Symbols/Items
The kitchen symbolizes this throughout the novel for Mikage
What is a sense of comfort?
“I just stopped by to ask you something. I was talking to my mother, and we were thinking you ought to come to our house for a while”
The story begins with the death of this family member
what is the grandmother
This is where Eriko works
what is the nightclub
This both harshly impacts Yuichi And Mikage at the start of each part
What is death
Mikage sleeps beside this when her grandmother dies
Refrigerator
“When I’m dead worn out, in a reverie, I often think that when it comes time to die, I want to breathe my last in a kitchen”
Mikage
The is Eriko's occupation
what is a nightclub owner
This room in Yuichi’s apartment represents comfort
The Kitchen
This is what Mikage does to feel comfortable and express herself
What is Cooking?
Yuichi takes Mikage to eat this dish after a major loss
Katsudon
“Yes. But if a person hasn’t ever experienced true despair, she grows old never knowing how to evaluate where she is in life; never understanding what joy really is”
Eriko
This is how Mikage fights the grief of her grandmother
What is the dream
This is where Mikage copes with her grandmother’s death
Mikage's apartment
This theme is expressed through Eriko’s life
what is Gender/Sexuality
Mikage rides this to clear her mind?
Taxi
“You don't accept the responsibilities of a relationship. You just like to have fun and you keep him tied to you”
This is where Mikage Mentally recovers
What is the couch
This place is where Eriko and Mikage connect and bond
what is the Nightclub
This represents Mikage forgiving Yuichi from running away
Mikage holds on to this to remember her grandmother?
Kitchen Knife
“One night we were watching the news together, and the gentle boy suddenly saud, with a frightened look on his face, ‘People who kill people should all be dead.’”
Chika
This meal is shared by Yuichi and Mikage
What is katsudon
This is where Yuichi and Mikage bond
what is the Izu Peninsula
This theme shapes the personality of Mikage following the death of her Grandmother before she begins to heal
What is Loneliness/Loss?