List of Umineko When They Cry characters
The "Umineko When They Cry" visual novel series features an extensive cast of characters created and originally illustrated by 07th Expansion's Ryukishi07. The series takes place on the fictional secluded island Rokkenjima in Japan, and the storyline primarily follows the Ushiromiya family during the time period of October 4 and October 5, 1986. Kinzo, the head of the wealthy Ushiromiya family, owns and resides on Rokkenjima. Kinzo is near death, and eight of his family members arrive on the island for the annual family conference, where the adults plan to discuss how  Kinzo's assets will be divided once he is dead. Also on the island are three family members who live there, five of Kinzo's servants, and his personal physician, for a total of 18 people. After the eight family members arrive, a typhoon traps them on the island, and shortly after, strange things start to happen and people start dying. Real world characters. Ushiromiya family. Rokkenjima is owned by the wealthy Ushiromiya family and serves as the home of the family head. The family was initially much greater and contained more members until the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake, after  which the family was severely crippled, both domestically and financially. The current head, Kinzo, was originally part of a smaller branch of the family, and it fell to him to restore the family's glory. In "Umineko", there is a rumor that Kinzo turned to the Golden Witch Beatrice and sold his soul for ¥20 billion worth of gold, allowing the Ushiromiya family to prosper more than it ever had before. The current members of the Ushiromiya family gather on Rokkenjima every year for their annual family conference. While the youngest members of the family, Kinzo's grandchildren, see  it as a chance to bond and have a pleasurable time chatting about their lives, their parents, Kinzo's children, take the opportunity to debate how Kinzo's assets are to be divided after his death. After that comes to pass, the headship will be passed down onto a successor according to a preset hierarchy. As the current head, Kinzo holds the highest rank of all the family members. Following Kinzo are his four children, from oldest to youngest (first son Krauss, first daughter Eva, second son Rudolf, and second daughter Rosa), then his grandchildren in order of their parents ' age (Krauss' daughter Jessica, Eva's son George, Rudolf's son Battler, and Rosa's daughter Maria), and finally his children's spouses as they are not blood relatives (Krauss' wife Natsuhi, Eva's husband Hideyoshi, and Rudolf's wife Kyrie). Those born under the name Ushiromiya bear the family crest, the , on their clothes, while those outside the family do not. Kinzo's descendants have a Western naming style. While foreign names are normally written in katakana, the names of Kinzo's children and grandchildren are written using similar-sounding kanji. One exception is , which is pronounced rather than  the way the kanji that make up his name would otherwise normally be pronounced, . First generation descendants. Kinzo's immediate children and potential heirs to his fortune. House guests. Guests who were present at the annual family meeting of the Ushiromiya family held on October 4 and October 5, 1986. Servants. The Ushiromiya head house is tended to by multiple servants. While there are more, only five servants are on duty at the time of the murders on Rokkenjima. Other Servants. Former and absents servants that were not present on the Rokkenjima Murders. World of 1998. Characters introduced in "Alliance  of the Golden Witch", in the world of Ange Ushiromiya's future. Fantasy world characters. Witches and sorcerers. In the world of "Umineko When They Cry", witches are beings who hold powers that allow them to surpass human limitations, and are able to use that power freely. The term "witch" generally refers to females, while males are generally defined as "sorcerers". All witches were either once humans who learned how to use magic, or manifested from human emotions. Humans who can use magic but are unable to use it to its fullest potential are referred to as magicians. Witches are  classified by the types of magic they are able to use. The most recurring type of magic in "Umineko" is Endless Magic, which grants witches the power to break and repair anything infinitely, including human lives. Witches with this ability, such as Beatrice, are known as Endless Witches and are greatly respected, though they often lose their concept of life and death entirely and are easily corrupted. Even with this power, Endless Witches and all other witches of a lower class are very limited beings, as they are bound to certain territories and unable to use their powers outside of  them. Witches who gain the ability to move into other territories called , such as Bernkastel and Lambdadelta, are known as Voyagers, to whom few other witches can compare, though their sense of worth is often deterred, and they are even at the risk of losing their souls on their voyages, which they often hope will be endless. Witches of an even higher order are Creators, beings who hold the ability to create something from nothing. Voyagers are said to become Creators at the