Oishinbo - Main Characters

Main Characters

The names here are in western order (family name last). The official English language manga volumes use the Japanese naming order (family name first).

• Shirō Yamaoka (山岡 士郎, Yamaoka Shirō?) Voiced by: Kazuhiko Inoue
  • Yamaoka is the protagonist of the series. He is a journalist for the Tōzai News (東西新聞社, Tōzai Shinbun?) and the head of its "Ultimate Menu" project.
• Yūko Kurita (栗田 ゆう子, Kurita Yūko?) Voiced by: Mayumi Shō
  • Kurita is Yamaoka's coworker. She assists him in the "Ultimate Menu" project. She later becomes his wife. They have two children, Yōji (陽士?) and Yumi (遊美?).
• Yūzan Kaibara (海原 雄山, Kaibara Yūzan?) Voiced by: Chikao Ōtsuka
  • Kaibara is Yamaoka's father and rival. Kaibara trained Yamaoka, but the two had a falling out. The relationship worsens when Kaibara begins to work for the "Supreme Menu" project of the Teito Times (帝都新聞, Teito Shinbun?), a rival newspaper. Kaibara is also the founder and director of the "Gourmet Club." Kaibara is also an artist, and also the author of the "Dictionary of Poetic References."
• Daizō Ōhara (大原 大蔵, Ōhara Daizō?) Voiced by: Osamu Saka
  • Ōhara is the publisher of the Tōzai News.
• Kyōichi Koizumi (小泉 鏡一, Koizumi Kyōichi?) Voiced by: Seizō Katō
• Hideo Tanimura (谷村 秀夫, Tanimura Hideo?) Voiced by: Shunsuke Shima
  • Tanimura is the director of the arts and culture department of the Tōzai News.
• Tomio Tomii (富井 富雄, Tomii Tomio?) Voiced by: Osamu Katō
  • Tomii is the deputy director of the arts and culture department
• Tōjin Tōyama (唐山 陶人, Tōyama Tōjin?) Voiced by: Kōsei Tomita
  • Tōyama is a famous ceramicist and gourmet.
• Seiichi Okaboshi (岡星 精一, Okaboshi Seiichi?) Voiced by: Norio Wakamoto
  • Okaboshi is the owner and chef of Yamaoka's preferred socializing space.
• Mantarō Kyōgoku (京極 万太郎, Kyōgoku Mantarō?) Voiced by: Takeshi Watabe
  • He is a wealthy businessperson and a gourmet.
• Noriko Hanamura Voiced by: Rei Sakuma
• Kinue Tabata Voiced by: Rin Mizuhara
• Mariko Niki (近城 まり子, Niki Mariko?) Voiced by: Saeko Shimazu
  • Mariko Niki, originally Mariko Futaki (二木 まり子, Futaki Mariko?), is one of Yamaoka's and Kurita's coworkers. For many early volumes she romantically pursues Yamaoka. When Yamaoka realizes her intentions in the chapter "The Spirit of the Sardine," Yamaoka tells her that he is not interested in marrying her, even though if he did, he would gain financial and social advantages.
  • The Futaki family, at that time, did not have a male heir. In Japanese tradition, wealthy families without male heirs adopted one of the husbands into the family, so he could become a male heir. The Futaki family wanted Yamaoka to marry into the family so he could become the male heir. Teruko reveals this to Yamaoka in the chapter "The Spirit of the Sardine."
• Chairman Futaki (二木会長, Futaki-kaichō?)
  • He is Mariko's grandfather.
• Takashi Futaki (二木 崇, Futaki Takashi?)
  • He is Mariko's father.
• Teruko (輝子?)
  • Teruko is Mariko's aunt.
• Inspector Nakamatsu (中松警部, Nakamatsu-keibu?) Voiced by: Norio Fukudome
• Tokuo Nakagawa (中川 得夫, Nakagawa Tokuo?)
  • He is the head chef of the "Gourmet Club."
• Fuyumi - Fuyumi becomes Okaboshi's wife
• Dr. Iwakura - Dr. Iwakura is Tanimura's former elementary school classmate.
• Tatsunojō "Tatsu" Hanamikōji (花見小路 辰之丈, Hanamikōji Tatsunojō?) is a homeless man. He collects leftovers from various restaurants in Ginza, so he knows which ones have the highest quality food. He introduced Yamaoka to Okaboshi's restaurant.
• Arthur Brown (アーサー・ブラウン, Āsā Buraun?) is an American friend of Yamaoka and Kurita. He speaks very strange Japanese. He does not use correct grammar, and he uses archaic Japanese and does not properly use idioms.
• Haru is the wife of Ozawa. Both had been previously married, and remarried each other. Out of habit he calls her "Haru-san."

In the Japanese language, the members of the Futaki family are distinguished by the honorifics. The grandfather is "Chairman Futaki," the father is "President Futaki," and Mariko is "Futaki-san."