who has been irritated by his behavior into saying that he treats the Imperial Harem like the Red Light District. When Shusui helped him once in the past, it was love at first sight for him, but sadly, Shusui does not even remember the meeting. Seiran calls him "saifu #1" (wallet #1) since he pays for the ingredients every time he has dinner at Shuurei"s house.
In the novel and drama CD, Shuuei"s brother(s) Setsuna Ran sent him to Kiyou as a child to assist one of the princes. He encountered the young prince under attack in an alley and tried to help him, but Shuuei"s swordfighting skills weren"t strong enough to defeat the assassins, and Seien told him that he was weak and useless. Seien even defeated Shuei in a sword battle in front of Setsuna Ran and Emperor Senka. Humiliated, Shuuei retreated back to Ran province and trained hard with his childhood best friend Jin Shiba. However, by the time Shuuei returned to the capital, the prince who mocked him had been banished for treason; his elder brothers ordered him to track down Prince Seien"s whereabouts, but he was unable to do so.
Shuuei and Kouyuu met during the Imperial Exams, in which Shuuei took the second highest honor as Bōugen. Near the beginning of Ryuuki"s reign, Shuuei briefly worked as a civil official until being disappointed that the new Emperor wasn"t interested in politics and kept disappearing. Switching from the civil service to the military, Shuuei joined the Left Uringun army and rose to the position of Shogun. Shuuei and Kouyuu become reacquainted after being assigned by his superior as respectively the personal guard and advisor to Ryuuki-- who is nowhere to be found, leaving Shuuei and Kouyuu in the library for a month of boredom.
Along with Kouyuu, Shuuei receives and accepts a flower from Ryuuki, a symbol of steadfast trust that establishes the young emperor"s reign with the support of the top two rising officials of the palace. Over time, Shuuei"s loyalties become increasingly torn between the emperor and the Ran clan, causing him to return the iris sword to Ryuuki and retire to Ran province. After being banished by the Ran clan, he returns to Ryuuki, convinced that the Emperor accepts his responsibilities and wants Shuuei"s support for his own merits, not just for his family connections. [Source: wikia]
This paper toy is a chibi Shi Seiran, the sole remaining retainer in the personal household of Kou Shouka, who took him in thirteen years ago, based on the Japanese light novel series The Story of Saiunkoku (aka Saiunkoku Monogatari), the papercraft is created by Larry-San.
Since then, Seiran has repaid that kindness by protecting Shouka"s family, performing repairs, and taking small outside jobs to earn money. He is a very skilled fighter and swordsman, and despite his amiable disposition, can be ruthless to people who endanger his loved ones. He has known Shuurei since her childhood and is very protective of her, but prefers to watch and help from the shadows.
Seiran is later revealed to be Shi Seien, Ryuuki"s second-eldest brother, who had been known as the "flower" of the royal princes due to his physical and intellectual superiority as well as for his kind heart. This encouraged a conspiracy by Seien"s maternal relatives to make him the next Emperor, but their plot failed. Seien was exiled with his unloving mother, Lady Shi Suzuran, who was killed by the assassins sent after them by the other imperial concubines.
Left alone in the distant Sa province, he joined Satsujinzoku, a murderous band of thieves who nicknamed him "The Little Whirlwind". Ro Ensei joined the group as well, and the two destroyed the band from within. Afterward, Shouka Kou found the young prince in the wilderness and took him in, giving him the new personal name "Seiran", meaning "Silent Orchid", as well as the surname "Shi".
Seiran has since embraced this new persona and does not discuss his past, although some characters become quietly aware of his former identity. Though he claims to be 21 years old, he is actually 26 years old at the start of the series. [Source: wikia]
Kou Reishin is in charge of the Civil/Public Administration Department, which makes him Kouyuu"s bureaucratic superior as well as adoptive father. He finished second in the Imperial Exams, earning the title of Bougen. He is a good friend of his fellow official Ko Kijin, many of whose strange masks he makes despite being one of the few people who can withstand the sight of Kijin"s bare face. Kijin describes him as being crafty and coldhearted, but Reishin usually seems very cheerful, easy-going, and even childish. Kijin and Reishin are also friends with Tei Yuushun, who placed first in the Imperial Exams.
