Editing Botchan (section)

== Main characters ==
* Botchan (young master): The first-person narrator of the novel. Born and raised in [[Tokyo]], he is fiercely proud of his [[Edokko]] (Tokyo man) pedigree. He graduates from the Tokyo Academy of Physics (currently [[Tokyo University of Science]]), and takes a job teaching middle school mathematics in Matsuyama on the Island of Shikoku.
* Kiyo (meaning "pure"): The old maidservant of Botchan's family in Tokyo. She is a fallen aristocrat, dealing heroically with what life has dealt her. 
* Uranari (meaning "unripe [[calabash]]"): Nicknamed Uranari due to his plump face and pale complexion. His real name is Koga, and he is the middle school English teacher. Uranari is a very melancholic, but refined, gentleman. He is humble and self-effacing in the extreme, but his arranged engagement to the local beauty (Madonna) puts him in the eye of a tempest as a jealous rivalry unfolds.
* Yamaarashi (meaning "porcupine"): His real name is Hotta, and he is the middle school's head mathematics teacher. Yamaarashi hails from [[Aizu]]. He has a strong physical presence and a booming voice. He sees himself as a champion of justice and does not shrink from confrontation. 
* Red Shirt: Nicknamed so because he always wears a red flannel shirt, even in hot weather. His real name is not given. Red Shirt is the middle school's head teacher and the only staff member with a doctoral degree (in literature). He presents himself as the sophisticated scholar. He sets his sights on Uranari's fiancée (Madonna), and his scheme to usurp her creates the central conflict of the novel.
* Nodaiko (Field radish): His real name is Yoshikawa, and he is the middle school art teacher. Nodaiko is Red Shirt's obsequious sidekick and an eager cohort in his schemes. 
* Tanuki ([[Japanese raccoon dog]]): His real name is not given. He is the middle school principal and a pseudo-intellectual. He prides himself on his professional demeanor and adherence to protocol, but he often plays the role of a puppet who is manipulated behind the scenes by Red Shirt.