Tsukiko

Tsukiko is the main character and first person narrator of the novel. Tsukiko is in her late thirties. She lives and works in Tokyo, Japan. Though she mentions working in an office, Tsukiko never explicitly states her job title or describes the exact nature of her work. When she is not working, Tsukiko spends the majority of her time alone. In “Twenty-two Stars,” after spending more and more time with Sensei, Tsukiko begins to realize how often she is by herself. “When I thought about it,” she says, “Sensei was the only person I spent any time with. For a while now, there hadn’t been anyone besides Sensei with whom I had sat and had a drink or gone for a walk, or seen anything interest” (27). Therefore, each time she and her new companion have an extended bout of distance or silence between them, Tsukiko tries to...