Sakura Character Analysis in Kafka on the Shore

Sakura is a young woman visiting friends in Takamatsu. Sakura and Kafka meet on a long bus ride to Takamatsu. Sakura, who is a few years older than Kafka, is kind and friendly. Kafka finds her extremely attractive—but because of this and her age, he worries that she could be his older sister, and that his attraction fulfils the Oedipal prophecy. Nonetheless, Sakura and Kafka both believe they were destined to meet. Kafka occasionally meets with Sakura during his time in Takamatsu—but more often he is plagued by sexual dreams about her that fill him with confusion and guilt.

Sakura Quotes in Kafka on the Shore

The Kafka on the Shore quotes below are all either spoken by Sakura or refer to Sakura. 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:

“‘Even chance meetings’… how does the rest of that go?”

“‘Are the result of karma.’”

“Right, right,” she says. “But what does it mean?”

“That things in life are fated by our previous lives. That even in the smallest events there’s no such thing as coincidence.”

Related Characters: Sakura (speaker), Kafka Tamura (speaker)

Page Number and Citation: 33

Explanation and Analysis:

On the journey west to Takamatsu, Kafka meets Sakura, an unusual, talkative girl a few years older than him. As they part ways, she expresses the sentiment that chance meetings aren’t really chance at all, but have special significance and meaning extending beyond simple coincidence. It is unclear how much Kafka actually agrees, but he extends the statement by saying that such meetings are the result of fate. Like many characters in the novel, Kafka and Sakura share a belief in fate. That shared belief draws them together, which seems to confirm the theory that they are connected by something Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi neces

“I appreciate it,” I say. “But that’s just a dream too.”

Related Characters: Kafka Tamura (speaker), Sakura

Page Number and Citation: 466

Explanation and Analysis:

As Kafka prepares to return to life in Tokyo, he gives Sakura a call to say goodbye. His calm demeanor and statements during the phone call demonstrate just how much he has been changed and healed by his time in the forest and his decision to forgive his parents. Where just a few days previously he was tormented by guilt because he had dreamed about raping Sakura, now, when she expresses anxiety about having a dream about him, he reassures her that it was only a dream and she does not need to worry. By rejecting his father’s power to Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explica

Sakura Character Timeline in Kafka on the Shore

The timeline below shows where the character Sakura appears in Kafka on the Shore. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...arrives in Takamatsu, Kafka introduces himself to the girl next to him, who is named Sakura (a different name, he notes, from that of his older sister). She gives him her... (full context)

The Virtues of Self-Sufficiency Theme Icon

...to calm down and plan his next steps. With effort, he calms down and calls Sakura, then takes a cab to her apartment. (full context)

Kafka and Sakura discuss the blood on his shirt. Kafka worries that he has committed a horrible crime... (full context)

In Sakura’s apartment, Kafka tells Sakura about running away from home and that his mother and sister... (full context)

Before long, Sakura tells Kafka he can get into bed with her, but that they can’t have sex... (full context)

The next morning, Kafka wakes to find that Sakura has gone to work, leaving him alone in the apartment. He cleans the apartment and... (full context)

...his dreams, even if he has no control over them. He also thinks about asking Sakura if he could imagine her naked, and decides again that what he imagines is very... (full context)

...watched and helpless, a feeling he worries he will never outrun. He falls asleep wishing Sakura were his real sister. (full context)

Feeling guilty about his abrupt departure from her apartment, Kafka calls Sakura to let her know he’s ok. She’s a little annoyed, but glad to hear from... (full context)

...Saeki would appear, but again, she does not. Instead, he has a vivid dream about Sakura—a dream so realistic he wonders if it might be reality. In the dream, Kafka slips... (full context)

Kafka’s mind wanders back to Sakura and the night before. Again, he thinks that if he’s already killed his father and... (full context)

At the train station, Kafka calls Sakura to tell her he’s going home. She tells him she had a dream about him,... (full context)

Sakura Character Analysis

Sakura Quotes in Kafka on the Shore

Chapter 5 Quotes

Chapter 49 Quotes

Sakura Character Timeline in Kafka on the Shore