"In a Grove"
· Tajomaru – notorious brigand
· Takehiko – husband and murdered man
· Masago – violated wife
"Rashōmon"
· “A servant of a samurai” – a man between a life of thievery and death
· “old woman” – a woman who collects hair from corpses to create wigs
"Yam Gruel"
· Goi – a red-nosed Samurai with a taste for yam gruel
· Toshihito – a wealthy and pitying samurai with a nasty side
· “the fox” – a fox with magical powers of transformation
· Arihito – Toshihito’s father-in-law
"The Martyr"
· Lorenzo – the martyr; an orphan brought up by the Jesuit missionaries
· Simeon – the dear friend of Lorenzo, who affirms his excommunication
· Father Superior – the leader of the Church of Santa Lucia, whose faith wanes
· The Umbrella-Maker’s Daughter – the woman who accuses Lorenzo of impregnating her
"Kesa and Morito"
· Kesa – the woman who decides to disguise herself as Wataru
· Morito – the man who has an affair with Kesa and must murder Wataru
· Wataru – Kesa’s husband
"The Dragon"
· Uji Dainagon Takakuni – the Chief Councilor of State who wants to create a storybook
· Old potter – the man who tells the story of Hanazō
· Ohana-no Kurodo Tokugyo (a.k.a. Hanazō) – the large-nosed priest who posts a sign about the coming of a dragon
· Emon – an arrogant priest who changes his opinion about the legitimacy of the post
· Hanazō’s Aunt – a priestess from Sakurai that comes to stay with Hanazō to see the dragon
