Kitchen

Mikage is the main character of the “Kitchen” and “Full Moon” portions. She is also the narrator of them both. Mikage is a young female student living in Tokyo. She was raised by her grandmother from a young age, after her parents both died. The novel opens with the death of Mikage’s grandmother, which leaves Mikage without any blood relatives. The death leaves Mikage depressed and incapable of coping with her surroundings. Her one comfort in her now empty apartment is sleeping in the kitchen. Mikage loves the space of the kitchen in the home. She is later asked by a former student, Yuichi Tanabe, to come and live with him and his mother, Eriko. Mikage does not know much about Yuichi, but since he was kind to her grandmother, and she needs to move, she moves in with the Tanabes and falls in love with their kitchen as well. She takes an instant liking to Eriko. Mikage’s time with the Tanabes allows her to feel better about herself and life, and she warms up to her adopted family. She finds a kindred spirit in Yuichi, who, like her, was raised alone by a female figure. When Eriko is killed, both feel the loss heavily.