- Etsuko – main protagonist; middle-aged Japanese woman
- Keiko – Etsuko's elder daughter who commits suicide
- Niki – Etsuko's second daughter, by her English husband
- Sachiko – woman known to Etsuko, and, possibly, a third person on whom Etsuko projects bad memories, thoughts, and events
- Mariko – Sachiko's daughter, and, possibly, a representation of Etsuko's daughter, Keiko
- Jiro – Etsuko's first husband
- Ogata-san – Jiro's father
- Frank – man that Sachiko was going to America with
- Mrs. Fujiwara – the owner of noodle shop who gave Sachiko a job
- Hanada – Jiro's friend who threatened his wife with a golf club
- Shigeo Matsuda – a student in Ogata-san's class
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