Name: Yagami (nee Kobayashi) Dana
Year Born: 1964
Hair Color: brunette
Eye Color: brown
Height: 5'5" (165 cm)
Ethnicity: Japanese
Career: Fashion Designer
Introduced in: Steps Toward the Future
Parents: Kobayashi Kimi (mother) and Kobayashi Atsuhiro (father)
Boyfriend/Spouse: Yagami Yamada
Children: Shin, Koji, Nerimaru (Nelly), Tony, Jill, Shaun
History: In the case of Dana, ALL of her history will be a spoiler. Beware. Kobayashi Dana was born to affluent "old money" parents Kobayashi Atsuhiro and Kimi in upper Subami, a rich neighborhood first mentioned in Yume. In perspective, in Chapter 13 of Yume, Chihaya describes to Rosa's aunts that he's from Wensington Heights, a recurring wealthy neighborhood in the series, by saying it's "way south of Subami". In other words, it's a super rich neighborhood but it's still not Subami. The Kobayashi Family owns a prominent shipping and manufacturing firm for various products. While Atsuhiro, as oldest in the family, acts as president of Kobayashi, Dana's mother was a housewife.
Dana has two older brothers and an older sister and as the youngest became almost inconsequential.
Raised in a upper class home, she took on some of the influences of her family, being almost snobby, pragmatic, and pretentious. Alas, Kimi was the first to note some of her youngest child's disparities from her other children. Whereas she commanded they all wear plain "dignified" toned clothes, Dana often expressed more interest in bright colors in styles conforming to current fads. Also, unlike Dana's sister who was learning skills to be the lady of the house, she showed a "masculine" affinity for business. Kimi found Dana much too headstrong and threatened her antics with the possibility of boarding school. Dana would then spend most of her adolescence in fear of being sent away thus she hid her interests from her parents and siblings.
While Dana attended Miba Junior High, she was never expected to need to go to high school as she was engaged to marry Kamaishi Domon when she came of age. Dana had no interest in the man, five years older than she, but kept quiet about it as she'd been brought up to follow the "order of things". In the end, she just assumed it wouldn't matter whom she married, she wouldn't love anyone either way. One day, Dana's wealthy companion and schoolmate Hachiko asked her to come with another group of friends to meet her boyfriend, Yagami Yamada. As Dana didn't see the sense in dating someone when Hachiko was also in an arranged marriage, she went just to chastise the occurrence. She is further put off when Hachiko enters into a much poorer region. While Hachiko states that Dana will probably be judgmental since he's "sickeningly poor", Dana just recognizes Hachiko's affinity for dating merely out of a fascination rather than interest, further proven when she informs the group that he's a "half-breed".
When they meet Yamada, Dana is instantly put off. He was older than them and she figured he was a womanizer because of how attractive he was. She ultimately tells him this, forward to an almost fault, and is shocked when he retorts that she's a "prudish busybody". Dana is not used to being spoken to that way and following the meeting, the two carry
on an antagonist relationship.
By strange coincidences, Dana still ends up spending time with Yamada because of
Hachiko and running into him while he's at work. She observes for as frivolous as he is in his free time that he's a hard worker, picking up the slack for those around him that weren't working to full potential. She secretly admires that much about him but wonders why he sleeps around and parties so much as well as why he can be so snippy with her. One day, Yamada actually sees her and questions what she was doing. Dana decides to compliment his work ethic despite knowing he might take it the wrong way. Instead, Yamada says nothing and asks if she will be going to the beach with the group the following day. Dana hadn't been aware such a venture was taking place and hurt, tries to write it off as being busy. Yamada doesn't believe her and says to meet them at Hachiko's house in the morning. Dana, despite having been snubbed by her friends, is still excited, having never gone to the beach with people and goes home to choose the bathing suits she'd been making in her free time.
