Takao's mother, a woman in her late forties, works as a university staff member and maintains a youthful appearance. She is portrayed as free-spirited and impulsive, with a strong tendency to prioritize romantic love and her personal life over traditional family responsibilities. Her marriage to Takao's father ended in divorce around the time Takao entered middle school, a split that stemmed from her dissatisfaction with his work-focused lifestyle rather than from any major conflict. After the divorce, she retained custody of her two sons but became a somewhat absent figure in the household, often leaving Takao to manage domestic chores such as cooking, cleaning, and budgeting by himself from a very young age. This forced independence contributed significantly to Takao's mature, self-reliant character and his deep sense of personal responsibility. Her influence on the story is felt mostly through her absence and the emotional void it creates in Takao's daily life. Her romantic pursuits keep her away from home frequently, and her older son Shota is preparing to move out to live with his own girlfriend, which accelerates Takao's experience of solitude and his journey toward adulthood. In the few moments she appears on screen, she is shown as affectionate but distracted, and her interactions with her sons reveal a role reversal where they often manage her affairs or make decisions for themselves. A key memory shared by Takao involves a birthday celebration held in a park, where the family presented her with a pair of shoes as a gift, a recollection that subtly connects to Takao's own passion for shoemaking and his desire to create something meaningful for someone he cares about. Her character does not undergo visible development within the film; she remains a consistent background presence whose unreliable nature underscores the themes of loneliness and the search for connection that drive the main narrative. She has no notable special abilities, her primary role being that of a catalyst for Takao's self-sufficiency and his longing for emotional stability.