The Chair's Unbreakable Rules

In Hakodate, a city of sloping streets and old-world charm, sits Café Donna Donna, home to a peculiar urban legend: a single chair in the café allows customers to travel through time. But the rules are as frustrating as they are mysterious. You can only meet people who have visited the café, you cannot change the present, you must stay seated, and your journey lasts only as long as your coffee stays warm. The time-traveling coffee can only be poured by a woman of the Tokita bloodline, aged seven or older. These rules, passed down through generations, are never explained—"because that's the rule"—and they shape every story that unfolds within the café's walls.

A Daughter Across Time

Kei, who died after giving birth, travels fifteen years into the future to meet her daughter, Miki, at the Tokyo café Funiculi Funicula. Her husband, Nagare, now in Hakodate, guides her by phone, helping her realize the girl she sees is their grown daughter. Kei's visit is fleeting, bound by the cooling coffee, but it brings closure and gratitude: Miki thanks her mother for giving her life, and Kei's anxieties about leaving her child behind are soothed. The moment is bittersweet, highlighting the impossibility of changing fate but the power of presence and love.

The Photo's Hidden Message

A mysterious photo, dropped by a customer, shows a young couple, their baby, and Yukari, the café's owner, decades younger. The date on the back is today, though the image is old. This photo becomes the key for Yayoi, a young woman who arrives at the café desperate to meet her deceased parents. The photo proves her parents once visited the café, making her time travel possible. The photo's preservation, despite Yayoi's professed hatred for her parents, hints at a deeper longing for connection and forgiveness.

The Woman Who Hated Her Name

Yayoi, orphaned young and shuffled between relatives, arrives at the café intent on confronting her dead parents. She resents them for leaving her alone and plans to use her time in the past to vent her anger. But when she meets her parents as new parents, she learns her mother, Miyuki, also suffered abandonment and despair. Miyuki's gratitude for finding happiness, despite her pain, transforms Yayoi's perspective. She realizes she was never truly alone and that her mother's struggles mirrored her own. The encounter softens her bitterness, and she returns to the present with a sense of peace.

Ghosts and Coffee

The time-traveling chair is often occupied by a silent old gentleman in black—a ghost, bound to the seat because he failed to finish his coffee before it cooled. This rule, revealed to every would-be time traveler, is a warning: fail to return, and you too will become a ghost, endlessly waiting. The ghost's presence is a constant reminder of the risks and the limits of what the café can offer. The supernatural blends seamlessly with the everyday, making the café a place where the living and the dead briefly coexist.

The Comedian's Disappearance

Hayashida, half of the famous comedy duo PORON DORON, waits at the café for his missing partner, Todoroki. After winning the Comedian's Grand Prix, Todoroki vanishes, consumed by grief for his late wife, Setsuko, whose dream was their victory. Hayashida suspects Todoroki will come to the café to see Setsuko one last time. The café becomes a crossroads for those seeking to resolve unfinished emotional business, and Hayashida's vigil is both an act of friendship and a desperate hope to prevent Todoroki from giving up on life.

Burnout and Broken Dreams

Todoroki's story is one of burnout: after achieving the dream he shared with his late wife, he is left hollow. He travels back to the past, not to change anything, but to share his triumph with Setsuko. Their reunion is joyful but tinged with sorrow—Setsuko knows she is dying, and Todoroki confesses he cannot go on without her. Setsuko, however, insists that love and memory outlast death, urging him to keep living and making her happy by pursuing his dreams. Todoroki returns to the present, changed by her words, and chooses life over despair.

The Sister's Promise

Reiko, unable to accept her sister Yukika's death, is haunted by insomnia and hallucinations. Yukika, before dying, arranges to visit Reiko from the past, with the help of the café's magic. Their meeting is simple and ordinary—just sisters talking—but it is everything Reiko needs. Yukika's only wish is for Reiko to live happily, not to let her death be the cause of endless sorrow. The encounter gives Reiko the hope and permission to move forward, honoring her sister's memory by choosing happiness.

Lightning and Last Goodbyes

During a thunderstorm, the café loses power, and in the darkness, Yukika appears to Reiko. Their conversation, stripped of visual cues, is raw and honest. Yukika reveals she knew she was dying and only feared that Reiko would stop smiling after her death. Reiko, in turn, realizes that her own happiness is the best way to honor her sister. The blackout becomes a metaphor for grief—disorienting and isolating—but also for the possibility of finding light again.

The Power of Small Questions

Throughout the novel, the book "One Hundred Questions" circulates among the café's regulars, especially Sachi, the precocious seven-year-old. The questions—always framed as "If the world were to end tomorrow…"—force characters to confront their true feelings, regrets, and desires. The book becomes a catalyst for confessions, decisions, and moments of courage, reminding everyone that life's meaning is found in the choices we make, however small.

