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Yuichi Tanabe
The central maternal figure in Kitchen. Eriko is an empowered transgender woman who runs a nightclub, raises her son Yuichi, and takes on a motherly role with Mikage after Mikage’s grandmother dies. Yoshimoto leverages Eriko’s character to emphasize that transgender womanhood is just as valid as cisgender womanhood, in particular through descriptions of Eriko’s feminine beauty and through Eriko’s own assertions about identifying as a woman. Yoshimoto also voices the guiding philosophies of the plot through Eriko. For example, Eriko urges Mikage to see that a person cannot really understand joy without experiencing suffering. Suffering, therefore, is both insightful and necessary and it cannot be eradicated but must be embraced. Eriko also becomes a mother to Mikage, which underscores Yoshimoto’s view that family is not bound up with biology. Eriko is tragically murdered by a stalker halfway through the story, and her death motivates part of Yoshimoto’s exploration of grieving, as well as the complicated path that Mikage and Yuichi walk while trying to navigate love in the midst of bereavement.
Eriko Tanabe Quotes in Kitchen
The Kitchen quotes below are all either spoken by Eriko Tanabe or refer to Eriko Tanabe . 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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Part 1: Kitchen Quotes
Usually, the first time I go to a house, face to face with people I barely know, I feel an immense loneliness.
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Early in the story, Mikage, who is grieving her grandmother, arrives at Yuichi and Eriko Tanabe’s house for dinner. Despite barely knowing them, they have offered to take her in while she grieves her grandmother so that she won’t be alone. Yoshimoto alludes here to a theme that many of her contemporaries address in their writing. In the 1980s, a new generation of Japanese writers emerged that looked specifically at the lives of urban youths in their cultural environment. Many, like Yoshimoto does in this passage and throughout Kitchen, address alienation in urban environments. Despite living side by side with 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 vol
This was his mother? Dumbfounded I couldn’t take my eyes off her. Hair that rustled like silk to her shoulders; the deep sparkle of her long, narrow eyes; well-formed lips, a nose with a high, straight bridge—the whole of her face gave off a marvelous light that seemed to vibrate with life force.
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Mikage has just arrived for dinner at the Tanabes’ apartment, and Yuichi’s mother comes breezing in on a break from work. As Yoshimoto’s detailed description shows, Mikage is mesmerized because Eriko is so beautiful. At this stage in the story, the reader does not yet know that Eriko is a transgender woman. Yoshimoto thus immediately introduces the character of Eriko as a mother, as a woman, and as a beautiful, deeply feminine woman before anything else is known about her. In this way, Yoshimoto clearly establishes Eriko’s status as a woman upfront, asserting a claim that will be reiterated throughout 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
Yes, but. Could you call someone who looked like that ‘Dad?’
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Eriko has just breezed in and out of the apartment after being described as a dazzlingly beautiful woman. Here, Yoshimoto informs the reader that Eriko is a transgender woman through the voice of Yuichi, who explains that Eriko was Yuichi’s biological father, though she has since transitioned gender. As this quote shows, Yuichi is clearly much more comfortable calling Eriko his mother than his father, reinforcing Yoshimoto’s view that transgender womanhood is legitimate and worthy of recognition and respect. Mikage responds to Yuichi’s question by saying that he makes perfect sense, which is another moment that allows Yoshimoto to normalize 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 exp
You’re a good kid, too.
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Eriko has just been discussing her son Yuichi’s emotional reticence but concludes that Yuichi is a “good kid.” Turning to Mikage—who has since moved in with the Tanabes and is having one of her regular heart-to-heart talks with Eriko—Eriko tells her that she, too, is a “good kid.” The repetition of this phrase aligns Mikage with Yuichi in Eriko’s eyes, and renders explicit Eriko’s view that Mikage is like a daughter to her, even though they are not related by blood or marriage. The evolving emotional bond between Eriko and Mikage—nurtured by frequent chats like this and genuine care and Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provi
Little by little, light and air came into my heart.
