Yoriko Sasaki

Yoriko Sasaki ​(佐々木 頼子, Sasaki Yoriko) is the wife of Mr. Sasaki and the adoptive mother of Anna Sasaki.

History
Yoriko and her husband adopted Anna when she was five years old. Yoriko was euphoric over finally becoming a mother and wanted to make up for all the years she didn't spend with Anna and did things like teaching her how to use a knife, but was worried about not being able to care for her new daughter so she constantly called her relative Setsu Oiwa, who had children of her own, a little too often to ask for parenting advice and whenever Setsu told her that she was busy Yoriko pouted. The family of three lived a happy life until Anna turned twelve and she distanced herself from her peers and family after she discovered that the government sent her adoptive parents money to care for her, giving Anna the impression that Yoriko and her husband only took her in for money, right after that Yoriko comes home and gives Anna a box of color pencils and Anna smiles half-heartedly. Yoriko remained unaware of Anna's discovery since Anna never brought the subject up and Yoriko became stressed over her daughter's attitude.

Yoriko is present when Anna is being examined by the doctor in her bedroom after Anna suffers an asthma attack during a field trip. When Anna is put on bed rest, Yoriko offers the doctor tea and talks to him about how Anna has become distant of her and her father over the last few years and worries that it's because Mr. Sasaki is often busy with work or because they and Anna are not biologically related. The doctor then suggests that Anna should spend the summer in the countryside to help her asthma condition so Yoriko does just that and sends her adoptive daughter with Setsu and her husband who live in a small, coastal town right before school ends, she buys Anna lots of snacks to eat during the trip and some letters so that they can write to each other.

When Anna meets a girl named Marnie, Anna tells her about what she discovered while Marnie tells her that she's lucky to have her foster parents. When Yoriko arrives to Kissakibetsu to take Anna home, she tells Anna that while they do receive monthly subsidies to cover Anna's expenses and that she has hesitated to tell her daughter but wanted Anna to know that even if Yoriko and her husband didn't receive money it doesn't change that they love Anna very much. Anna tells her that she already knows and Yoriko embraces her daughter and she hugs her mother back. When Anna tells her that she looked at photos that Yoriko sent Setsu, Yoriko remembers that while Anna was away she looked at old photo albums and found an old photo that Anna had with her when she was adopted and a shocked Anna realizes that the picture is one of the marsh house and that the people at the orphanage told Yoriko that it belonged to Anna's grandmother. Anna looks behind the photo to find the words "My Beloved Home - Marnie", leading Anna to realize that the girl she befriended in town and her grandmother were indeed the same person and a tearful Anna mourns for her grandmother while Yoriko embraces her.

During the end credits, Yoriko and Anna are taken to the station by Setsu and Kiyomasa after making a brief stop so that Anna can apologize to Nobuko, a local girl she had insulted during the Tanabata Festival, and to bid goodbye to the friends she made during her stay.

Personality
Yoriko is a loving mother who does her best to make sure Anna is healthy and happy, even sending her to the seaside for three months to help Anna with her asthma. She is also very emotional, often disorving to tears under stressful situations.

​Relationships

 * Unnamed husband
 * Anna Sasaki (adoptive daughter)
 * Setsu Oiwa (older sister)
 * Kiyomasa Ōiwa (brother-in-law)
 * Setsu Oiwa's children (nephew(s)/niece)

Etymology

 * The name Yoriko means "rely" (頼) (yori) and "child" (子) (ko).
 * Yoriko's surname Sasaki means "help, aid" (佐) (sa) and "tree, wood" (木) (ki).

Yoriko Sasaki