Fifty Words for Rain

Akira is Nori’s half-brother, Seiko’s legitimate son, and Yuko’s grandson. He is the privileged golden boy and the male heir to the Kamiza estate. However, Akira is a mix of a dreamer and a family man: Like Seiko, he longs to devote his life to music; but unlike Seiko, he reluctantly prioritizes his family. Akira takes his familial duty seriously; like Yuko, he values his sense of honor, but unlike her, he is willing to change for a better future. Initially ambivalent about Nori’s existence, he begins to advocate for her due to his progressive principles. His love for her grows out of a sense of justice as well as familial acknowledgment, and he derides Yuko’s treatment of Nori as being “backward.” Unlike Nori, who is confined to a life in the home, Akira has the freedom to explore the outside world and knows a life without Yuko’s rigidity.

However, Akira does eventually become more committed to Nori’s welfare, and this in turn affects his life. He spends two years and a “small fortune” to rescue her from the brothel; but in doing so, he risks his future as the heir to the Kamiza estate and this drains him, both financially and emotionally. He is pressured to live his dreams while he can, since he promises his grandparents that he will spend more time at their estate once he comes of age. As a result, even though his time with Nori is also finite, he must constantly choose between her and his music; by choosing music, he hurts her. Though Akira doesn’t idolize Nori in the same way she does him, he loves her deeply, and it pains him to see her hurt.

Though Akira’s death is tragic and ironic, since it was caused by his grandparents who desired him as their heir. His reunion with Nori in the paradise garden in her dream-vision toward the end of the novel shows that he is finally free of his familial duties in the afterlife and devotes himself to his music. He tells Nori, “You don’t need me anymore,” which is a relief to them both (433). However, despite everything, he acknowledges that he “would rather have died young than lived a hundred years without knowing [Nori],” underscoring his love and devotion for her (433). Akira was forced to mature quickly in life, but he was able to live without regrets.

Seiko is Nori and Akira’s mother and Yuko’s daughter. Born into privilege, Seiko sometimes benefits from it but spends most of her life trying to reject the familial duties thrust upon her. Seiko is a dreamer—she wants to study music in Paris and find romance there. She is looking for a love that is free of societal responsibilities, which she never received at home. However, Seiko is constantly restricted by The Complexities of Ethnicity and Class: Her social class gives her the resources to study music and go abroad, but does not teach her to fend for herself when she runs out of money; she faces derision and prejudice in France because of her ethnicity, leading to a failed rose-colored romance; her marriage is arranged by her family because of her royal blood and she is expected to give her husband a male heir. Seiko’s parents only see her value in her royal bloodline and ability to birth a son; she is kept in a gilded cage to ensure both.

Though Seiko loves Akira, she refuses to let her family subsume her dreams. She is forced to elope with James because of her pregnancy with Nori, but her abandonment of Akira is the sacrifice she must make for this. Thus, James’s death is especially devastating to her—she wanted love, not a lovechild. Her despair is linked with her children; only by giving them up can she be truly free. Thus, Seiko defies Women’s Powerlessness in Patriarchal Societies by carving a path purely for herself. Out of all the Kamizas, she is the only one to truly disappear—she is finally free.

Yuko Kamiza is cousin to the emperor, mother to Seiko, and grandmother to Nori and Akira. She is a ruthless matriarch who demands obedience. Yuko is a symbol of a bygone era, clinging to power she no longer has. Though she takes Nori and gives her a home, she treats her cruelly, having her skin bleached and punishing her for Seiko’s decisions. Yuko devotes herself to the family and protects it out of a sense of honor. She is willing to do whatever it takes to achieve her goals, including selling her own granddaughter to a brothel to negate Nori’s influence on Akira. Unlike every other character in the book, Yuko’s desires align with her duty, making her doubly determined to succeed.

Since Yuko has no sons herself, she pushes Seiko to birth a male heir. Yuko spares no love for her child unless doing so aligns with her ambitions. Still, she is arguably the lesser of two evils when compared to her husband, Kohei. Though she loathes the circumstances of Nori’s existence, unlike her husband or Akira’s father’s family, Yuko would not stoop to outright murder of illegitimate children. Yuko is also a keen negotiator, and any softness she offers is cloaked in coldness—for example, she locks Nori away in the attic to hide her from Kohei’s wrath. Though she preferred Akira for the Kamiza heir, she eventually acknowledges Nori out of necessity, forcing Nori to accept the role through manipulation and lies. Her passing, however, marks the end of an era of fierce adherence to honor and duty.