Tony Takitani’s Bereavement

Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman

Tony’s self-contained life opens through love, then closes again as his wife dies and the material traces of her presence disappear.

increasing

Bearing strength in each event

decreasing

A Name and a Solitary Childhood

Growing Up Apart An unusual name Born to Shozaburo Takitani and a Japanese mother, Tony receives an American name that makes other children treat him as an outsider. Solitude as habit His father’s touring life and Tony’s precise, solitary interests keep them distant. Tony learns to manage alone rather than expect intimacy.

A Sudden Attachment A Sudden Attachment from "Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman". The Illustrator Falls in Love A visitor changes the room A young publishing employee arrives to collect an illustration.

A Sudden Attachment from "Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman". The Illustrator Falls in Love A visitor changes the room A young publishing employee arrives to collect an illustration.

The Illustrator Falls in Love A visitor changes the room A young publishing employee arrives to collect an illustration. Tony is struck by her presence and by the joy with which she wears clothes. Choosing marriage Their conversations reveal a rare ease between them. Tony’s familiar solitude becomes unbearable while she considers his proposal, and they marry.

The Clothing Room The Clothing Room from "Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman". Desire Made Visible Clothes as delight Tony’s wife buys clothing with an intensity that becomes difficult to control.

The Clothing Room from "Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman". Desire Made Visible Clothes as delight Tony’s wife buys clothing with an intensity that becomes difficult to control.

Desire Made Visible Clothes as delight Tony’s wife buys clothing with an intensity that becomes difficult to control. Tony accommodates the habit because it makes her happy and money is not a problem. A growing collection Wardrobes and shoe storage expand into an entire room. The garments gradually embody both her individuality and the life Tony assumes will continue.

The Fatal Return The Fatal Return from "Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman". Loss at an Intersection A moment of temptation After returning clothes, Tony’s wife cannot stop thinking about them while waiting at a traffic light.

The Fatal Return from "Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman". Loss at an Intersection A moment of temptation After returning clothes, Tony’s wife cannot stop thinking about them while waiting at a traffic light.

Loss at an Intersection A moment of temptation After returning clothes, Tony’s wife cannot stop thinking about them while waiting at a traffic light. She accelerates as the light changes. Sudden death A truck strikes her car and she dies instantly. Tony is left with her collection but no way to restore the person who gave it meaning.

The Empty Room The Empty Room from "Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman". Objects Lose Their Life An attempted adjustment Tony hires an assistant to wear his wife’s clothes, hoping proximity will make her absence comprehensible.

The Empty Room from "Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman". Objects Lose Their Life An attempted adjustment Tony hires an assistant to wear his wife’s clothes, hoping proximity will make her absence comprehensible.

Objects Lose Their Life An attempted adjustment Tony hires an assistant to wear his wife’s clothes, hoping proximity will make her absence comprehensible. The sight of the collection overwhelms the assistant, and Tony cancels the job. Solitude renewed He sells the clothes, then later his father’s jazz records. Memories fade until absence is the only tangible remainder.

From Tony’s birth through his school years

When Tony is thirty-five

During the honeymoon and early marriage

After she returns two garments to a boutique

After the funeral and the later death of Shozaburo