Emi Handa

Emi is affectionate, emotional and extremely protective. She has spent years caring closely for her only child and has difficulty accepting that the adult Sei may benefit from living away from her. When he returns from the Gotō Islands noticeably changed, she does not automatically interpret his newfound independence as an improvement.

Her emotions are expressed openly. She cries when distressed, argues passionately and can resort to comically physical outbursts when words fail to get the response she wants. Seimei's much calmer temperament means that he frequently absorbs or defuses these reactions.

Her resistance to Sei's island life comes from genuine concern rather than indifference to his ambitions. She worries about the unfamiliar people around him, the conditions in which he is living and the possibility that he is drifting away from home. This makes her opposition to his return to the island both overbearing and recognizably parental.

Emi has a background in calligraphy herself and is closely familiar with the professional artistic environment in which her husband and son work. Her adult life, however, is centered primarily on the Handa household rather than on maintaining a public career comparable to theirs.

She is an experienced homemaker and attends cooking classes. Her domestic competence is part of the sheltered environment Sei grew up in, making the practical independence demanded by island life especially unfamiliar to him.

Emi also possesses considerable force of personality. She can dominate a family discussion through persistence alone, though Seimei's patience and familiarity with her temperament prevent her emotional reactions from completely determining their son's choices.

Emi becomes prominent when Handa returns to Tokyo and announces his intention to go back to the Gotō Islands. Her response immediately establishes that his relocation was never universally welcomed within the family. She had opposed his departure and sees his return home as an opportunity for him to remain there.

Her resistance makes Handa articulate how important the island has become to him. Earlier he was sent there because of his professional and personal problems; choosing to return is different. Emi therefore becomes part of a conflict over whether Handa will continue following the safe path constructed around him or act on the independence he has begun developing.

Later material expands Emi's place within the Handa family and her own connection to calligraphy, while continuing to show how strongly she remains involved in her son's life even as he establishes a future increasingly separate from his parents' plans.

Sei Handa is Emi's only son and the focus of her intense maternal affection. She has difficulty accepting his growing independence and initially opposes his return to the Gotō Islands, but her behavior is rooted in concern for his safety and future.

Seimei Handa is Emi's husband. His calm, restrained personality contrasts sharply with her emotional expressiveness. They disagree over how much freedom their adult son needs, with Seimei believing the island experience is valuable for Sei's development.

Takao Kawafuji is one of Sei's oldest friends and professional associates, and Emi knows him through his longstanding involvement in her son's life and career.

[Kirie Kawafuji, Takao's mother, is Emi's acquaintance and part of the wider family circle surrounding the Handas.](#spoiler)