Days at the Morisaki Bookshop

Content Warning: This section of the guide discusses child loss.

Momoko’s scar, from the surgery to remove her uterus, is a physical manifestation of emotional scarring. The scar is a symbol that represents the pain characters like Momoko and Takako feel because of The Detrimental Impact of Heartbreak, whether it be romantic or familial heartbreak. Momoko’s heartbreak comes from her unsuccessful attempts to have children, and she personally sees the sickness that results in the loss of her uterus as connected to these attempts. When Takako sees the scar, she feels as though she is seeing something private: “When she first walked in, I’d noticed the fairly painful-looking scar from her operation running vertically about ten centimeters down her stomach. Although she hadn’t made any attempt to hide it, I still felt like I’d seen something I shouldn’t have” (129-30). 

Momoko does not share her pain or story with Takako for much of Days at the Morisaki Bookshop, meaning that the revelation of it is shocking to Takako, similar to how the scar is similarly shocking. The scar may be a physical sign of Momoko’s pain, but the scar itself represents the lasting nature of emotional pain.