Chihaya Ayase

Chihaya Ayase is the protagonist of the Chihayafuru series. She is the daughter of Kenji Ayase and Chieko Ayase and the younger sister of Chitose Ayase who is a determined school girl that possesses remarkable hearing and she believes that by persevering in karuta where she will meet Arata Wataya (Chihaya's childhood friend) again that she begins a karuta club at her high school with Taichi Mashima (another one of her lifelong friend) with this goal in mind. Chihaya is a very beautiful and tall teenage girl with chest-length light brown hair that has bangs hanging over her forehead, dark brown eyes, full pink lips and a slim body. When she was 12 years old, she had short hair that was much like Taichi Mashima's current hair except that she had slightly shorter hair with her ears exposed that made her look like a tomboy and her hair grew longer (about shoulder-length) when she was in Junior High School. Chihaya is a tomboyish, outgoing and ambitious girl who does not do well academically. However, she is very diligent when it comes to karuta that she is generally absent-minded or oblivious towards her surroundings and feelings of others, except when it comes to karuta. She trusts others easily and can be deceived with little effort where she is seen as good-natured, easy-going and as straightforward as her style of karuta. She often says the first thing that pops into her head, much to the dismay of those around her and she is also extremely competitive towards anyone she perceives as a rival, friend or foe where she can be very petty. Even though Chihaya is pretty, everyone calls her a 'beauty in vain' because her attitude and general behavior does not match her looks.