The protagonist of Six Crimson Cranes is Shiori’anma Hanriyu, who primarily goes by her nickname, Shiori. She is the only daughter and youngest of seven children to Emperor Hanriyu of Kiata. The empress, who died when Shiori was young, symbolically named her to be the “knot” that keeps her family together. Shiori’s father and brothers claim she looks like her birth mother, and though Shiori thinks her “face [is] too round, [her] nose too sharp, and [her] smile more impish than kind” (28), her appearance is one of the few things that keeps her connected to her birth mother.

Mischievous and carefree, Shiori is sometimes called the “princess of liars” (110) by her brothers. Other than access to her favorite foods, Shiori finds royal luxuries burdensome, complains about her responsibilities, and resents all of the expectations of being a princess—to the point of humiliating her betrothed, Takkan Bushian. When her stepmother, Raikama, curses Shiori to be unrecognizable and unable to communicate verbally, she learns just how valuable her royal title is. She suddenly must fend for herself, relying on her inner strength to survive. Shiori begins the novel as a privileged, immature teenager, but experiences a coming of age that requires her to prioritize others over herself.