Matriarchs of the River Ki

The three prominent relationships in The River Ki are all very different due to the different times and people, but all of them have one thing in common--Hana. She is the stronghold throughout the book, not just because she is the main character, but because of her inordinate strength and spirit. She got much of the spirit from her grandmother, Toyono, who raised her after the death of her mother, Mio. Toyono was a prominent …

…matrilineal family in a state of emergency. It is at this moment that there is a deep connection between all the women in this novel. Not only had Fumio's dreams of women's equality and strength and power become apparent in her own family, but at the same time Hana realized that she could not continue to be a slave to her family; after Matani?s death she lived luxuriantly as she had always wanted to.