The Young Man's Dilemma

Reiji, an aspiring comedian, is torn between pursuing his dream in Tokyo and his feelings for Nanako, his childhood friend. When Nanako leaves for America for a risky surgery, Reiji learns of her illness only after she's gone. Overwhelmed by regret and uncertainty, he uses the café's chair to travel back and see her one last time. Their conversation is awkward, full of unsaid things, but ultimately, Reiji confesses his love and proposes, choosing connection over fear.

Confessions Before Coffee Cools

Every time-travel encounter in the café is limited by the cooling coffee—a metaphor for the fleeting nature of opportunity. Characters must say what needs to be said before it's too late. Whether it's gratitude, apology, confession, or forgiveness, the urgency of the moment strips away hesitation. The café's magic is not in changing the past, but in giving people the courage to speak their hearts.

Choosing to Be Born

The final question in "One Hundred Questions" asks: "If you were in your mother's womb and the world would end tomorrow, would you choose to be born?" Nanako, facing her mortality, initially chooses not to be born, fearing the pain of dying. Reiji, however, chooses birth, valuing even a single day of life. Their answers reflect their journeys—Nanako's fear and Reiji's embrace of possibility. In the end, both choose life, however uncertain.

The Gift of Hope

Sachi, the child who pours the time-traveling coffee, gives Reiji her most cherished book as a parting gift, believing that giving away what you love most helps others fight for their dreams. The café's staff, through small kindnesses and steadfast presence, create a space where healing and hope are possible. The magic of the café is less about time travel and more about the human capacity for empathy, resilience, and change.

Love That Outlasts Loss

Whether between parent and child, siblings, lovers, or friends, the novel's stories all circle back to the idea that love persists even after separation or death. The dead cannot return, and the present cannot be changed, but the living can choose how to carry forward the memory and meaning of those they've lost. The café's visitors learn that happiness is not the absence of loss, but the willingness to keep loving and living despite it.

The Café's Quiet Magic

Café Donna Donna is more than a setting—it is a character in its own right, a liminal space where the ordinary and the extraordinary meet. Its magic is subtle, governed by rules that frustrate but also protect. The café's staff, especially Kazu and Sachi, act as gentle guides, never judging, only facilitating. The café's true gift is not time travel, but the chance to find closure, forgiveness, and the courage to move on.

Tomorrow May Never Come

The recurring motif—"If the world were to end tomorrow…"—reminds characters and readers alike that tomorrow is never guaranteed. The novel urges us to say what matters, to cherish those we love, and to act before it's too late. Regret is born not from what we do, but from what we leave unsaid or undone.

Happiness After Farewell

In the end, not all stories have happy endings—Nanako dies after her surgery, and Reiji, though heartbroken, finds meaning in their final moments together. He wins the Comedian's Grand Prix, leaving a copy of "One Hundred Questions" and a wedding ring at Nanako's grave. The novel closes with the message that people are born for happiness, not sorrow, and that even after farewell, love and hope endure.

Characters

Nagare Tokita

Nagare is the calm, responsible manager of Café Donna Donna, a man who puts others before himself. He is the son of Yukari, the café's free-spirited owner, and husband to Kei, who died after childbirth. Nagare's stoicism masks deep wells of feeling; he is haunted by the loss of his wife but finds solace in his daughter Miki and in helping others find closure. He is the anchor for the café's community, embodying the theme that love persists beyond loss.

Kazu Tokita

Kazu, Nagare's cousin, is a gentle, perceptive woman who helps run the café and guides customers through the time-travel process. She has lost her own power to pour the magical coffee to her daughter, Sachi, but remains the emotional heart of the café. Kazu's nonjudgmental presence allows others to confront their pain and regrets. She understands the rules' limitations but believes in the healing power of small acts and honest conversation.

Sachi Tokita

Sachi, Kazu's seven-year-old daughter, is the only one currently able to pour the time-traveling coffee. Wise beyond her years, she is fascinated by books and the "One Hundred Questions". Sachi's innocence and sincerity cut through adult confusion, and her role as the pourer of coffee makes her a gatekeeper between past and present. She represents hope, renewal, and the importance of asking the right questions.

Reiji Ono

Reiji is a young man with aspirations of becoming a comedian in Tokyo. Childhood friends with Nanako, he is oblivious to his own feelings until faced with the possibility of losing her. His journey is one of self-discovery, learning that dreams and love are not mutually exclusive. Reiji's eventual confession to Nanako, made possible by the café's magic, is a testament to the courage required to seize happiness before it's too late.

