The Name-Stealing Monkey

Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman

The monkey’s obsession with names links Yuko’s private despair to Mizuki’s identity crisis and exposes the hidden costs of possession.

increasing

Bearing strength in each event

decreasing

An Attraction to Yuko An Attraction to Yuko from "Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman". A Monkey’s Fixation A name becomes desirable The monkey says he fell in love with Yuko Matsunaka and wanted to possess her name when he could not possess her.

An Attraction to Yuko from "Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman". A Monkey’s Fixation A name becomes desirable The monkey says he fell in love with Yuko Matsunaka and wanted to possess her name when he could not possess her.

A Monkey’s Fixation A name becomes desirable The monkey says he fell in love with Yuko Matsunaka and wanted to possess her name when he could not possess her. A plan interrupted He tries to reach her dormitory name tag, but Yuko dies before he can take it. Her name then vanishes from his reach.

The Tag Left Behind The Tag Left Behind from "Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman". A Trust Without Explanation A private conversation Yuko asks Mizuki whether she has ever felt jealous and describes jealousy as a private hell.

The Tag Left Behind from "Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman". A Trust Without Explanation A private conversation Yuko asks Mizuki whether she has ever felt jealous and describes jealousy as a private hell.

A Trust Without Explanation A private conversation Yuko asks Mizuki whether she has ever felt jealous and describes jealousy as a private hell. She leaves her name tag in Mizuki’s care. A warning disguised as a joke Yuko says she does not want a monkey to run off with it. Mizuki does not understand the warning until much later.

A Name Is Stolen A Name Is Stolen from "Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman". The Monkey Enters Mizuki’s Home Two tags taken The monkey eventually traces Yuko’s tag to Mizuki’s apartment and steals it, along with Mizuki’s own tag.

A Name Is Stolen from "Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman". The Monkey Enters Mizuki’s Home Two tags taken The monkey eventually traces Yuko’s tag to Mizuki’s apartment and steals it, along with Mizuki’s own tag.

The Monkey Enters Mizuki’s Home Two tags taken The monkey eventually traces Yuko’s tag to Mizuki’s apartment and steals it, along with Mizuki’s own tag. Identity disrupted Mizuki begins forgetting her name. The theft makes the monkey’s desire materially consequential, even though he claims he does not intend harm.

Caught Underground Caught Underground from "Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman". The City’s Hidden Resident A capture through public works Tetsuko Sakaki reasons that the creature must be in the subway or sewers.

Caught Underground from "Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman". The City’s Hidden Resident A capture through public works Tetsuko Sakaki reasons that the creature must be in the subway or sewers.

The City’s Hidden Resident A capture through public works Tetsuko Sakaki reasons that the creature must be in the subway or sewers. Her husband’s department helps locate the monkey beneath Takanawa. A strange trial The monkey is tied to a chair and faces possible punishment. His ability to speak complicates the officials’ certainty about what to do.

The Name Returned The Name Returned from "Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman". Possession Becomes Responsibility A claimed service The monkey argues that stealing a name also removes some darkness attached to it.

The Name Returned from "Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman". Possession Becomes Responsibility A claimed service The monkey argues that stealing a name also removes some darkness attached to it.

Possession Becomes Responsibility A claimed service The monkey argues that stealing a name also removes some darkness attached to it. Mizuki cannot verify the claim but chooses to spare him. A farewell gift She returns Yuko’s tag to the monkey and warns him not to steal again. He promises to leave the city, carrying the name he had desired.

Before Yuko’s disappearance from school

The evening before Yuko’s suicide

About a year before the counseling sessions

At the counseling center’s basement

After Mizuki hears the monkey’s confession