Character Relationship Map: Kanawa

Characters

• Middle-aged Woman (played by Nobuko Otowa) — protagonist

  A wife whose husband abandons her after fifteen years of marriage to live with another woman. Seeking revenge, she asks for demonic power at the Kibune Shrine and follows instructions to transform her...

• Man (played by Hideo Kanze) — supporting

  The husband of the Middle-aged Woman, whom he leaves after fifteen years of marriage to live with another woman. He dismisses his wife's complaints to the police, though he admits they are factual, th...

• Physiognomist (played by Taiji Tonoyama) — supporting

  A practitioner consulted by the Man after nightmares and a sense of supernatural menace trouble him and the Woman. He attributes the danger to the Middle-aged Woman's jealousy and performs a ritual wi...

• Policeman (played by Rokkō Toura) — supporting

  A policeman who encounters the Middle-aged Woman near the water. He warns her not to go in and calls for her arrest, but no one can see her. His inability to perceive her helps reveal that she has bec...

• Woman (played by Atsuko Kawaguchi) — supporting

  The Man's new partner, with whom he lives after leaving the Middle-aged Woman. She shares the Man's fear of being haunted, repeatedly suspects that the abandoned wife is in the next hotel room, and gl...

Canonical Relationships

Family, romantic, and professional connections based on plot evidence.

• Man → Woman (Romantic Unfaithful Partner) — The Man's relationship with the Woman is the betrayal that prompts his wife's revenge and leaves the pair haunted by her presence.

  The Man is described as unfaithful and as living with a new Woman after leaving his wife.

• Middle-aged Woman → Man (Family Estranged Wife And Husband) — Their marriage and his abandonment drive her revenge, although her power ultimately falters when she tries to harm him.

  The Middle-aged Woman looks back on fifteen years of marriage to the Man, who abandoned her. She seeks demonic power to punish him.

Story Dynamics

Alliances, conflicts, and narrative interactions that evolve throughout the story.

• Middle-aged Woman → Policeman (Conflict Pursuer And Suspected Ghost) — The Policeman tries to stop and arrest her, while her invisibility reveals that she has become a ghost.

  Near the water, the Policeman warns the Middle-aged Woman not to go in and calls for her arrest, but no one can see her.

• Middle-aged Woman → Physiognomist (Conflict Supernatural Adversaries) — The Physiognomist responds to the threat associated with the Middle-aged Woman by using named straw figures, offerings, and prayers.

  The Physiognomist attributes the danger to the Middle-aged Woman's jealousy and performs a ritual intended to protect the couple.

• Middle-aged Woman → Woman (Conflict Vengeful Pursuer And Target) — The Woman is caught in the haunting surrounding the Man's abandonment of his wife, and the couple believe they glimpse the Middle-aged Woman.

  The Middle-aged Woman becomes a vengeful demon intent on making the Man pay, while he and the Woman repeatedly fear that she is nearby.

Story Analysis

A woman abandoned after a long marriage seeks supernatural revenge, but her pursuit ends in an unseen existence and an unresolved vow.

Plot Progression

1. Betrayal and the Shrine — The Middle-aged Woman recalls her marriage, the Man's unfaithfulness, and his abandonment. At midnight, she asks the shrine for demonic power and follows the divine instructions.
2. The Haunting Takes Hold — Changed by the ritual, the Middle-aged Woman seeks revenge. The Man dismisses his wife's complaint, then suffers nightmares and turns to a Physiognomist for help.
3. Ritual Against Fear — The Physiognomist blames the danger on the wife's jealousy and performs a ritual using straw figures, offerings, and prayers. The Man and Woman remain haunted by ringing calls and the feeling that she...
4. The Unseen Vow — At the hotel, the couple's suspicions intensify, and they glimpse a figure they believe to be the wife. Her power fails; near the water, the Policeman cannot see her, and she vows to wait for another...