How dare you suggest there's a question attached to it? Last week when we talked about traveling around the world together after the war -- in what capacity did you think I was agreeing to go with you, if not as your wife?
-- Hiroko Tanaka (The Yet Unknowing World)

Importance: This is Hiroko's unconventional way of saying "yes" to Konrad's marriage proposal, which he makes during the unconventional moment when the bomb sirens are going off. Despite his request to be married to Hiroko, Konrad unwisely immediately leaves Hiroko to make his way to a different bomb shelter, which results in his death. Hiroko's unsentimental way of answering this question is a recurring element of her character, as she repeatedly reacts with passive-aggressive anger whenever there is a slight disagreement or misunderstanding in a conversation.

To the Japanese she was nothing beyond an explosion-afflicted person; that was her defining feature. And to the Americans...well, she was...
-- Narration (chapter 2)