Nanako Matsubara

Nanako is Reiji's childhood friend, a university student who hides her illness to avoid burdening others. She is thoughtful, self-effacing, and deeply caring, often putting others' needs before her own. Her journey to America for surgery, and her final meeting with Reiji, reveal her vulnerability and her longing for love. Nanako's story is a meditation on the value of life, the fear of death, and the importance of being honest about one's feelings.

Yayoi Seto

Yayoi is a young woman orphaned in childhood, embittered by loneliness and convinced she was better off never born. Her journey to the past is motivated by anger, but meeting her mother, Miyuki, reveals shared pain and the possibility of forgiveness. Yayoi's transformation from resentment to acceptance is one of the novel's most profound arcs, illustrating the healing that comes from understanding and empathy.

Miyuki Seto

Miyuki, Yayoi's mother, appears both in the past and as a visitor from the past to the future. Her own childhood was marked by abandonment and despair, but she finds happiness through perseverance and the kindness of others. Miyuki's story parallels her daughter's, and their reunion across time allows both to find peace. She embodies the novel's message that happiness is a choice, even in the face of suffering.

Kohta Hayashida

Hayashida is one half of the comedy duo PORON DORON, whose partner Todoroki disappears after their greatest success. Hayashida's vigil at the café is an act of loyalty and desperation, as he tries to prevent Todoroki from succumbing to grief. His story explores the limits of friendship and the pain of watching someone you care about struggle with loss.

Gen Todoroki

Todoroki, the other half of PORON DORON, is paralyzed by the death of his wife, Setsuko, and the emptiness that follows achieving their shared dream. His journey to the past is a search for meaning and permission to move on. Setsuko's insistence that love endures and that he must keep living gives him the strength to return to the present and continue his career.

Yukari Tokita

Yukari, Nagare's mother, is a free spirit who often disappears on quests to help others. She is the original pourer of the time-traveling coffee and the café's enigmatic heart. Yukari's interventions—sending postcards, arranging meetings—often set the novel's events in motion. She represents the unpredictable, benevolent force that nudges people toward healing and connection.

Plot Devices

The Time-Traveling Chair

The chair is the novel's central device, allowing characters to travel to the past or future under strict conditions. Its rules—no changing the present, only meeting those who've visited the café, remaining seated, and returning before the coffee cools—create narrative tension and force characters to focus on emotional closure rather than grand gestures. The chair's limitations are a metaphor for the constraints of real life: we cannot undo the past, but we can change how we live with it.

The Book of Questions

"One Hundred Questions" is a recurring motif, its hypothetical dilemmas prompting characters to confront their true desires and fears. The book's framing—"If the world were to end tomorrow…"—injects urgency and clarity into everyday choices. It serves as both a plot device and a thematic mirror, reflecting the novel's preoccupation with regret, action, and the value of the present.

Ghosts and the Risk of Regret

The presence of the ghostly old gentleman in the chair is a constant reminder of the risks of indecision and the cost of leaving things unsaid. The threat of becoming a ghost if one fails to finish the coffee before it cools adds stakes to every time-travel journey, reinforcing the theme that opportunities are fleeting and must be seized.

Interwoven Stories and Parallel Arcs

The novel's structure is episodic, with each chapter focusing on a different character's journey through grief, regret, or longing. Their stories intersect at the café, and their emotional arcs echo and reinforce one another. The narrative's circularity—characters returning to the café, stories looping back to earlier events—emphasizes the interconnectedness of human experience and the universality of loss and hope.

Analysis

"Before Your Memory Fades" is a gentle, poignant meditation on time, regret, and the enduring power of love. Through the device of a magical café with strict, unyielding rules, Toshikazu Kawaguchi explores the universal longing to revisit the past—not to change it, but to find closure, forgiveness, or simply to say what was left unsaid. The novel's episodic structure allows for a tapestry of stories, each illustrating a different facet of loss: a mother's anxiety for her child, a daughter's resentment, a comedian's burnout, a sister's grief, a young man's fear of losing love. The time-traveling chair, with its limitations, becomes a metaphor for life itself: we cannot alter what has happened, but we can choose how we respond, what we say, and how we move forward. The recurring motif of "One Hundred Questions" reminds us that life's meaning is found in the choices we make, especially when time is short. Ultimately, the novel's message is one of hope: that happiness is not the absence of sorrow, but the courage to love, forgive, and live fully, even when tomorrow is uncertain. The café's quiet magic is not in changing fate, but in giving us the chance to change ourselves.

Last updated: May 5, 2025