In chapter fifty-five, Hiroshi asks his younger sister, Nogiku, how she knows that he's the same person she used to be. She's worried that she's lost her place in society, and that she doesn't have the energy to do anything about it. Hiroshi says that he owes a lot to his older sister, who used to care for him when he was unconscious for a year. He says that even though he was her assistant, she still cared for him for the entire year, and even though she didn't even recognize him, she told him that he was "very beautiful" and that he looked like the actress, sukeyo Fuchi. He's sorry that he looks like her, but he never imagined that he could actually meet her. He tells her that he came to the beach hoping that he might meet her again, but that he really wanted to meet her one day, too. He wishes he could throw away his body, his face, and everything else that makes him ugly, and live a different life.