Chapters 1-2 Summary

Kaname and Misako are a Japanese couple living in Japan in the 1950s (Kaname is the husband, and Misako is the wife). They are planning to get a divorce but they are mindful of the strict social rules of Japanese etiquette and want to make sure that they do not cause a scandal.

In the late morning, Kaname and Misako are trying to decide whether or not to go to the puppet theater together. Misako's father enjoys watching traditional Japanese puppet theater and has invited the couple to join him at a theater in downtown Osaka. Although Kaname is not a fan of the art form, he wants to extend one last gesture of familial respect to his father-in-law, so he is considering going. Misako, always acting out the role of the dutiful wife, refuses to tell her husband whether or...