[E]very plot of arable land near the village and every seaworthy boat down at the docks belonged to a family. Mothers and fathers...passed along their trade to daughters and sons in an unbroken line, which meant there was no room for an outside to inherit any means to survive.
-- Narrator (2: Nine Years Later)

Importance: Kyoshi thinks this thought as the other teenagers in Yokoya mercilessly mock her and bully her. While on the surface Kyoshi and the others are talking about means to survive, in truth the reason for their mocking, and what causes Kyoshi distress, is the constant reminders in Yokoya, explicit and implicit, that Kyoshi does not have a family to belong to. Still, the reader should note that while Kyoshi may lack her biological parents, she still experiences familial bonds thanks to Kelsang and her friends, but it does not make up for the pain she feels from Jesa and...