Takashi Natsume

Natsume Takashi, the main character of the story, is born on July 1st. Natsume is 15 years old, and like his grandmother, Natsume Reiko, he has the ability to see spirits. He has inherited the Book of Friends, a book of youkai (spirit) names that no one but Reiko, Natsume, and other spirits can read. Because of Natsume's strong resemblance to his grandmother Reiko, he is often mistaken for her, causing spirits who hate Reiko to chase him constantly. He decided to dissolve the book by giving all the names back to their owners. He is accompanied by the spirit Madara, nicknamed "Cat" because of the spirit's appearance. Natsume promised that to pass the book on to Cat when he dies, if the cat serves as his bodyguard until then.

Natsume is an orphan. When he was younger, his parents died, and he was constantly sent to live with relatives. Because of his ability to see spirits, he would scare his relatives since they don't understand what he was talking about. Eventually, Natsume moved to an old couple's house from his father's side. He loves them, and does not want to cause them trouble, so he keeps quiet about his problem. Natsume has developed a good punch, since he constantly has to escape from spirits.
His punch is extra effective against spirits since he has strong spiritual power, like his grandmother. He also has a bit of a short temper with nyanko-sensei (the cat). In the anime, he is more cheery and good-natured, while in the manga, he is slightly more dismal and short-tempered.

Natsume is able to return the names inscribed in the Book of Friends by first picturing the spirit in his mind in order to learn the spirit's name, then the book flips to the page on which the name is written and then he takes the page and places it in his mouth while breathing out. The spell which originally enslaved the spirits used Reiko's saliva and breath; as Reiko's grandson and one who bears a strong resemblance to Reiko, Natsume is able to use the spell as well. The cost of releasing the name, however, is that his energy is almost completely drained in the process.