Ryou Hazuki

Ryou Hazuki is the main character in the story of Shenmue, and who the player plays as. He is an 18 year old Japanese teenager who lives in Yamanose in Yokosuka, Japan. He lives at the Hazuki Residence with his father, Ine-san, the live-in housekeeper and Fuku-san, a live-in student studying the Hazuki style of Jujitsu. Ryo has been taught in the Martial Arts by his father, Iwao, since he was young. All we know about his mother is that she died when Ryo was young. Ryo is a serious person like his father, if a little reckless at times.

(Source: shenmue.neoseeker.com)