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Mikage has been living with the Tanabes for a few months and she has fallen into an easy rhythm of simple daily activities: working, cooking, cleaning, watching TV. As time passes, Mikage finds that her spirits are beginning to lift, her grief is becoming more bearable, and she is gradually growing happier. This rhythm of living day to day by doing ordinary things is what Yoshimoto argues will help a person overcome their grief. Bereavement feels insurmountable, yet often, just managing to get by and doing simple things every day—be it eating a meal or cleaning the kitchen—is what will Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt
I loved the Tanabes’ sofa as much as I loved their kitchen. I came to crave sleeping on it […] I slept like a baby. There wasn’t anything more I wanted: I was happy.
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Mikage has been living with the Tanabes for a few months and reflects on the sofa she sleeps on, which, fittingly, is in the kitchen—a space she feels uniquely connected to and comforted by. Beyond that, the sofa itself is large, soft, and comforting. When she first arrived at the Tanabes it proved a welcome break from the hard kitchen floor she’d been sleeping on at her grandmother’s place in an attempt to cure her insomnia. Yoshimoto alludes here to another central claim in her exploration of grief. For Yoshimoto, grief is as physical an experience as it is a 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 mi
It was like watching Bewitched.
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Mikage is living with the Tanabes and marvels here at their ability to just plug along as normal, despite Mikage’s strange interjection into their lives as the grieving young woman living on their sofa. Yoshimoto uses the metaphor of the American television show Bewitched—which centers on the life of a witch who’s attempting to live as a suburban housewife—to capture the juxtaposition of the strange and the everyday that the Tanabes take on the chin without a second thought. The metaphor is also a trademark of sorts for Yoshimoto, who often uses metaphors from pop culture in her writing, giving Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non.
Looking up, I saw white steam rising, in the dark, out of a brightly lit window overhead. I listened. From inside came the sound of happy voices at work, soup boiling, knives and pots and pans clanging. It was a kitchen. I was puzzled, smiling about how I had just gone from the darkest despair to feeling wonderful. I stood up, smoothed down my skirt, and started back for the Tanabes’.
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Mikage has just stumbled off a bus after clearing out her grandmother’s apartment because she realizes she’s crying and can’t stop. Bent over in an alley, she succumbs to the experience and lets herself have a long, full cry over her grandmother’s death for the first time. Immediately after, she sees a kitchen window and starts to feel better. Yoshimoto here uses two of her central symbols in the story to capture Mikage’s feelings: light in the dark, and kitchens. Mikage is distraught with grief. Unsurprisingly, once she lets it out and has a proper cry, she starts to feel 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 necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit
Yes. But if a person hasn’t ever experienced true despair, she grows old never knowing how to evaluate where she is in life; never understanding what joy really is.
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In this passage, Mikage is having one of her regular heart-to-hearts with Eriko, which comprise the regular emotional nurturing that helps Eriko and Mikage develop a bond of family. Through Eriko’s voice, Yoshimoto imparts one of her central philosophies and guiding motifs of the story. Eriko explains that some people have easy, happy, comfortable lives. Other people, however are almost broken by the suffering they experience. Eriko, who is comforting Mikage in her grief, tells her not to despair for enduring the pain of death and suffering, because her pain—as difficult as it is—is also a gift. It will give Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aper
Part 2: Full Moon Quotes
One night, screaming that he had been made a fool of he lunged at her with a knife. Eriko, wounded, grabbed a barbell off the bar—it was part of the club’s decor—with both hands and beat him to death. “There!” she said. “Self-defense, that makes us even.” Those were her last words.
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The second part of Kitchen opens with Mikage learning—several months after the fact—that Eriko has been murdered by a stalker. The description of the murder, captured here, reflects how strong and empowered Eriko is. Even in the moment of her death, Eriko fights back. Eriko’s death functions in several ways. It drives forward Yoshimoto’s exploration of grief, which will shift to center here on Mikage and Yuichi’s grief over Eriko. It also highlights the very real threat of violence that the transgender community faces in Yoshimoto’s society and elsewhere. Lastly, it shows that although Eriko is murdered, her death does 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. Volupta
She, too, is a very precious child of mine.