The next day, Dana is still happy about going but her female company is far from it. When Dana removes her dress and is met with them ignoring her even more, she realizes that it is probably because of her rather matured body, something even her mother and sister call "disdainful". Deflated, she sits by herself on the blanket, waving off the attention of the men who were taken with her. To her surprise, Yamada comes to sit beside her and asks if she'd like to go get some ice cream instead of "mope around like she'd done something". Dana begrudgingly accepts the invitation and spends a majority of the trip with Yamada. Hachiko is furious and declares that she find her own way back to which Yamada remarks he can probably score them a motorcycle to ride back. Instead of allowing the two the proximity, Hachiko just lets them ride back with them. Dropping her off, Dana thanks Yamada for his attention and calls Hachiko later to inform her that she doesn't want the girl's boyfriend. Hachiko stuns her by saying that wasn't how it looked at all and that together they'd always looked very much like a couple. Hanging up on her, Dana writes off Hachiko's remarks as delusional as she was engaged and it was impractical to start liking someone on her own.
All the same, after the beach trip Dana finds herself speaking with Yamada more, often hanging out with him after school while he worked his mechanic job. He'd asked if there was anything else she'd rather do than be a housewife to which she told him about how she'd always wanted to be a fashion designer. Despite conforming to her mothers sense of style, she was still secretly enthralled with styles and colors and design. She even bought her own material from time to time to make clothes. Yamada questions why she doesn't do it then. She counters that it's not the way it's supposed to be and if it were that easy would he not be doing something else himself? Yamada shrugs it off but still maintains that should she have a dream, others shouldn't make another for her.
Dana wondered about that for a while and in that time discovered one of her favorite American musicians, David Bowie, was coming to perform in Tokyo. She's secretly maintained her admiration of his music and thought that perhaps her parents would allow her to go since they usually didn't care what she did. However, they both refused, telling her it 'was below them' and that they didn't appreciate her enjoyment of 'foreign garbage'. Heartbroken, she remembered what Yamada said about letting others calculate her dreams and went to him to see what she could possibly do about making it to the show. Yamada is ultimately surprised she also likes Bowie and offers to go with her, saying he knew someone that could get them in. Dana is delighted and the two make the journey to Tokyo on his motorcycle. After the concert, contented, she thanks Yamada for helping her. He assured her that should she give it a try, there was no reason she couldn't have the things she reasonably wanted.
Around that time she realized that she had grown to like Yamada. Alarmed, she tried to convince herself of how ridiculous that was and engage in other affairs. No matter what though she ended up back with him doing something as Hachiko had started to completely ignore her. She grew upset thinking Yamada recognized her childish affection for him when he himself started growing antsy and awkward around her. On her birthday, a party was held merely for appearances and she met with her fiance. He told her she was rather pretty but that she not get too ahead of herself for he had no intention of loving her. While the same attitude she'd held prior to meeting Yamada, she wasn't happy with the comment now. A cook in the kitchen informed her she had a call, interrupting the exchange. It was Yamada and he told her to meet him outside in about twenty minutes. Shocked and scared someone might see him and thus chase him off, Dana went out and found Yamada had brought her a cupcake, lighting it for her and wishing her 'Happy Birthday', seeming a little troubled he couldn't find anything 'worthy of her'. Dana, with his decree as she'd never had a birthday cake, made a wish for him and wondered if she could believe such things would come true.
Very moved and smitten with Yamada, she took to the kitchen, taking an interest that perplexed the Kobayashi servants in learning how to cook. She pleaded they keep it a secret from her mother and they agreed, helping Dana compose lunch for Yamada in return for his gesture on her birthday. She'd rushed to where he worked only to find Hachiko also there. Dana was horrified, reminded that Yamada was Hachiko's boyfriend before finding herself jealous. Alas, when Hachiko saw her with her gift, she instantly started yelling and screaming about how Yamada was now spending more time with Dana than herself. Though Hachiko called Dana a floozy and a whore, to which Yamada responded he wanted to end the relationship, she was more incensed when Hachiko declared that he was just a
poor half-breed anyway. Dana reported that if Hachiko thought those things then she didn't deserve him and that she would take him from her. Yamada went with her bold proclamation and the two started dating.
