Keiko dies by suicide

Keiko dies by suicide, an event whose circumstances are not recounted in this late conversation but whose consequences surface in the family’s reckoning with her isolation, care, and move to England. Etsuko acknowledges that she believed Keiko would not be happy there and chose to bring her anyway; Niki responds by resisting her mother’s condemnation of that choice and insisting that she did what she could.

Retrospective Discussion

In the conversation near daybreak, Niki says that Keiko’s father should have looked after her more, arguing that he ignored her much of the time and that this was unfair. Etsuko answers that he was not Keiko’s real father, but Niki repeats her objection. Their exchange places the question of responsibility within the family: Niki identifies a failure of care, while Etsuko offers an explanation that does not erase it.

Etsuko’s Admission

Etsuko describes Keiko’s father as idealistic, recalling that he genuinely believed they could give Keiko a happy life in England. She then makes a more painful admission: she herself had known all along that Keiko would not be happy there, yet decided to bring her all the same. The suicide is not presented through a scene of its occurrence; instead, the conversation draws its force from this retrospective contrast between hoped-for happiness and Etsuko’s acknowledged foreknowledge.

Niki’s Response and the Event’s Significance

Niki rejects the idea that her mother should be blamed, telling her that she did everything she could. She frames the move not as an inexplicable mistake but as a risk a person sometimes has to take rather than watch life waste away. Her reassurance does not settle the question of what Keiko needed or whether the family gave it to her. It shows, instead, how Keiko’s death continues to shape the living: Niki speaks of neglect, while Etsuko’s confession exposes a burden of knowledge and choice that her daughter tries to lighten.