| Kimiyoshi Haruko 公由 春子 | |
|---|---|
| |
| Information | |
| Age | 40s |
| First Appearance | Onisarashi-hen |
| Portrayed By | Akiko Hiramatsu |
Kimiyoshi Haruko (公由 春子) is the mother of Kimiyoshi Natsumi and the wife of Kimiyoshi Tōji. Through her mother, Kimiyoshi Aki, she's related to Kimiyoshi Kiichirō, the mayor of Hinamizawa and the leader of the Kimiyoshi House. Even though the town they moved away was Okinomiya, she was born and raised in Hinamizawa.
Character Summary[]
Haruko has a charismatic personality and is shown to be the one who actually leads the Kimiyoshi household. Even though she is strict and kind, she is shown to become hysterical, if something doesn't go her own way. This is shown whenever she argues with her mother in Onisarashi-hen and when she finds out that Natsumi has a part-time job despite her school's prohibition in Someutsushi-hen. Unlike her mother, she is not superstitious at all and she is even shown to dislike Hinamizawa "where people constantly respected her for being part of the Kimiyoshi Clan, while in her new city she was liked for who she is". She is also shown to be very sociable, since she managed to get plenty of friends in her new city despite only moving there recently. She is often praised for being pretty and having a long and beautiful hair. According to others, despite her age she looks rather young.
Onisarashi-hen[]
She first appears as the antagonist of Onisarashi-hen, but later it was revealed that she's innocent. One day, after arriving home from school, Natsumi sees her grandmother being attacked and killed by Haruko. Haruko suggests cutting her into small pieces, so they can hide her better.
Later, when the body is found by the police (this is advertised on the news), Haruko beats up her husband for hiding it improperly. After she left the room, he told Natsumi to call the police, but Haruko overheard this, returned and stabbed him, and decided she must kill Natsumi as well.
Akira calls Natsumi's home and hears her screaming for help. When he arrives, Haruko knocks him out with a vase to the head, which enrages Natsumi and pushes her to fight back against her mother. Natsumi struggles to snatch the knife away from her mother, who accidentally stabs herself in the neck during the struggle, fatally wounding herself. It is later revealed that this was all a delusion brought on by trauma, and that Natsumi was the one who killed everyone, and Haruko is innocent.
Etymology[]
- Haruko means "spring" (春) (haru) and "child" (子) (ko).
Trivia[]
- In Kagebōshi-hen, it was revealed that Haruko was involved in student activism during her college years. Due to this, the prefectural police headquarters still has records about her.
- Haruko takes classes on flower arrangements.