The days they spent
dating, Dana spent a lot of time with Yamada in
the small apartment where he and his single mother lived. Hachiko had stated that she refused to go, figuring it was rat and roach infested. Dana found it was very comfortable and clean and liked how pleasant it was. Yamada stated it was fine, just he wished it were in a better area. The two went on smaller dates, often to the park and local diner, and Yamada seemed bothered by his inability to do anything better for her. Dana found that she much preferred these intimate settings, finding upper end ventures impersonal. She became aware that Yamada desired sex some months into their relationship but she was reluctant and nervous so she put up boundaries that he, surprisingly to her, respected. Dana found out she was to attend a party in the following week and decided to get Yamada in so he could see exactly how her family thought she was supposed to live. Yamada revealed to her he didn't even own a suit so she excitably went to work making one for him.
At
the ritzy party, Dana was kept busy being introduced to potential buyers and partners of her family so she ended up not being able to speak to Yamada at all. She's happy to learn later that he'd made a friend of Izumi Craig, a politician's son, but was unhappy he thought he wasn't good enough for her. Dana thinks that is far from the case and when she settles into declaring she loved him, he called to demand if she were engaged to another man. Dana remembers that this is indeed the case though she doesn't want it to be and admits it, prepared to counter that she wouldn't though, that she wants to be with him. Instead, before she can get the words out, Yamada declares he never wants
to see her again and breaks up with her.
Dana, in a panic, tries to get in contact with Yamada for a few days but can't get him on the phone. Finally, she decides to venture into Wasaba by herself at night only to be nearly mugged by robbers. She tells them apathetically that she is going to see Yamada and they instantly back off, not knowing she was 'Yamada's woman'. She wonders about the reputation he'd earned himself as she finally gets to his apartment. Atsuko, Yamada's mother, is leaving for work and offers to let her stay and wait for him. When Yamada arrives, she says she cares for him and doesn't desire to be Domo's wife. He seems reluctant to believe her and she instigates intercourse with him, saying she would only have sex with the man she wanted. Afterward, Dana asked Yamada if there was something he had wanted to do specifically with his life. He thinks on it and says he always wanted to be a doctor. She supports him in the effort and helps him start on the path.
Though Yamada was often the more proactive one with protection, Dana never cared for condoms and often had them go without them. Yamada was reluctant but never one to turn her down. One day during school, she found herself throwing up and fatigued. Thinking she was ill, her parents called the family doctor and had her checked out. It was revealed that at fifteen she was pregnant. Her parents were livid and demanded to know who the father was. She told them it was Yamada, her boyfriend, and about his history. Beside themselves with disgust, they commanded she abort her child for her family's honor. Dana refused and said she'd rather die than get rid of her and Yamada's child. With that, they put her out on the street and told her to see how long she'd last without them and a boyfriend that probably didn't even want a child. Dana was fearful of the same thing but though Yamada was nervous about his upcoming responsibilities as a father, he took her into his mother's home. Dana recognized that Atsuko wasn't pleased with the situation and decided to get a job to help pay her way in the house. An old woman that worked in a small corner jean shop took a chance on Dana and gave her a job hemming pants, pleasantly surprised Dana was quite skilled at it.
Ultimately, Dana was very happy with her life. She enjoyed the time with Yamada and watching their baby form while working in a job she liked. Yamada was even accepted into college and things were looking up for them. Alas, in Dana's eighth month, her
father came to the apartment and informed her if she didn't give up the child and
return home to marry Domo that he would turn Yamada in for statutory
rape. Dana insisted that she was of the age of consent, that Atsuhiro himself was going to have her married this year. Atsuhiro stated he had Hachiko's
"evidence" that she'd been carrying on the relationship since she was
thirteen. Yamada was indignant and told Atsuhiro he didn't care what he did to him, that he wasn't going to allow them to hurt her. Nonetheless, Dana recognized all the work and effort Yamada had put in to get into college with a full scholarship and that jail time would ruin everything. Crestfallen, she asked that she
have her child first before she returned home. Atsuhiro demands that she give the child up for adoption and forget its existence but Yamada insists that he'll raise it by himself. Dana gives birth to Yagami Shin and returns home. She is shamed and ignored in the household up until her wedding, not four months after giving birth, to Kamaishi Domo.
