At the start of the novel, a young Kazumasa is struck on the head by debris while walking along the beach in Japan. The debris proves to be not just a ball, but Kazumasa’s dear companion. Kazumasa’s peculiar condition is odd to his parents and community at first, but they soon come to accept him: “They began to forget their early anxieties as Kazumasa seemed to draw confidence and security from the ball” (5). This acceptance of unexplained phenomenon establishes the magical realist style and gives Yamashita the narrative structure to jump between multiple characters. Kazumasa’s early years also establish him as a caring and sympathetic person. His job for the railways saves countless lives. When his duties are downsized to only maintain the Tokyo City Circular Railway Service, he is sad that he cannot do more, planting the seeds for his charitable spirit.

Even after winning a fortune, Kazumasa remains humble and charitable. Celebrity threatens to upend him and the ball, but he is simply ecstatic to have more friends in his adopted home. In Chapter 10, as the commotion around him dies down, the ball recognizes, “Kazumasa himself emerged, a simple and solitary Japanese immigrant with a shy smile and a growing desire to experience more of life” (51).