Osowareru Haha-Oya is a minor figure from the story of Azumi, appearing only at the very beginning. The name functions as a descriptive label rather than a personal name, translating roughly as the threatened mother. She is the mother of the title character and lives in the war-torn feudal Japan that forms the setting. Her defining moment comes when the master samurai Gessai kills her in front of the young Azumi as part of his selection process for future assassins. Azumi shows no emotion as her mother dies, and this coldness is exactly what leads Gessai to choose her for training. In narrative terms, Osowareru Haha-Oya serves as the starting point for Azumi's entire journey: her death demonstrates the violence of the world Azumi is entering and marks the moment Azumi is pulled into the life of an assassin. The story presents almost nothing of her personality, personal motivations, skills, or any development, since her life ends within the opening events. Her significance rests in her relationship to Azumi and in the consequence of her death, which shapes the protagonist's fate.