“In a few moments, her father, Toshio, was going to knock on her door to start their day. Hana insisted on clinging to the tiny hope that the unwise amount of sake they had celebrated his retirement with was going to keep him in bed a little longer. This hope—if it indeed could be called hope given its size—was smaller than a mossy river pebble and just as slippery.”

Toshio’s retirement is the novel’s inciting event. Once he decides to pass his pawnshop duties to Hana, her new life begins. Her desire for Toshio to oversleep so that she has more time in bed parallels her desire to put off her responsibilities so that she can enjoy her own private pleasures. The passage thus thematically introduces Conflict Between Duty and Desire, which Hana wrestles with throughout the novel.

“You come from the world outside that door. My daughter and I are from the world inside it. Whenever anyone from your side finds their way to our pawnshop, there is always a good reason for it. Our clients have choices that have become too burdensome to carry. We take these choices off their hands so that they may return to their world lighter. Content.”

Toshio’s explanation of how the pawnshop works introduces the parameters of the narrative world, particularly its magical elements. Toshio’s meeting with Izumi is a narrative device that introduces Izumi and delivers information to readers. In addition, the passage establishes the novel’s thematic explorations of Freedom of Choice and the Pursuit of Happiness. Toshio believes that taking his clients’ choices lets them be free and happy—a notion that Hana learns to question in subsequent chapters.