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Shortly after learning that Eriko was murdered several months ago, Mikage is at Yuichi’s place reading Eriko’s will. In it, Eriko advises Yuichi to lean on Mikage for support, and describes Mikage as her “precious child.” The will—which reads as a manifesto of sorts for several of the story’s core arguments—asserts that Eriko loved Mikage as a daughter. Yoshimoto here legitimizes Mikage’s status as Eriko’s family. Despite the fact that they were not related by blood or marriage, Eriko and Mikage formed a parent-child bond through Eriko’s consistent nurturing, emotional support, and day-to-day contact with Mikage. It’s these things, for Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at.
For an instant I had a vision of Eriko’s smiling face, and my heart turned over. I felt an urge to get moving. It looked to me like the kitchen had not been used in quite a while. It was somewhat dirty and dark. I began to clean. I scrubbed the sink with scouring powder, wiped off the burners, washed the dishes, sharpened the knives. I washed and bleached all the dish towels and while watching them go round and round in the dryer I realized that I had become calmer.
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In this passage, Mikage is on the sofa at Yuichi’s apartment, feeling distraught after learning about Eriko’s tragic death. The pain of Eriko’s memory is crippling, but once again, Mikage gets up and decides to do something—anything—so she sets out to clean the kitchen, which looks a little dingy. As Mikage methodically cleans the kitchen, her mood begins to lift. Kitchens, which symbolize the daily rhythm of living, are exactly what Mikage needs at this juncture. Yoshimoto asserts throughout the story that very often when a person feels suffocated by their grief, the best thing to do is to complete 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 exped
Nothing, nothing at all has any flavor for me know.
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In this passage, Mikage is having tea with Yuichi shortly after they reconnected over Eriko’s death. Mikage is attempting to comfort Yuichi and bring him back to life a bit. Yuichi, struggling in his deep grief, exclaims with despair that nothing tastes of anything. Yoshimoto rounds out her exploration of the physical effects of grief with Yuichi’s statement here. Elsewhere in the story, Mikage’s experiences of grief make her feel disconnected from her senses. At times she feels like she can’t see and other times she’s blank, unable to process any sensory input. Yuichi, too, feels as if he has 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.
I realized that the world did not exist for my benefit. It followed that the ratio of pleasant to unpleasant things around me would not change. It wasn’t up to me. It was clear that the best thing to do was to adopt a sort of muddled cheerfulness.
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Yoshimoto often speaks through Eriko—the central matriarch of the story—to impart her core philosophies in the story. Here, Mikage is poignantly recalling a conversation she had with Eriko when Eriko was still alive. Eriko has just been describing her wife’s death. When Yuichi’s biological mother was dying of cancer, she asked Eriko to take away the plant in her room to save it from the atmosphere of death, but the plant—a pineapple—withered anyway. Eriko uses this example to explain an important realization to Mikage, which is captured in this quote. Life is full of both pain and joy. Nobody can 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 necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus co
The endless sea was shrouded in darkness. I could see the shadowy forms of gigantic, rugged crags against which the waves were crashing. While watching them I felt a strange, sweet sadness. In the biting air I told myself, there will be so much pleasure, so much suffering. With or without Yuichi. The beacon of a faraway lighthouse revolved. It turned its light toward me, then turned away, forming a pathway of light on the waves. Nodding to myself, my nose dripping, I returned to my room.
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The story is drawing to a close, and Mikage has just returned to Izu after reviving Yuichi with some delicious takeout pork. Mikage is walking along the seashore at night and realizes that she is somehow at peace. Throughout the story, Mikage has been struggling with the thought that adulthood is really just the acknowledgment that life is full of pain and all a person can do is endure it. Earlier in the story, Eriko advised Mikage that life contains a balance of joy and pain, and it was Eriko’s acceptance of both that allowed her to make peace with 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. Com
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Eriko Tanabe Character Timeline in Kitchen
The timeline below shows where the character Eriko Tanabe appears in Kitchen. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Part 1: Kitchen
...sudden, a woman bursts in who is so beautiful that Mikage gasps. Her name is Eriko, and she’s Yuichi’s mother. Eriko has silky hair, long legs, and sparkling eyes, and she...
