In December, 40-year-old Natsumi Sakitani rereads a passage from a book she’s read many times and thinks about the past months of her life. In August, Natsumi was still working in the publisher Banyusha’s information resources department (120). She’d been working the clerical job for two years, but still didn’t feel comfortable with her coworkers in the department. She used to work as an editor for Banyusha’s young women’s magazine Mila. She’d had the position for 13 years and loved the job. When she was 37, she got pregnant and took four months of maternity leave, although she was “entitled to fourteen months” (121). She was eager to return to work and didn’t want to lose her position. However, when she returned, her boss transferred her out of Mila, because she didn’t think Natsumi could fulfill the editor responsibilities and raise her baby. The new job let her work more regular hours, but Natsumi missed Mila.

One day, Natsumi finished work and went to pick up Futaba from daycare. Her husband Shuji had a job, too, and often worked long hours and traveled for business. Natsumi had to take care of the house and Futaba when he was away.