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Shihara’s Sister-in-Law
Mrs. Izumi is a 37-year-old married woman who works part-time in a supervisory position at the convenience store that employs Keiko. Because Mrs. Izumi is a “normal” woman about Keiko’s age, Keiko imitates Mrs. Izumi’s “flashy” dress sense by buying technically different but fundamentally similar clothing brands to the ones Mrs. Izumi wears. Keiko also sometimes mimics Mrs. Izumi’s speech patterns. Though Mrs. Izumi is a competent employee who dislikes Shihara for his habitual lateness and sexual creepiness toward customers, she displays an intense, gossipy interest in Keiko’s (fake) romantic relationship with Shihara—an interest that Keiko finds unprofessional, shocking, and disappointing. When Keiko quits the store, Mrs. Izumi and their coworker Sugawara give Keiko “his-and-hers chopsticks” as a going-away gift and marriage gift.
Mrs. Izumi Quotes in Convenience Store Woman
The Convenience Store Woman quotes below are all either spoken by Mrs. Izumi or refer to Mrs. Izumi. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Convenience Store Woman Quotes
My present self is formed almost completely of the people around me. I am currently made up of 30 percent Mrs. Izumi, 30 percent Sugawara, 20 percent the manager, and the rest absorbed from past colleagues […] Infecting each other like this is how we maintain ourselves as human is what I think.
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Explanation and Analysis:
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Mrs. Izumi Character Timeline in Convenience Store Woman
The timeline below shows where the character Mrs. Izumi appears in Convenience Store Woman. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Convenience Store Woman
...of the “cogs of society,” like the people rushing by the store. When her supervisor Mrs. Izumi asks how many 5,000-yen bills the register has, Keiko says two. Mrs. Izumi resolves to...
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Around eight-thirty, Mrs. Izumi arrives, a 37-year-old housewife who works part-time as the day-shift supervisor. Though she dresses in...
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Keiko takes Mrs. Izumi for a characteristic woman in her 30s and so copies her style—but not exactly, because...
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Mrs. Izumi and Sugawara complain about a worker on the night shift who didn’t show up. Their...
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Mrs. Izumi tells Keiko and Sugawara that they should begin their “morning practice session.” Then she tells...
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...Friday, another of Miho’s friends, Yukari, comments that Keiko is speaking differently when Keiko mimics Mrs. Izumi and Sugawara. The women comment on Keiko’s new “flash[y]” fashion sense too. Then they suggest...
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The manager thanks Keiko. Mrs. Izumi , emerging from the back room, asks what happened. After the manager explains, Mrs. Izumi...
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...about the security camera and repeats the rule against cell phones. Then the manager and Mrs. Izumi go arrange some displays.
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...why, the manager explains that Shihara was fired for stalking a female customer. He and Mrs. Izumi complain about Shihara’s behavior, but Keiko thinks they seem relieved, not angry. When Sugawara comes...
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...item—chicken skewers—hasn’t yet been prepared. As she runs to the back freezer to get some, Mrs. Izumi and the manager waylay her to ask about Shihara. Though Keiko tries to tell them...
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...up an ad for them in a display case and wonders why the manager and Mrs. Izumi aren’t committed to the sale. As customers enter the store, Tuan and Keiko promote the...
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...no insects in the tub. Keiko says that she came home later than usual because Mrs. Izumi and the manager buttonholed her after work about Shihara. When Shihara is angry that she...
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...lecture Shihara, understands why he is so determined to hide. One time, the manager and Mrs. Izumi even pull out Shihara’s CV and criticize his education and qualifications. To Keiko, her coworkers...
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At the end of Keiko’s last day, Mrs. Izumi and Sugawara give her “his-and-hers chopsticks” as a wedding gift while Keiko internally laments that...
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