ends of their journeys, which they fear for unknown reasons. Furniture. The term in "Umineko" is used  to refer to characters below humans, those who serve others, similar to that of a servant, except those termed furniture are summoned or created by a magician or witch, and have no will on their own. It is suggested that the real human servants are actually furniture created by Kinzo's hands through magic, and are permitted to bear the One-Winged Eagle on their uniforms (a majority of the real servants were raised in an orphanage owned by Kinzo, and when on duty, they utilize pseudonyms, consisting of the kanji as a suffix. The number and type of furniture  summoned at one time depends on the summoner's skill. The term is also used as a form of dehumanization. In addition to special powers, such as transformation and barriers, most furniture have the ability to conjure a magical ornate blade of light from one of their hands for offensive purposes. Great Demons. The Great Demons of the 72 Pillars are the highest ranking earls of Hell, based on the 72 Demons from "The Lesser Key of Solomon". Unlike normal furniture, demons are not created by witches or sorcerers, but are contracted to do their bidding. Due to their nobility  in Hell, the 72 demons are well respected in the society of witches. The Seven Stakes of Purgatory. , also known as the , are the weapons which are said to be controlled by Beatrice. There are seven of them, named after the corresponding demons of the seven deadly sins, and each one can gain power from said sin. The Stakes of Purgatory are described as being inescapable. Only powerful mages can control the Stakes of Purgatory, but they cannot hurt any who have not committed the sins, or have strong magical resistance. The Stakes can take on a human form  and their true form, a powerful stake. While in human form, they rely on their blades of light for offense, switching to stake form to dodge attacks and get in their opponent's blind spot. As for their stake form, while smaller, they are many times faster and can kill by impalement. They can also bounce off walls and anything blocking their way, able to attack from any angle. However, in human form, they are far from invincible, and can still be injured or even killed if shot by guns. In "Turn of the Golden Witch", the Stakes of Purgatory  first appeared in human form, taking the shape of young girls, each with a different personality, but all have red irises. They can be distinguished through hair styles and colors. They represent the seven stakes with satanic inscriptions owned by Kinzo. Chiester Sister Imperial Guard Corps. The are bunny-girl weapons who can only be summoned by witches and sorcerers with a substantial amount of summoning skills. They are also called "Siesta" as a result a mistranslation. They attack using bows and arrows of light that fire potent beams of light which kill instantly on impact; the lone exception being  Battler due to his invincible anti-magic shield. In "End of the Golden Witch" it is revealed that whoever is the Game Master is also immune. It is said that there is no escape from the Chiesters' attacks, and they can even locate targets from far parts of the island and retrieve the corpses of whom they have killed; despite this, the Chiesters appear to be far from fearless, being terrified away twice when it appeared that their attacks had been useless against both Beatrice and Battler in "Banquet of the Golden Witch". They have red eyes, bunny ears, and  elaborate military-styled outfits. They represent four guns owned by Kinzo, as well as four bunny toys owned by Maria. Eiserne Jungfrau. is a clergy introduced in "End of the Golden Witch". Its name literally means "Iron Maiden" in German. It is a redemption enforcement agency supervised by the Great Court of Heaven, tasked with carrying out interrogations and executions of those who have committed heresy, particularly witches. It is made up of seven Inquisitors, led by Archbishop Dlanor A. Knox, and several other Assistant Inquisitors. Eiserne Jungfrau boasts a great number of spectacular achievements in witch-hunting, and is  extremely well known among other agencies. Inquisitors are armed with two kinds of weapons: the Red Key and the Blue Key. These weapons do not cause physical damage, but instead attack concepts. The Red Key is used to deny the existence of concepts, particularly the concept of witches, and cannot be blocked, avoided, or stalled. The Blue Key is used to cause concepts to waver and create self-doubt in the intended target, though it can be defended against. The Keys take different shapes depending on the Inquisitors who wield them. In heresy trials, the Eiserne Jungfrauen enforce a  set of ten commandments created by Dlanor A. Knox's father known as "Knox's Decalogue". SSVD. SSVD is another famous redemption agency supervised by the Great Court of Heaven, formally introduced in "Requiem of the Golden Witch". Its name is an abbreviation of mystery fiction writer S. S. Van Dine. Inquisitors from SSVD are generally more rigid and fundamentalistic in their jurisdiction than Eiserne Jungfrau, and their conservative values garner both criticism for being outdated and praise for preserving their original intentions.