Themes
Mikage has no biological connection with these people, but they are still her...
What is family?
What room in Yuichi’s apartment brings Mikage the greatest comfort after her grandmother’s death?
What is the kitchen
Who said this? “As I walked toward the cooking class, I suddenly realized that a weight had been lifted from me. Right now, getting away from Tokyo, away from Yuichi, to put some distance between us for a little while, struck me as a very good thing” (Yoshimoto 68).
Who is Mikage?
When does Mikage move to Yuichi and Eriko’s apartment?
What is after her Grandmother’s death?
What is the author's name? (Don’t look at the cover)
Who is Banana Yoshimoto?
Ex: shared experience between Mikage & Yuichi, drinking tea, cleaning an apartment, singing: “A LIGHTHOUSE IN THE DISTANCE—TO THE TWO OF US IN THE NIGHT” (Yoshimoto 38).
What are dreams?
A place where people can rest, this piece of furniture becomes a symbol of closeness and unspoken understanding.
What is the sofa?
This person fills up on tofu-based dishes after Chika recommends they stay at an inn.
Who is Yuichi?
Yuichi’s ex-girlfriend confronts Mikage at what location?
What is Mikage’s work?
Mikage and Yuichi eat this food at the end of the story in an inn.
What is Katsudon?
A connection between Mikage and Saturo; Eriko’s way to remember her wife.
What is nature?
This form of communication, left behind after Erikos death, acts as a final gesture of love and guidance for Mikage.
What is Eriko’s letter?
She sits in a chilly apartment hugging a pineapple plant against her chest, believing “only the pineapple and I understand each other” (Yoshimoto 81).
Who is Eriko?
What does Mikage say she’ll have countless ones at the end of part 1?
Dream Kitchens
This drink represents warmth and comfort for Mikage after the passing of her grandmother.
What is Tea?
“My parents, my grandfather, my grandmother…your real mother, even Eriko. My god–in this gigantic universe there can’t be a pair like us” (Yoshimoto 50). Mikage and Yuichi bond over their shared experiences with…
What is death?
Cooking in the story is more than just survival; it symbolizes this emotional process.
What is healing?
This eldest son walks through the park with Mikage, when she says that he has a “sunny outlook” on life, but might “grab [her] by the hair, force [her] to decide on an apartment, and pull [her] kicking and screaming back to school” (Yoshimoto 26).
Who is Sotaro?
Mikage and Yuichi both share a dream, where they clean and drink tea. This takes place in what location?
What is Mikage’s grandmother’s kitchen?
In addition to shopping for ingredients to make a huge feast, Yuichi also buys this kind of food, resulting in large bags.
What are instant dinners?
Mikage uses this unhealthy coping mechanism to deal with the emotional toll of her grandmother’s and Eriko’s deaths.
What is repression?
These objects on the terrace window comfort Mikage as she recovers from her grandmother’s death, one of which carries special significance to Eriko.
What are potted plants?
This person takes Mikage out to the Soba shop for lunch on a whim, insisting that “Yuichi is all alone in the world now” (Yoshimoto 86).
Who is Chika?
After Eriko’s death, she leaves all her possessions to Yuichi, except for the club, which she leaves to this character.
Who is Chika?
Mikage says the Vegetarian cuisine in the inn consists of this entirely.
What are Smelly Vegetables?