Kafka Tamura
Kafka is the novel's protagonist. An intelligent and physically fit fifteen-year-old boy, Kafka runs away from home to escape the Oedipal curse his father put on him when he announced that Kafka is fated to kill his father and sleep with his long-lost mother and sister. Kafka finds himself compelled to fulfill elements of the prophecy when he believes he may have killed his father by entering a dream portal. Similarly, Kafka has sexual relations with Miss Saeki and Sakura, whom he believes could be his mother and sister, respectively. Kafka finds freedom from his fate after going deep into the forest and forgiving his mother for abandoning him when he was younger. Kafka loves reading, and adopted the false first name of Kafka because admires the Czech author Franz Kafka.
Satoru Nakata
Nakata is an elderly disabled man who was involved in a mysterious incident when he was a schoolboy. As a result of the incident, he fell into a coma and lost his memory and ability to read. However, Nakata gained the ability to talk to cats, which he uses to help people find their missing cats. Nakata speaks of the accident from his youth as though he died for three weeks. When he returned to the world, he found that the shadow he cast on the ground was half as dark as other people's. Living as a shell of a human, Nakata finds himself compelled to fulfill duties that include killing Johnnie Walker, finding the entrance stone, and burning Miss Saeki's memoirs. Nakata has the ability to make fish and leeches rain from the sky. Whenever anyone mentions food, Nakata comments that the dish is one of his favorites, and often mentions that his absolute favorite food is eel. Nakata dies in his sleep after burning Miss Saeki's memoirs.
Oshima
Oshima is a librarian in his early 20s who works at Komura Memorial Library and grows close with Kafka. Oshima is generous to Kafka, and helps him out along the way, from helping him stay at the library to eventually allowing him to live in his cabin in the mountains. Oshima becomes a sort of mentor to Kafka, sharing with him his interest in classical music and Greek myths; he also offers advice and guidance about Kafka's situation. Oshima reveals that at birth his assigned gender was female, but he now identifies as a gay man.
Miss Saeki
Miss Saeki is a middle-aged woman and head librarian in charge of running Komura Memorial Library. Kafka believes she may be his lost mother. Miss Saeki is said to have lost part of herself when her boyfriend died when they were in their early twenties. At the same time, she put out a hit single called "Kafka on the Shore." Miss Saeki has a fifteen-year-old ghost who visits Kafka's bedroom while he stays at the library. Miss Saeki and Kafka begin a sexual relationship toward the end of the novel. She dies at her desk after giving Nakata her memoirs and telling him to burn them.
Sakura
Sakura is a young hairstylist whom Kafka meets on the bus to Takamatsu. Kafka theorizes that she may be his long-lost sister, as she is six years older than him. Sakura and Kafka flirt with each other, but Sakura often mentions her boyfriend in Tokyo.
Koichi Tamura
Koichi Tamura is Kafka's father. A famous sculptor, Koichi told Kafka that Kafka would one day kill him and sleep with his own mother and sister. It is implied that Koichi's alter ego is Johnnie Walker.
The Boy Named Crow
The boy named Crow is Kafka's alter ego and seems to exist in a metaphysical state. He guides Kafka throughout the story, both taunting and motivating him. Crow leaves Kafka toward the end of the story when Kafka faces his fears deep in the forest.
Hoshino
Hoshino is a truck driver who gives Nakata a ride and then quits his job in order to help Nakata on his enigmatic mission. Hoshino had a troubled youth, getting into trouble with the police, and served in the Self Defense Forces before becoming a trucker. He smokes Marlboros and wears Hawaiian shirts. At the end of the novel, Hoshino expresses gratitude to Nakata for helping him see his life and the world in a new way.
Colonel Sanders
Colonel Sanders is a metaphysical being who takes the human form of the Kentucky Fried Chicken founder. He shows Hoshino where he can find the entrance stone. Colonel Sanders also works as a pimp and insists that Hoshino have sex with a young woman before he will show him the stone.
Johnnie Walker
Johnnie Walker is a "metaphysical being" who takes the human form of the Johnnie Walker scotch whisky brand mascot while interacting with Nakata. Johnnie Walker abducts cats, dismembers them, and eats their hearts in order to collect their souls. He says he is collecting cat souls to create a giant flute. Johnnie Walker asks Nakata to murder him, which Nakata does only so that he will stop killing cats in front of Nakata. When Kafka's father Koichi is found murdered in the same way (stabbed with a steak knife) on the same day, it is implied that Johnnie Walker may be an alter ego of Koichi's.
