Hiroko Yamamoto Roberts
Hiroko was the pampered daughter of a Kyoto sushi chef. Don Roberts was one of nine children of a logging family in northern Wisconsin. Hiroko — Don called her Nancy — knew she had made a mistake shortly after arriving in the tiny town of Hiles, and wrote to the Red Cross for help returning to Japan. The obstacles to that seemed insurmountable, so she resigned herself to her life. When they are adults, her children discover her deep unhappiness, and a bit of her true nature, and they commit themselves to making her happy in her remaining years.