He often engages in devious and secretive behavior, especially regarding his family. He is the only member of the Kou clan who knows that Shouka is The Black Wolf. After Shouka left the main estates nearly fifteen years ago, Reishin became the head of the Kou clan, but most outsiders have been led to believe that the clan leadership belongs to Kou Kurou, their youngest brother. Despite Shouka"s public estrangement from their clan, in private Reishin remains very respectful to his older brother, whom he has been trying to protect since learning Seiran"s previous identity as the exiled prince Seien.
Reishin is overprotective of Shuurei, although he has gone to great lengths to keep her from learning about their kinship for fear that she might blame him for supplanting her father. He is reluctant to let her marry anyone else, and has even said that he wished he could marry her himself until Shouka pointed out that Reishin is already married. He secretly sponsors Shuurei to take the Official Exams; afterward, he is accused of manipulating the results and is sentenced to house arrest, outraging the Kou clan into a work stoppage that shuts down half of Saiunkoku. The charges are dropped after the arrest of the real criminal, who started the rumors and was involved in illegal activities. At the manga Reishin"s hidden past was revealed that there is only him, his brother and his niece in this world.
Reishin also has a wife named Yuri-Hime, the half sister of the former emperor Senka. She does not appear in the story until the 13th novel. Reishin fell in love with her when they were children and was often rude to her, refusing to acknowledge her disguise as a servant boy named "Yuzuriha". Though Yuri had been intended as Shouka"s bride, Shouka broke off the engagement supposedly because he expressed no interest in her.
The novels mention that Reishin plays the biwa, the Kou clan"s traditional instrument, as his brothers do. In the 13th novel, Reishin is finally exposed to Shuurei as her uncle from her investigations on Kouyuu"s behalf; stripped from his position as the Chamberlain of Civil Administration Department, Reishin plans to return to Kou province. [Source: wikia]
This paper toy is a chibi Sa Sakujun, based on the Japanese light novel series The Story of Saiunkoku (aka Saiunkoku Monogatari), the papercraft is created by Larry-San.
The middle grandson, Sa Sakujun finds the world very boring and seeks to amuse himself without regard for morals. To relieve his boredom, who at the mere age of 15 Sakujun was the one who used and manipulated the Satsujinzoku as he pleased. Fourteen years ago, he found and recognized the young prince Seien collapsed in the snow. Thinking it was well suited for him, he brought the young prince to the Satsujinzoku. Sakujun then covertly retaliated by killing Enjun"s son and daughter-in-law in order to get back at him from the many bad experience he had years before.
When his grandfather Chusho tells him to marry the Kou princess, Sakujun assumes an alias as Lin Senya, a merchant"s son, and arranges to meet Shuurei in person. He was neither interested in power nor being a leader but once he has his eyes set on something, by whatever means neccessary he will do everything to get it. In order to do so, he needed to get his older brother killed, Sōjun. This places Sakujun as the next in succession to become the Sa clan head, giving him more power to resist the Kou clan if he marries Shuurei against their wishes.
With his typical devious perversity, he eventually allows Shuurei to poison him without her knowledge. He is later assumed to be dead, although his body is never found. In the second series, he makes a dreamlike appearance to Eigetsu and frees him. He is portrayed by Takehito Koyasu in the anime series.
Sakujun is now presummed to be the current host for the Black Immortal. When he lies under the tree under which Shuurei leaves him, Sakujun hears a voice in his head telling him that he finds him very interesting. Throughout the later parts of the novels, Sakujun becomes more active as he appears in various instances in the various temples for the Immortals in the Seven Clans of Colors and destroys many of them for a reason still to be revealed. [Source: wikia]
This paper toy is a chibi Ran Ryuuren, based on the Japanese light novel series The Story of Saiunkoku (aka Saiunkoku Monogatari), the papercraft is created by Larry-San.
Ran Ryuuren is eighteen years old when the story begins. Although he is the youngest of the five Ran brothers, he has been marked as the genius of their generation by the name "Ryuuren", which he received at age four, and is only bestowed by the clan on rare, worthy individuals.
Ryuuren is described as a eccentric individual both inside and out. He prefers extremely flashy attires with accessories ranging from feathers to pears. However, if he were to, as described by some, dress in normal outfits, he would look very handsome. Shuurei seems to agree as on the day of the exam, she sees Ryuuren in a normal outfit and described his appearance as that of a normal handsome young man and was even unable to recognize him. [Source: wikia]
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