A cold woman, who after catching a virus from her husband during pregnancy, left Shouko deaf. Yaeko's husband's family quickly filed for a divorce. When her husband left, she was pregnant with Yuzuru and her mother helped her raise both her daughters.

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Eventually, she left her mother to care for the children permanently while she works—causing problems in her relationship with Yuzuru—not helped by the fact Yuzuru frequently skips school to take photos of dead animals. She made Shouko stay at the elementary school where she was bullied for so long in the hopes it would toughen her up and prepare her for how people would treat her. She planned to cut Shouko's hair like a boy to make her look tougher, but Yuzuru cut her own hair instead in protest. She hates Shouya and feels he can never atone for the happy school years he stole from her daughter. Upon seeing him again years after he left school, she slaps him; however, after her mother's death, she begins to warm up to Ishida and thanks him for being Yuzuru's friend.