Chapter 1 Summary

The opening chapter introduces the reader to Hajime Senoh, his family and Noodles, a delivery boy for a local noodle house in Kobe, Japan. Hajime's mother, Toshiko, is a housewife who is easily influenced by any new ideas that come her way. Hajime's father, Morio, operates a tailoring shop in Kobe and often describes the shop as an upscale business.

As the story opens, Hajime meets a stranger on the street who calls him by name. Hajime asks the stranger how he knows his name. The stranger replies that his name is printed on his sweater. Having his name embroidered on his sweater is embarrassing to Hajime, and he asks his mother to remove it. Toshiko removes part of the name and leaves only the letter H where Hajime's name had once been sewn. From this time on, Hajime's name becomes "H."

H's...