Water Moon

Another of the novel’s primary characters is Keishin, whose parents are Izumi and Junichiro. However, because Izumi abandoned the family when Keishin was a young boy, Keishin grew up primarily with his father and stepfather. In the narrative present, he mourns his mother’s absence. Ever since she left him, “every achievement and discovery [he has] chased after has been about trying to find something that will make [him] feel worthy of [Izumi’s] love” (184). However, Keishin later admits to Hana that he feels bitter toward Izumi and often imagines hurting her if he were to see her again. His dichotomous emotions surrounding his mother reflect his longing for acceptance.

Keishin is a kindhearted, determined, and reflective character. Before he enters Hana’s pawnshop and begins his adventure with her, he’s immersed in the world of physics. Science defines his life, not only because it’s his chosen academic and vocational field but also because the logic of science is more predictable than life itself. Keishin relies on scientific laws to understand himself, his past, and his future. However, science often keeps him from discovering the world on his own terms. This is why spending time in Hana’s world is so freeing. Her magical, awe-inspiring world reawakens him to the beauty and mystery of life. Furthermore, her character intrigues him. Her world is filled with fantastical, uncanny happenings, but Hana is “the most extraordinary of [them] all” (43). Keishin admires her poise and composure and even envies her focus on her mission. However, Keishin eventually realizes that Hana is limiting herself. Over time (particularly after they fall in love), he encourages her to make her own choices and pursue her personal desires. Keishin wants Hana to choose to be with him in his world—a life that he thinks she would find more liberating and fulfilling.

Hana’s perspective on Keishin’s character reiterates his positive qualities. In the passages where the narrator inhabits Hana’s consciousness, she describes Keishin through Hana’s lens. Hana finds “no fault in his choice of words” and admires “his sharp jawline and the elegant symmetry of his nose and lips” and “the warmth of the pools behind his dark lashes” (40). Just as Keishin can perceive Hana’s complex spirit, she notices his internal complexities and depth of character. The two see the world in markedly different ways, but their souls are connected. Their bond ultimately inspires them to transcend time and space to be together.

Toshio, Hana’s father and Chiyo’s husband, is another of the novel’s primary characters. Toshio’s character epitomizes honor, duty, and responsibility. Because the magical pawnshop has been in his family for many generations, he knows the role he’s meant to fulfill and accepts it without question. He never admitted to Hana that he was unhappy running the pawnshop because he didn’t believe that happiness had anything to do with his lot in life. Therefore, even when Chiyo—the love of Toshio’s life—broke the law and stole one of the choices from the vault, Toshio did nothing to stop the Shiikuin from administering their cruel punishment. Instead, he took Hana from Chiyo and watched as the Shiikuin exiled her to a fate worse than death.

Toshio’s inaction isn’t a sign of his heartlessness but rather conveys how seriously he believes in his world’s governing system. He’s afraid of rebelling against this system because he doesn’t know any other version of life. He did his best to make Chiyo happy, convinced that if he loved her enough, he could tamp her curious, restless spirit and convince her to behave how she was meant to behave. Ultimately, his love wasn’t enough.

Toshio has devoted his life to Hana but ultimately leaves her to be with Chiyo after Hana turns 21. His decision to forsake the pawnshop illustrates his devotion to his wife and desperation to reunite with her despite the overt risks and repercussions. When Hana finds him and Chiyo in the subterranean field, he laments his decisions because this is the first time he has pursued his selfish desires, and he believes that this selfishness has endangered his daughter.

Toshio is thus a complex character whom Hana learned to rely on from a young age. For most of her life, she saw her father as her protector and guide. Her outlook on her life and herself changes once Toshio leaves. His absence compels her to make decisions without his guidance for the first time.

Chiyo, Toshio’s wife and Hana’s mother, is a secondary character. For most of the novel, she lives at the margins of the narrative. Chiyo hasn’t been present in Hana’s or Toshio’s lives for 21 years. More than two decades ago, Chiyo was restless and stole a choice from the vault—the choice to have a daughter named Hana. After she gave birth, the Shiikuin seized her to punish her for her crime. They ripped her away from her baby and husband, consigning her to a life of longing and burying her underground with the “soulless” children. This fate was worse than death for Chiyo, whose greatest longing was to have a child and watch her grow up.

The novel represents Chiyo’s character differently based on which character’s point of view the narrator is inhabiting. When the narrator describes Chiyo from Toshio’s point of view, she’s a beautiful, spirited woman who couldn’t control her longing for freedom. Despite her mistakes, Toshio still loves Chiyo and mourns her absence. In contrast, when the narrator describes Chiyo from Hana’s point of view, she’s a selfless, shortsighted woman who couldn’t make the necessary sacrifices on behalf of her family. However, Hana’s outlook on her mother changes when she learns the truth about the choice that Chiyo stole. This revelation makes Hana understand that all Chiyo ever wanted was to be a mother and thus to love her daughter.

Hana reunites with Chiyo when she and Keishin finally find the subterranean field. In this version of reality, Chiyo has created a replica of her life at the pawnshop. She lives in a copy of the place where she once lived and grows close to the “soulless” children, calling them all by Hana’s name. This realm shows how much Chiyo misses her life with her family; however, it also divorces Chiyo from reality and causes her to live in her delusions.