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Yuichi explains that Eriko eloped with Yuichi’s biological mother—a strange-looking woman with short hair—when they were young. Before that,...
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Mikage wakes to the sound of Eriko bustling around cheerfully in the kitchen as light streams through the window and shines on...
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Eriko says that Mikage reminds her of Yuichi’s old dog, which is probably why Yuichi feels...
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...and Mikage slips into an easy rhythm of working at her part-time job, cooking for Eriko and Yuichi, watching TV, and sleeping on the enormous sofa. She sleeps soundly each night,...
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...spills her tea. She protests that it’s not like that: Yuichi lives with his mother, Eriko, and they more or less took her in like a pet.
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...were together, she felt sad being herself. Now she feels more drawn to Yuichi and Eriko’s “strange cheerfulness.” Mikage looks up at Sotaro and wonders if he still has feelings for...
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Just as Mikage is thinking she should move out soon, Eriko bursts in with a new juicer. Mikage chuckles at the Tanabes’ frequent electronics purchases. Yuichi...
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...stay with them longer, knowing she’s not well enough to leave yet, and jokes that Eriko’s money isn’t just for juicers. Yuichi starts mopping and sings about two people seeing a...
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One evening, as Eriko waters the plants, she imparts her outlook on life to Mikage. Eriko thinks that taking...
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Part 2: Full Moon
A few months ago, Eriko was murdered by a stalker who had grown obsessed with her but then was “Shocked...
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Mikage frantically tries to recall the last time she saw Eriko. Was it the day Mikage moved out, when Eriko cried a little? No. It was...
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...and he relaxes. Yuichi explains that he felt functional for the first time today. When Eriko died, everything went dark and he went blank. Eriko was everything to him—“She was my...
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Yuichi hands Eriko’s will to Mikage, and goes to bed. It’s a cheerful letter joking about the silliness...
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Mikage is wearing Eriko’s sweater and her heart lurches as she thinks of the smell of Eriko’s perfume fading....
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...stares out of the window at the grey fog outside. Mikage misses the “light” that Eriko emitted, which has been replaced with a dark “heavy shadow of despair.”
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...up at the ceiling. When Mikage’s grandmother died, she thought things couldn’t get worse. Now Eriko’s dead, and things are worse. Mikage wonders if adulthood is just understanding that pain won’t...
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Over the summer, Mikage had learned to cook. Mikage cooked so much that Eriko and Yuichi had thought Mikage had gone crazy. The more she cooked, the more she...
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...of stew, salad, pie, vegetables, and all sorts of things, she avoids the topic of Eriko’s death. It feels unreal, and she needs to approach it gently and slowly. For now,...
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...tells Yuichi to stop talking like that. The apartment feels silent, heavy, and lost without Eriko. Mikago imagines her and Yuichi standing side by side, staring into the depths of hell....
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...deeply hurt and pushes back, firmly telling Okuno she knows nothing of Mikage’s history with Eriko and Yuichi. Okuno turns around curtly and leaves. Nori and Kuri comfort Mikage, saying she’s...
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Yuichi opens the door for Mikage and they joke about how Eriko insisted on having the car door opened for her, even though she “was a man.”...
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Mikage recalls a bittersweet memory. Eriko was watering the plants, looking “thrillingly beautiful” in the light. She talked about the time...
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Mikage is packing. Suddenly Chika—Eriko’s coworker at the club (who wears drag but isn’t explicitly female)—calls, saying they need to...
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...from the complicated highs and lows of her relationship with Yuichi and her grief about Eriko, who was the “dazzling sun” whose light illuminated them both. Mikage yearns for peace. Mikage...
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...up and she knows it will keep them going. She thinks about the swish of Eriko’s skirt, the color of a dragonfly, the sharp tug of Eriko tightening her obi, a...
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...inn to a raging, windy snowstorm outside the window. Looking out, Mikage truly feels that “Eriko is no more.” She gets up to start another day. That evening, after a feast...
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