San is the title character of the film, "Princess Mononoke". San was born into a human world but one day, when she was still a mere infant, her family was out in the forest. Moro, the great Wolf God happened upon them, and terrified, the family made their escape by throwing the young child to the wolf, so that they could save their own cowardly skins. Appalled by the behaviour and disregard the humans showed to their young, Moro no Kimi took the child in and raised her alongside her other two cubs. San grew up to be "The Princess Mononoke", or "Mononoke Hime" and fought with the wolves against Lady Eboshi and the rest of the humans. Click here to read San's Poem.

Ashitaka is a young prince from a far away, near extinct tribe of people known as the Emishi clan. While fighting off a Tatari-Gami to protect the village, he is infected by it and is slowly dying. He goes in search of the cure and soon finds himself tangled up in the war between the wolves and the humans. Ashitaka is a brave warrior who has a courageous and powerful heart. He comes with "eyes unclouded by hate", and rather than choosing sides to the war, he does his best to try and teach the two warring factions to live in peace with one another. Click here to read Ashitaka's Poem.

Lady Eboshi is the mortal enemy of the dying forest. She is the head of Irontown, where she and her people are clearing away the forest to extend her ironworks to make guns and ammunition. We see the villainy towards nature and the wolves in her heart by her disregard for their habitat and lives. Yet, we see she is still a good woman at heart; she has employed and given good jobs to Prostitutes and lepers; the fringes of human society that no one would normally be kind to. Click here to read Lady Eboshi's Poem.

Moro no Kimi, the wolf god, is the mother of San and the chief protector of the forest. She hates Lady Eboshi and is intent on killing her and all who side with her. However, Moro is also kind and gentle, she loves her human child and protects her just as much as her natural cubs. During one of her attacks on one of Lady Eboshi's caravans, Moro gets shot with an iron bullet to the neck, wounding and poisoning her. Her heart is too strong and good to for her to lose her life to hate and become a Tatari-Gami, but this bullet and it's poison is slowly killing her throughout the film. Click here to read Moro's Poem.

These are the children of Moro and San's wolf brothers. San can be found in the company of her brothers more often than her mother. They are her closest companions and they often carry her into battle upon their backs. They are extremely protective of their human sister, and become agitated if anyone speaks ill of her. They are leary at first of Ashitaka ( in fact, they would much like to eat him ), but respect the wishes of San to let him be. They eventually become accustomed to Ashitaka, enough so to even let him ride them when emergencies are present and Yakkul is unavailable.

Yakkul is so cute!!! Anywise, he is a rare type of red elk ( a mythological creature thought up by Hayao Miyazaki ) that come from the far away and forgotten lands. His species are the mounts of Ashitaka's Emishi tribe. Yakkul is very swift. He is sure-footed on even the rockiest and steepest of slopes. He can leap and bound very high, far, and fast, and can even swim and wade. He is extremely loyal to Ashitaka and refuses to leave his Master's side, even when the poor beast has been wounded. I have also heard Yakkul refered to as "Yakkura", so sometimes I am confused as to what to call him. Click here to read Yakkul's Poem.

The Forest God is the giver and taker of life in the forest. By day he is a great, deer-lie animal with an enormous set of antlers and a humanly lengthed face. During nighttime, he stretches his necks towards the sky and transforms into the Nightwalker, a watery, eletric, transparent beast that is huge and tall in size. The Forest God keeps the balance of life and death in nature, and his role in the lives of the animals and the other gods is very important. Click here to read The Forest God's Poem.

Jiko Bo is the strange type of priest that Ashitaka meets early on in his journey. Jiko Bo is in service of the King, who demands the head of the Forest God, which he believes is able to grant him eternal life. Jiko Bo strikes an uneasy deal with Lady Eboshi to help him to kill the Forest God and collect it's head. I still want to know the secret to wearing his shoes.