A Tale for the Time Being Character Analysis

Naoko “Nao” Yasutani

Nao is a 15-year-old girl living in Tokyo, Japan. She’s Haruki and Tomoko’s daughter, Haruki #1’s great-niece, and Jiko’s great-granddaughter. Nao is the author of the diary that washes up on Ruth… read analysis of Naoko “Nao” Yasutani

Ruth

Ruth is a writer who lives in Whaletown on a remote island in Canada. She finds Nao’s diary when it washes ashore on the island. Ruth used to live in Manhattan but moved to… read analysis of Ruth

Haruki Yasutani / Nao’s Father

Haruki is Nao’s father and Tomoko’s husband. He was a software programmer in Silicon Valley, but he was forced to relocate to Japan with his family after he lost his job in America… read analysis of Haruki Yasutani / Nao’s Father

Jiko Yasutani

Jiko is Nao’s 104-year-old great-grandmother. Nao describes her as an anarchist-feminist Buddhist nun. Jiko decided to become a nun after her gentle, philosophical son, Haruki #1, was drafted into the military during World… read analysis of Jiko Yasutani

Haruki #1 Yasutani

Haruki #1 was Jiko’s son and Nao’s great-uncle. He was drafted to fight in World War II when he was a 19-year-old student of French literature and philosophy. He was a “kind boy”… read analysis of Haruki #1 Yasutani

Tomoko / Nao’s Mother

Tomoko is Nao’s mother and Haruki’s husband. Like Nao, she, too, is badly shaken by the turn their lives take after Haruki loses his job in America and they are forced to relocate… read analysis of Tomoko / Nao’s Mother

Oliver

Oliver is Ruth’s husband. He is an artist who lives in Whaletown on a remote island in British Columbia, where Ruth moved to to be with him. Though Ruth feels unhappy on the island… read analysis of Oliver

Babette

Babette is a waitress at the French-maid-themed coffee shop where Nao likes to write in her diary. Nao initially says that Babette is her friend and that she lets Nao have free coffee at the… read analysis of Babette

Zen Master Dogen

Dogen was a Japanese Zen Master who lived in the 13th century. He wrote a book called the Shobogenzo, which is translated as The Treasury of the True Dharma Eye. Jiko’s spiritual… read analysis of Zen Master Dogen

Muriel

Muriel is a retired anthropologist who lives in Whaletown. Muriel represents many things that Ruth dislikes about the island’s residents: Muriel has no respect for privacy and boundaries, and she is a big gossip. However… read analysis of Muriel

Ugawa Sensei

Ugawa Sensei is Nao’s ninth-grade homeroom teacher who joins her classmates in bullying her. He is a substitute teacher, since Nao’s class teacher is on maternity leave—and usually, substitute teachers are bullied too. However… read analysis of Ugawa Sensei

Kayla

Kayla used to be Nao’s best friend when she lived in Sunnyvale, California. For a while after Nao moves to Japan, the two of them text and email each other quite often. Kayla is… read analysis of Kayla

Daisuke

Daisuke is one of Nao’s classmates who is bullied too, since his family is poor. He lives in the same neighborhood that Nao lives in, and Nao corners him and beats him up when… read analysis of Daisuke

Reiko

Reiko is Nao’s smart and popular classmate who is the ringleader of the gang of kids that bullies Nao. Though Reiko rarely does any of the bullying herself, she is the one who usually… read analysis of Reiko

Dr. Leistiko

Dr. Leistiko is a professor of psychology at Stanford University who studies the impact of culture on suicide. Ruth finds his website when she is looking for Nao and her family online, and she finds… read analysis of Dr. Leistiko

Callie

Callie is a marine biologist who lives in Whaletown. She helps Ruth by analyzing the age of the barnacles on the freezer bag that Ruth finds on the beach, and she tells Ruth that the… read analysis of Callie

Ayako

Ayako is the Japanese wife of an oyster farmer who lives in Whaletown. She tries to help Ruth decipher the Japanese letters that Ruth found in the lunch box that washed up on the beach… read analysis of Ayako

Muji

Muji is a young Buddhist nun who lives with Jiko in the temple on the mountainside. She is kind to Nao and welcomes her happily when Nao spends her summer vacation at the temple, including… read analysis of Muji

K

K was Haruki #1’s friend at his training camp and a fellow philosopher. K was bullied so severely by F that Haruki #1 couldn’t bear to watch it. He volunteered to take K’s place… read analysis of K

Minor Characters

F was Haruki #1’s cruel commanding officer. F disliked student soldiers like Haruki #1 and his friend K, who were peace-loving intellectuals, and he bullied them severely.

Benoit

Benoit works at the trash dump in Whaletown. He helps Ruth by translating Haruki #1’s secret diary from French into English. Benoit is so disturbed by the diary’s depressing contents that he ends up drinking heavily.

Masako / Ruth’s Mother

Masako was Ruth’s mother. She and Ruth had a good relationship when she was alive. Masako suffered from Alzheimer’s, and Ruth cared for her in her final years.

Dora

Dora is the postmistress in Whaletown. She is a busybody who is always well-informed on the island’s gossip.

Ema Yasutani

Ema is Jiko’s daughter and Haruki’s mother.

Kenji

Kenji is Ema’s husband and Haruki’s father.

Sugako

Sugako is Jiko’s daughter and Haruki’s aunt. She didn’t marry or have children.

Akira Inoue

Akira owns a sushi restaurant in the neighboring town that is closest to Whaletown.

Kimi

Kimi is Akira’s wife. She helps Ruth by translating Haruki #1’s letters from Japanese to English.

Ryu

A wealthy man with whom Babette sets Nao up on a "date," which means that he has paid for Nao to have sex with him. Ryu is generally kind and gentle with Nao, though he prefers when she has short hair and looks to him like a beautiful boy.

A Tale for the Time Being Characters