Minor Characters
Nomura-obasan
Nomura-obasan is an elderly woman who lives with the Nakanes in Slocan for some time while she is ill. Obasan and Naomi help care for Nomura-obasan, but Stephen refuses to engage with her.
Old Man Gower
Old Man Gower is the Nakanes’ neighbor in Vancouver who sexually abuses Naomi when she is a child. Naomi feels unable to tell anyone about this abuse, which distances her from Mother and foreshadows the role that silenced trauma will play in the story.
Grandma Nakane
Grandma Nakane is the mother of Father and Uncle. She and Grandpa Nakane are imprisoned at the Pool in Vancouver at the beginning of World War II, and Grandma Nakane sinks into a deep depression after being separated from her husband and forced to live in squalor.
Grandpa Kato
Grandpa Kato is the father of Mother and Aunt Emily. He stays in Canada with Emily when Grandma Kato takes Mother to Japan. Grandpa Kato is a doctor and tends to the sick in internment camps until his health fails.
Mr. Barker
Mr. Barker is a white Canadian who employs and houses the Nakanes on his beet farm. He visits the family after Uncle’s death, and his repeated racial microaggressions against Obasan highlight that well-intentioned racism is still racism.
Vivian Barker
Vivian Barker is the second wife of Mr. Barker, who visits the Nakanes with him after Uncle’s death. She is uncomfortable in the Nakanes’ home and avoids speaking directly to Obasan.
Kenji
Kenji is Naomi’s classmate and friend in Slocan. He is outgoing and adventurous, but when Naomi is drowning in a lake, he flees rather than try to help her.
Setsuko
Setsuko is Mother’s cousin, whom Mother and Grandma Kato visit in Nagasaki. Setsuko is brutally disfigured by the bombing of Nagasaki and quickly succumbs to her injuries.
Tomio
Tomio is Setsuko’s son. He survives the bombing of Nagasaki, but he disappears shortly afterwards and is never found.
Chieko
Chieko is Setsuko’s infant daughter. She survives the bombing of Nagasaki, but the radiation affects her health and she develops leukemia at a young age.
Uncle Dan
Uncle Dan is a close friend of Father’s who works for the Canadian government. Despite being falsely accused of espionage during World War II, Uncle Dan remains passionately loyal to Canada.