Welcome to the Kou Clan.

Here are the ppl in Kou Clan:

Shuurei:
Shūrei Kō is the daughter and only child of Shōka Kō of the Kō clan, one of the two most powerful clans in Saiunkoku. She is sixteen years old when the story begins. As a descendant of the direct line, she has the title hime, which means 'princess' or 'lady'. Despite the high social status of her family, Shūrei grew up in relatively impoverished circumstances. Her father's job brought little income, and much of the wealth of their family home was given to the needy during the devastating fight for the imperial succession eight years ago. There are no servants at the Kō residence, so Shūrei has grown adept at household chores such as needlework, cooking and cleaning, traits unusual in a lady of high social standing. She has also held a number of odd jobs to earn money, acting as a professional erhu player, working as an accountant at Kōchō's brothel in the Red Light District, and serving as a teacher at the local temple. It is not shown explicitly whether she has some romantic feelings for Ryūki, but she showed some concern when Ryūki said that he would take Jyuusan-hime as Empress if Shūrei continues to reject him.

Seiran:
Seiran Shi started as a low-ranking army officer and the sole remaining retainer in the Kō household. Seiran was taken in thirteen years ago by Shōka Kō, and he has made a vow to spend his life repaying that kindness. He helps the Kō family by protecting them at their home, performing repairs on the family estate, and taking small guard jobs to earn money. He is a very skilled fighter and swordsman and is usually found following Shūrei to guard her, even when she doesn't know it. Seiran is later revealed to be the previously exiled second elder brother of Ryūki, Seien. He then discreetly protects the emperor by guarding him and giving him hints on decisions to be made, as Seien was often referred to as the son with the greatest potential to become a good emperor in his childhood. Seiran is very secretive and keeps to himself most of the time. This makes Shūrei worry about him because he doesn't talk about himself much, while she talks to him about everything. He conforms to the idealism of "the end justifies the means". The two are sometimes mistaken for a couple due to the amount of time they spend together, but there has been no evidence of romantic feelings on either side. His attitude towards her points more to him seeing Shūrei as his little sister.

Shoka:
Shōka is oldest of the Kō family and Shūrei's father. He also took in Seiran into his home thirteen years ago. After turning down the position of being the head of the Kō family, he was kicked out of the main household. He then moved to the capital where his younger brother, Reishin, got him a job in the Palace. He works in the Palace as the head of the Royal Archives even though the pay is only a small amount. Ryūki often visited Shōka in the Royal library when he was young because Shōka seemed to be one of the few people who treated him with kindness. His job is only that of a librarian, but he is highly respected by everyone. At first, he just seems like a caring, gentle librarian who can't even make a proper tasting cup of tea, but it is later revealed that he is the legendary assassin, The Black Wolf. He leads the group called the Wolves of the Wind, a group full of expert assassins that served the previous Emperor. He has the deadliest fighting skills, as seen when he slashed down nearly ten thugs in an instant to protect Seiran. His identity as the Black Wolf is still a secret to everyone except for Taishi Sō, Shūsui, and Reishin. Shōka said that he actually disbanded the Wolves of the Wind. It was later revealed that he met his wife after being assigned a mission to assassinate her. Since he fell in love with her, he of course couldn't go through with it. In the second season, it is revealed that his wife was the "Rose Princess (Bara-hime)" of Hyou clan. The previous Emperor also gave him a mission to secretly protect the exiled Seien from assassination attempts.

Koyu Ri:
Kōyū Ri holds the rank of Vice-Secretary of the Civil Affairs department, serving beneath Reishin Kō. Kōyū was an orphan living in the streets before Reishin adopted him thirteen years ago; he survived by selling tickets to a street lottery of his own design in which the prizes included branches of plum blossoms and bags of salt. Kōyū became the youngest person ever to pass the official examinations at the age of 16, taking the top ranked "Jougen" spot. As the series begins, Kōyū has been assigned directly to the Emperor, a position that infuriates him because the wandering Emperor never carries out his duties and can rarely even be found. After Ryūki agrees to be tutored by Kōyū, however, and begins taking an active role in government, Ryūki offers Kōyū an iris flower as sign of trust. Kōyū openly accepts the flower as a token of his loyalty and his belief that Ryūki is a worthy Emperor. Kōyū often works closely with the Emperor and revises the work that Ryūki does, such as written proposals. Despite his reputation as a genius, Kōyū is notorious for having no sense of direction. He gets lost in the palace within 30 steps and it sometimes takes him two hours to get to a destination that only takes 15 minutes for another person, though he does seem to find his way when there is trouble or when he is drunk. He has a close relationship with Shūei Ran, though he loudly denies being the latter's friend. He's easily annoyed and gets nervous speaking in public. He frequently states that women are nothing but trouble and refused all offers of marriage after he passed the official exam, despite receiving many proposals from families eager to tie themselves to an up-and-coming star. He frequently tutors Shūrei, however, and appears to regard her as a friend. It's been revealed that Kōyū's reason for taking the Exams and climbing to the top was to stand by Reishin's side and pay him back for everything that he did. He also wanted to be acknowledged by Reishin, but was frustrated by the older man's cool and callous exterior. He thought that Reishin adopted him on a whim and wondered whether any of his efforts made a difference. He has since realized, however, that Reishin thinks of him as his own child and that the plum blossom, after which Kōyū Ri is named, is Reishin's favourite. The Kō family (specifically Kō Kurō in episode 19) intends to marry Kōyū to Shūrei to lead the Kō clan in the future.