Dana struggles in the Kamaishi household, a severe place where everyone walked on eggshells. Domo proved to be a twisted man, warped enough to gain pleasure from the sheer misery of others. Dana was expected to sit in her room quietly all day and found out that Domo was carrying on multiple affairs right in the home. Annoyed that this was 'better' than her healthy relationship with Yamada, she finally sneaked out to see her child and Yamada. She found Yamada was often at school and work, hardly at home. She spent time with Shin and wished she could run away. Alas, as it were, she was still only seventeen and viewed as in the custody of her husband until she was eighteen. She hoped that soon it would all end and was temporarily frightened when Yamada found her, angry about her walking in and out at her own convenience while he was drowning in responsibilities. She played it off, recognizing his reasons as sound, and seduced him to calm him down. He did relax somehow but Dana had forgotten about the bruise Domon had given her, punching her in the stomach when she demanded amnesty to walk around the home at least. Yamada told her to wait for him, that he'd pull it together and, though having calmed his violent teenage tendencies, still instructed her to tell her husband that he'd kill him if he laid a hand on her again.
Though only having a few rendezvous with Yamada, she was surprised to find she was pregnant again. She was fearful as Domo and her had never had intercourse that he'd turn her in. Instead he basked in the congratulations and told everyone he hoped it was a little boy that he could play with. Dana was disgusted with him claiming her and Yamada's child. Soon she learned she was carrying twins and grew excited that she'd have children of her own to take care of. Domo returned to his original behavior, carousing around and entirely absent when she went into labor. Despite midwives commanding she give birth at the house, she knew something was wrong and instead went to Subami Hospital. During labor, it's found the oldest twin was struggling to breathe and is extremely frail compared to his healthy brother. Dana is heartbroken when he is kept in the hatch where he makes very little progress. She sees Yamada is working in the hospital but wonders if he too thinks their children are Domo's and if he hates them. To further darken the situation, her healthy baby won't stop crying, refusing any comforts or foods. The doctors can find neither medical reason for the oldest's decline or the younger's upset. She believes they are both going to die and wonders if she's being punished for something. Surprisingly, Yamada randomly takes the weeping younger twin and goes to where his brother is and sets him beside him. The doctors are angry and demands what he thinks he's doing until they recognize that the youngest has finally stopped crying. Dana is relieved and content as both her sons start to do much better over the coming days and thanks Yamada for seeing they needed one another. Yamada was reluctant but she pleaded he name them and he suggested off hand Koji and Nerimaru to which Dana gave the oldest the name "Koji" and the youngest "Nerimaru".
Dana was often forbidden from seeing her babies and she knew it was from Domo seeing the joy she got from being with them both, especially Koji as he needed her the most, still sickly. Annoyed and frustrated with her circumstances, she bought Shin a birthday gift when he turns four. Yamada is weary and irritable again so she instigates intimacy once more in a final plea not to give up just yet. Shocking her, she's pregnant again and once more with twins. She gives birth to Tony and Jill whom are kept hidden from the public as, unlike Koji and Nerimaru, they are blond and blue eyed like their father. However, they are also both removed from her custody and the servants take care of them.
One fateful day, sitting in her room and watching television, she receives a call from the hospital. It is Yamada and he is utterly enraged. She was fearful as he'd never been that angry with her and thought he was going to end it once and for all. Alas, Yamada screams about how she could allow Domo to rape his child. Dana is dumbfounded and demands to know what he means. Four-year-old Koji along with the babies were taken to the hospital by Nerimaru because he was sick. Apparently Koji confessed that Domo had been molesting him for some time and that he threatened Nerimaru if Koji told anyone. Dana is beside herself with horror, rushing to the hospital. She sees all of Koji's bruises and immediately calls the police once another doctor creates a rape report. They usher Domo off to jail and Dana calls her parents, livid, to show them how their "better choice" had chosen to rape a four-year-old child. Instead, the two show up, infuriated with her for turning the man in for something so 'miniscule'. Finally she swears them off, wondering why she'd allowed herself to be trapped so long by their conceptions of society.
