Kenji Ayase

Kenji is affectionate, proud and deeply invested in his daughters' achievements. His habit of scrapbooking is his most distinctive expression of that pride: accomplishments worth remembering are clipped out, organized and preserved.

Because Chitose's modeling produces obvious public material, her scrapbooks initially dominate the collection. That can make Chihaya feel overlooked, but Kenji's quieter accumulation of material about her demonstrates that his interest is not limited to the daughter with the more visible career.

He is less forceful than some of the other parents surrounding the principal characters. Rather than directing Chihaya's choices, he generally celebrates what she accomplishes.

Kenji is not a competitive karuta player. His involvement with the game comes through Chihaya and the records he keeps of her achievements.

His meticulous scrapbooking nevertheless gives him an unusual family archive. Newspaper coverage, photographs and other material become tangible evidence of how far both daughters have progressed in their respective pursuits.

Kenji appears primarily in the Ayase family's domestic scenes. Early on, the family's attention appears heavily concentrated on Chitose's modeling career, while Chihaya pursues a comparatively obscure competitive activity.

That impression changes when Chihaya discovers that her father has been clipping articles about her as well. The partially filled scrapbook devoted to her karuta career shows that her achievements matter at home even when the family does not always express its support in the way she expects.

Kenji continues to represent the proud-parent side of the Ayase household as Chihaya's accomplishments become increasingly visible.

Chihaya Ayase is Kenji's younger daughter. Kenji follows Chihaya Ayase's karuta accomplishments and preserves newspaper coverage of them in a scrapbook.

Chitose Ayase is Kenji's elder daughter. Her modeling career gives Kenji abundant material for the multiple scrapbooks he maintains about Chitose Ayase's work.

Chieko Ayase is Kenji's wife and shares responsibility for supporting their daughters' very different ambitions.