Reishin Kō:
In charge of the Civil/Public Administration Department and has been head of the Kō family for nearly fifteen years. He is Shōka's younger brother, Shūrei's uncle, and Kōyū's boss as well as adoptive father. He said his reason for adopting Kōyū was that his older brother adopted a child so he wanted to adopt a random child to share his brother's experience. Although, Shōka revealed to Kōyū that Reishin thinks of him as his own child. He's good friends with Kijin since he's allowed to be around him when he's not wearing a mask. He's also the one making all those different masks for Kijin. Kijin describes him as being crafty, coolheaded, and coldhearted, but Reishin is usually seen very cheerful, easy-going, and sometimes childish. He sometimes plays tricks on other officials. He and Kijin are always seen as very serious people in public, but they both always have a sort of comedic attitude when they're alone together or when it's just them and Shōka. He decided not to publicly reveal that he is the head of the Kō Clan, so only a few know of his status. He even hides the fact that he's Shūrei's uncle from her because he believes that she blames him for kicking her father out and becoming the head of the family. In fact, he's been trying to protect his older brother ever since he found out that Shōka adopted the exiled prince, Seien. He respectfully calls Shōka his elder brother and actually likes the fact that Shōka corrects his mistakes and that his elder brother scolds him for being too strict in front of others. He truly acts like a little brother to Shōka and is always so happy when seeing him. Reishin is also very protective of Shūrei and watches her from the shadows, often getting angry at Ryūki for saying that he'll one day marry her. While hiding behind a door, he once threw a wooden fan at Ryūki for almost saying that he's going to marry her. Though, Ryūki didn't notice it was him since Shōka walked in and said it flew out of his hand. He also secretly becomes Shūrei's sponsor so she can take the Exam. He was accused of manipulating the results of the Official Exams and was temporarily confined. Being the head of the Kō Clan, his arrest outraged the Kō clan causing nearly half the country to cease functioning. The charges were later dropped after the arrest of the real criminal, who was involved in illegal activities and was also the one who started the rumors about Reishin. It is mentioned in the novel that Reishin plays biwa, and so do his brothers. Reishin is the only member of the Kō family who knew about Shōka's real identity as Black Wolf. He is overprotective of Shūrei, to the extent of not wishing her to get married to anyone. He even mentioned once that he would even take Shūrei as his own wife, but Shōka said that Reishin was already married. His wife, Yuri-hime, used to be his servant. It is mentioned in the novel that he had fallen in love with Yuri-hime when they were children. When she was still his servant, he continued to treat Yuri-hime in a rude manner, though in truth he secretly liked her. Yuri-hime was the only person allowed to touch and cut his hair. When Reishin decided to leave Kō province to follow Shōka and take the Imperial Exams, Yuri-hime was the only person he took with him. His feelings for Yuri-hime was revealed when he spied on her date with Kō Kijin (accompanied by the reluctant Tei Yuushun) and when he ransomed her from Kōgarou. He also mentioned to Yuri-hime that even though he thinks Shūrei and Shōka are special, he would only play biwa for her. He registered Yuri-hime as his wife when she was half-conscious and stated that since they already have a child (Kōuyuu), they needn't have more children. Reishin finished second in the Imperial Exams, earning him the title of Bougen.


