Jou Tatenaga

Jou is gentle, polite and mild-mannered. The unusual history between Handa and her grandfather does not cause her to treat Handa with hostility, and she approaches him without the confrontational attitude he might reasonably expect from a member of the director's family.

She is also comfortable enough with herself to discuss subjects that could easily embarrass her. By the time she meets Handa directly, she has lost a substantial amount of weight since the photograph used for the marriage proposal, and she speaks openly about the physical effects of that change.

Her interest in Handa survives his initial rejection of the arranged-marriage proposal. Her later interactions with him show that she remains personally interested even though Handa had declined the match before properly meeting her.

Jou is a college student who also works part-time in connection with the Kawafuji business. Her role gives her some familiarity with the professional environment surrounding Handa and his calligraphy career, although she is not herself presented as a professional calligrapher.

Her strengths in the story are primarily social. She handles an inherently awkward situation—meeting a man to whom she had previously been proposed as a marriage prospect—with considerably more composure than Handa.

Jou is introduced through an omiai proposal arranged by her grandfather, the same exhibition director whose criticism triggered Handa's move to the Gotō Islands. Handa sees a photograph of her from her coming-of-age ceremony but declines the proposed marriage because he considers himself too young and still has things he wants to accomplish before settling down.

When Handa eventually meets Jou in person, he fails to recognize her because she has lost a considerable amount of weight since the photograph was taken. Their meeting turns what had previously been an abstract marriage proposal into a direct personal relationship.

Jou initially mistakes Naru for Handa's daughter, prompting him to correct her. She continues to have feelings for Handa despite his earlier refusal of the marriage proposal, although their relationship is not immediately transformed into a conventional romance.

Sei Handa is the man Jou's grandfather proposes as a possible husband for her. [Although Sei Handa initially rejects the arrangement without meeting her, Jou remains interested in him and later meets him personally.](#spoiler)

Kanchou is Jou's grandfather and the exhibition director whose criticism of Sei Handa's calligraphy precipitates the central events of the series. He is responsible for putting forward the marriage proposal involving his granddaughter.

Takao Kawafuji is connected to Jou through the Kawafuji business, where she works part-time.

Naru Kotoishi meets Jou alongside Handa. [Jou initially assumes that Naru Kotoishi is Handa's daughter before he explains their actual relationship.](#spoiler)