- Nao Yasutani – one of the protagonists of the novel, a 16-year-old native Nisei (second-generation Japanese American immigrant) Californian girl.
- Jiko Yasutani – Nao's great-grandmother, who is a Zen Buddhist nun. An anarchist, feminist, and novelist, who was also a "new Woman of the Taisho era".[4]
- Haruki #1 – Nao's great-uncle, a WWII soldier who supposedly died while carrying out a kamikaze mission over the Pacific.
- Haruki #2 (or Harry Yasutani) – Nao's father who had a prestigious job at Silicon Valley, but is fired from his job and loses most of his savings after the dot-com bubble burst, prompting him and his family to move to Tokyo.
- Ruth – the other protagonist of the novel. A novelist facing the problem of writer's block.
- Oliver – Ruth's husband, who is an environmental artist.
- Schrödinger (also known as Pest or Pesto) – Ruth and Oliver's cat.
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