Yuri-hime (Yuzuriha):
Previously servant to Reishin and a promised bride to Shōka. She used to be in love with Shōka, but the latter never returned her feelings and dissolved the engagement. Said in the novel to be younger than Shōka but older than Reishin, but there were no specifics (Shōka is older than Reishin by five years). She was raised as a boy in the Kō family under the name of Yuzuriha. She was close to Kurō as she was the person who helped raise him. Kurō later encourages her to be Reishin's bride and sent her a letter stating so; however, the letter got wet and Yuri-hime mistook the message for saying 'please find Reishin a bride'. That was why she joined Kōgarou in pursuit of an ideal wife for Reishin. She later liked Reishin, despite how the way he treats her. She was one of very few people who didn't faint after seeing Kō Kijin's real face, which made Kō Kijin became fond of her. When he asked her out on a date (via message to Reishin), she was uninterested at first but she later complies after Reishin persuaded her to go. She is close to Kōyuu, and she thinks of him like her own son. She warned Kōyuu never to escape from the Kō manor supposedly because the manor was haunted. To effectively make Kōyuu believe this, she arranged for the furniture to be rearranged all the time such that Kōyuu would always become lost, which eventually resulted in lack of any sense of direction. Kōyuu, like Kurō, also wanted Yuri-hime to be Reishin's bride and become his mother. After Yuri-hime was taken as Reishin's wife, she was often out of town doing Reishin's duties as head of Kō clan. Kōyuu thought that Yuri-hime was an ideal partner for Reishin, but Reishin did not (since Reishin rarely shows his likes and dislikes), and worried that Yuri-hime was unhappy. Responding to this, Yuri-hime said she was happy and would never leave Reishin and Kōyuu. Unknown by many, she is the younger sister of the previous Emperor, Shi Senka. Princesses of the Royal Family like Yuri-hime are traditionally sent to become priestesses of the Hyōu clan or to be married. Yuri-hime's mother didn't wish for her to become a priestess so Yuri-hime was sent to the Kō house disguised as a boy (named Yuzuriha). Later, her mother was killed by Black Wolf (Shōka) who received orders from Senka. Before Yuri-hime married Reishin, she managed to slip into the Palace and meet Senka. The latter thought that Yuri-hime would kill him, but it turned out that she didn't. Senka asked Yuri-hime to stay in the Inner Palace and care for Ryuuki, but in that moment Reishin burst in and dragged Yuri-hime back to his place. Reishin later ransomed her from Kōgarou, beating Kō Kijin and even Senka himself.


Kuro ko:
The youngest brother after Shōka and Reishin, he acts as the proxy head of the Kō family. Because of his long rule, many outside of the clan believe him to be the true leader rather than Reishin. A man of traditions and family loyalty, Kurō wields the enormous power of the Kō to protest the arrest of Reishin, single-handedly causing nearly half the country to cease functioning when he orders clan members to not go into work. It is he who worked to get their father, the former family head, to pass over Shōka in favor of Reishin as the next clan leader, as he views Shōka as useless. In terms of personality, he and Reishin are more similar than he and Shōka. Though he may view his eldest brother with disfavor, which does not prevent him from taking action on those who would act unfavorably against Shōka. When Kurō found out that the servants of Shōka's residence stole all the valuables, while Shōka remained in shock over his wife's passing, the proxy head ordered that each servant, to the last of them, be found and shown the tortures of Hell. Not only did that happen, their severed ears and eyes were sent to their families to warn them against any such future behavior towards a member of the Kō family. Unbeknownst to Shūrei, Kurō comes to the capital in order to give her more protection than Shōka could offer that when she begins on the path of an imperial officer. To that end, he provides her the protection of the Kō clan via the travel pass made for her journey to the Sa Province to take up co-governorship. Though the mark on the travel pass was of the Kō (Yellow) clan's, as it was Kijin who issued the pass, the special "seven-colored" ink used could only be made by the Kō (Crimson) clan, marking her as a person of importance to them. He intends to have Shūrei and Kōyū wed, with the two of them to lead the clan in the future.

Shokun:
The mother of Shūrei, adopted mother of Seiran, and wife of Shōka. Shōkun is known in her lifetime to be a legendary beauty that could even pale the moon, and had the kind heart to match. She was the person who taught Shūrei how to make manjuu buns (though she later discovered that Shūrei was a much better cook than she was), how to pick tangerines from the trees, and how to behave like a lady. She was also the one who gave the name 'Seiran' to the boy she and Shōka found lying in the snow when the family traveled to Kiyō. The name meant 'Silent Orchid', and was given because the boy that they found never said a word and was presumed to be a mute. She grew very close to both Shūrei and Seiran, and encouraged Seiran to smile all the time to make Shūrei happy. Shōkun suddenly passes away one summer about eight years ago on a stormy summer day while Shūrei is ill. With her death, Shūrei mysteriously recovers and has had a healthy constitution since. In her deathbed, she made Seiran promise to protect Shūrei until Shūrei could walk her own path. She was perhaps the only person Seiran regarded as a mother figure, and her death devastated him. From time to time, he would visit her tombstone located on a hill facing the city. He also visited the tombstone alone before he left for Sa province to guard Shūrei and Eigetsu. Shōkun is later revealed to be the Rose Princess (Bara-Hime) of the Hyō family. She also had the ability to cure any illness and many men sought her hand in marriage. Her beauty even mesmerized the leader of the Hyō family, Riō, who locked her from the world. She was considered a threat by the previous Emperor and was arranged to be target of assassination by the Black Wolf. The Black Wolf failed and died in process, and a new Black Wolf with the nickname of Kaito was appointed to continue the job. This new Black Wolf is none other than Shōka, who after meeting the Bara-Hime forgot completely about his mission and fell madly in love with her. Shōkun survived the assassination attempt and was taken away by the Black Wolf. After some time and difficulty, she returns his feelings. Later, she lost her powers of healing but she had the power of one wish. Shōkun used this wish to make Shūrei healthier in the cost of her own life.