That's the Tea Sis
These two characters move in together.
Who are Yuichi and Mikage?
A feeling every character in the novella encounters and forces them to grow.
What is grief?
This piece of revolutionary engineering allows for the swift creation of the collected secretions of many fruits. Buy now for three monthly payments of $19.88 to obtain your object that symbolizes Eriko’s impulsive nature.
What is a juicer?
This (wo)man owns a nightclub.
Who is Eriko?
Mikage’s favorite room.
What is a kitchen?
The meal Mikage took to Yuichi.
What is Katsudon?
Brought on by loss and resulting in much hardship, this theme persists throughout the characters lives.
What is depression?
This fruity plant represents Eriko’s grief at her wife's death.
What is the Pineapple Plant?
This female deals with the loss of family members by confiding in her surroundings.
Who is Mikage?
This feeling overcomes Mikage a few times throughout the novel while thinking about the past.
What is nostalgia?
Yuichi's girlfriend who dislikes Mikage for living with Yuichi.
Who is Okuno?
This theme brings the characters together, and creates connections to help them through the struggles in their lives.
What is love?
One of Mikage’s hobbies. This favorite pastime symbolizes Mikage and Yuichi relationship.
What is cooking?
This character manages Eriko’s club after her tragic murder.
Who is Chika?
This symbol of new growth appears several times throughout Eriko’s life.
What are plants?
The companion story to "Kitchen" that continues with the themes of grieving loved ones and leaving the past behind you.
What is "Moonlight Shadow"?
This theme forces Mikage and Yuichi to deal with Eriko’s situation and take it in stride.
What is acceptance?
The quality of this survival necessity symbolizes and reflects Yuichi’s mental state throughout the novel.
What is food?
These girls are Mikage’s coworkers. She speaks of how despite their differences, she “liked them immensely” (Yoshimoto 69).
Nori and Kuri
This herbal medicine represents love as it returns as a source of familial comfort for Mikage, Eriko, and Yuichi.
What is tea?
While writing the novel, the author had this job.
What is a waitress?
This theme causes classmates to lash out and Mikage to feel things she has never felt before.
What is jealousy?
Along with the refrigerator, this place provides the sole source of comfort for Mikage following her Grandmother’s passing and again after Eriko’s.
What is the sofa?
Eriko had a past on a different spectrum. This name goes to her past life.
Who is Yuji?
This experience shows Mikage how she can overcome issues and leads her to happiness.
What are dreams?