She is heartbroken by the circumstances that brought them together. Her and Yamada must deal with the demons Koji faces. Now that the crimes have stopped, he is despondent and self-destructive. He refused to eat and even threatened to jump of a window to make it all go away. They were uncertain how to deal with this and finally had Koji see a psychologist. The man suggested then that they just force Koji to repress the memory through questionable therapy. While Yamada was hugely against it, Dana just wanted Koji to have a normal life and insisted they go through with it. Yamada had issues with the numbingly effective results but did admit he was happier that Koji was improving and content.
Dana stayed at home while Yamada worked for a while to see to Koji and also integrating her family back together. All the children got along well, even Shin who was used to being an only child of sorts just living with Yamada, accepting his responsibility as older brother exceedingly well. During this time, Yamada is given a job and promotion and enough of a pay incentive to buy them a house. Despite not wanting to return to that place, he gets them a pretty old style home that had been long abandoned in an affluent neighborhood in Subami. He had it fixed up to Dana's liking and she conceded it was the perfect size for their growing family, having found out she was pregnant with their next child. Despite thinking Yamada had all the reason to leave her, he does ask her to marry him, happy that she stuck with him all this time. She thinks to herself it's the reverse but is overjoyed to finally marry him.
Though she didn't want him to, Yamada receives money from his father whom he'd just met and uses it to finally make her a design firm. He gives her enough money to hire producers and merchandisers and all those involved to make it flourish. She swears to herself that his investment would not go to waste and immediately starts working on a company she names "Yagada", a mixture of her new surname and given name. It takes some time but her designs are well-received at a fashion show and a few socialites ask to wear her creations. Pleased with her life again, she happens to see her siblings at an event. Though they seem to plan to ignore her, her older sister snaps that she has brought shame to the Kobayashi clan, marrying a poor half-breed. Dana assures that she has no plans to call herself a Kobayashi ever again and that they can write her out of history if they wished. All she ever wanted was to be a 'Yagami' and now nothing else mattered.
Personality: Dana has always been strictly pragmatic. In her teens, she dealt with things reasonably and often grew uncomfortable when circumstances were too fantastical. Alas, even she falls in love with someone that her society tells her is incorrect merely because of superficial circumstances and decides to fight for it. This becomes something of a continued aspect of her personality, often going above and beyond for her family to make their wishes come true even when others consider it impossible.
Dana is "strict" in some senses, punishing her sons when they get too rowdy and out of hand. Alas, she allows them to throw parties and have people over. She wants them to feel comfortable enough to do things in the safety of their home and not go out and do something too dangerous but not to go over boundaries either. Additionally, they never have servants and all of them have learned to cook and clean for themselves because Dana doesn't want them to believe themselves incapable of basic functions. While firm, Dana does have a softer side, chastising to a point but knowing when her children and family need tenderness.
Relationships: Dana is always very proud of Shin, thankful that he grew up into a responsible and calm young man despite the circumstances. She wonders about her twin boys, both of them rebellious and mischievous like their father. Alas, all of the siblings recognize that her favorite is Koji despite the two being kind of argumentative. Shin figures it's because Koji is a lot like their father used to be and she enjoys his tenacity. She gets on well with the younger children as well but frankly she's away so much there's hardly much interaction between them within the realms of the story.
Yamada and Dana aren't the most lovey dovey couple in the series but the
two are extremely loyal and respectful of each other. They're often off
doing their own thing. Dana is a lot less "needy" in a way when it comes to Yamada. She knows she is loyal to him and that he is loyal to her so she doesn't fear anything like affairs or extramarital relationships. They're together a lot to see their children but not often when it comes to themselves. However, in a
future short, she has them attend a party on their anniversary and he appears while she's speaking to a group of potential investors, smoking and drinking, two things he'd long given up. He's annoyed she won't pay attention to him on at least their anniversary and she becomes permissive with him, deciding she will spend time with him but telling him she works hard to protect all he'd helped her attain.
Trivia:
Dana has made every character's wedding garb since the very beginning. Typically she makes all the fancy clothing her children and family wear as well.
Dan
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