Chihaya Ayase

Chihaya Ayase is the main protagonist of the Chihayafuru anime and manga.

Chihaya is a determined school girl who possesses remarkable hearing and believes that by persevering in karuta, she will meet her childhood friend Arata Wataya again. Because of this, she begins a karuta club at her high school with her other childhood friend Taichi Mashima.

Appearance
Chihaya is a beautiful, tall and slim teenage girl with long brown hair and brown eyes. At school, she wears her uniform. When she isn't at school, she wears fashionable hand-me-down clothes from her sister. She also wears Daddy Bear clothes, especially when she practices karuta. When she was 12 years old, she had short hair, much like Taichi Mashima's current hair but she had slightly shorter hair with her ears exposed. She looked much like a tomboy. When she was in Junior High School, her hair grew longer (about shoulder length).

Personality
Chihaya is a tomboyish, outgoing and ambitious girl who does not do well academically. However, she is very diligent when it comes to karuta. She is generally absent-minded or oblivious towards her surroundings and feelings of others, except when it comes to karuta. Chihaya trusts others easily and can be deceived with little effort. 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. She is also extremely competitive towards anyone she perceives as a rival, friend or foe, and can be very petty. Though she's pretty, everyone calls her a 'beauty in vain' because her attitude and general behavior does not match her looks. She is obsessed with "Daddy Bear". She wears clothes with the "Daddy Bear" logo and also has a "Daddy Bear" on her school bag.

Karuta Style
Chihaya's karuta style is based on her remarkable hearing ability and quick reflexes. She relies solely on instincts and "game-sense", thus often faulting. Though this style of Karuta was sufficient to see her through B-class, she was initially unable to shine when against A-class players. She is seen struggling to clarify and refine her karuta style throughout the series, and with each successive match, whether a win or a loss, she gained new insights on either her own or others' styles of Karuta. She is particularly awed by Shinobu Wakamiya's "silent karuta", and perseveres to reciprocate it.

After injuring her dominant right hand, Chihaya has been playing karuta with her left hand. This restriction lead her to be aware of the advantages of left-handed players against right-handed players. Her teammates are initially worried by the lack of vigor and strength in her swings, until Yusei Nishida realizes that it's not that her swings are weaker but that she no longer expels unnecessary energy. She reflects that the "truth to the soundless karuta" lies "farther along this path", implying a drastic development in Chihaya's future style of Karuta.

Dear Cards
17. That red is the Tatsuta River / Even in the age of swift gods (Impassionate god/ Chihayafuru - Although it is "Chihayaburu" in real life)

22. Gust of Wind Leaves Fall Leaves Falling

Chihaya's first card. Her remarkable hearing ability allows her to hear the hard 'G' (F) in Gust (Fu), allowing her to take the card. It was her first card that she won against Arata and Shinobu.

Techniques & Talents

 * Superior Hearing - Chihaya's most notable and greatest weapon is her hearing. Some have noted similarities between Chihaya's style of karuta and the current Meijin's, Hisashi Suo, as they both have the ability to discern variances in the modulation of the first syllable of multi-syllable verses, rendering them as one-syllable cards. Chihaya has 20 one-syllable cards among the hundred-card Hyakunin Isshu.Other people considered to have a similar ability are Rion Yamashiro and the former Queen, Haruka Inokuma.


 * Speed Swings - Chihaya's karuta empathized on offensive style karuta which 'take' the cards from opponent field. Chihaya always practices her swings so that she can move faster and take more cards. However, this is also one of Chihaya weakness because she tends to make faults.


 * Superb Accuracy - Chihaya admired Shinobu, so she tried to imitate one of Shinobu's specialty of accurately taking cards by only touching the green part of the karuta cards.


 * Martial Arts - Chihaya is apparently able to defend herself through martial arts mostly taekwondo, like when she kicks and punches Taichi Mashima.

Trivia

 * The name Chihaya means "thousand" (chi) and "early" (haya).
 * Chihaya's surname Ayase means "second, Asia" (a), "arrow" (ya) and "generations" (se).
 * When Chihaya is tired, she sleeps with her eyes open.
 * Chihaya has excellent hearing.
 * Chihaya always sleeps after a match is complete.
 * Chihaya can sleep while standing upright.
 * Chiaya is taller than her sister.
 * Chiya was wearing a 'daddy-bear' t-shirt when battling Shinobu Wakamiya during the final in season one.
 * She enjoys science, PE, and music class.
 * Chihaya hopes to be the Queen of karuta one day.
 * Most of Chihaya's outfits are 'hand-me-downs' from her sister.
 * Sumire Hanano classifies Chihaya as pretty, clueless and dumb, and thinks she's every girl's enemy.
 * In Chapter 45 of the manga, Taichi Mashima asks Chihaya (who had come to his house earlier than the other members), "Wanna go to my room?", which makes Chihaya blush as she reflects on his previous actions of stopping her when she wanted to go in his room.
 * Her age is officially 18 years as of Chapter 193.
 * Chihaya is older than Arata Wataya by a few months.