Futaba Miyamizu

Futaba Miyamizu (宮水 二葉) is the daughter of Hitoha Miyamizu, the late wife of Toshiki Miyamizu and the mother of Mitsuha Miyamizu and Yotsuha Miyamizu who was a devote member of the Miyamizu family where she participated in various rituals for her family's shrine until her death in 2007.

Appearance
Futaba was a very beautiful and rather petite fairs-kinned woman with lower-back length black hair that she left loose (she had it tied into a low ponytail when she performed her family's traditions and rituals) and a pair of light brown eyes.

Personality
Futaba was a cheerful and energetic woman who always made the best of situations. With a straightforward and frank attitude, she was never afraid to speak her mind. For example, she bluntly told Toshiki Miyamizu that she had felt like she would marry him in the future during their first interpret encounters.

She was also very social, open and friendly towards everyone, even strangers. She exhibited a calm, sunny and level-headed aura while she was also refined and polite. As a devote Miyamizu priestess, Futaba was knowledgable and passionate about her family's history, and gleefully shared everything she knew with Toshiki. Because of her status as a priestess of the Miyamizu family, Futaba had an uncommon influence in the town of Itomori and was terribly respected and well-looked up to by people around her. She was also a very determined person, as she stubbornly refused to back down when her mother opposed to her marriage with Toshiki, insisting that she was absolutely getting married no matter what. According to Toshiki, she was fearless as she had described childbirth as an experience that only "startled her".

After becoming a wife and mother, it was demonstrated that Futaba was a kind, caring, responsible and selfless woman. Before she died, she was extremely sad to leave her family behind and apologized to them.

Background
Futaba was the only child to Hitoha Miyamizu. As a Miyamizu, Futaba was trained to become a shrine maiden. She also had dreams when she was a young girl ― like dreams about someone else's life ― like her mother and eldest daughter. However, like her mother, she did not remember whose life she was dreaming of and had long forgotten about it.

Approximately twenty years prior to the story, Futaba met Toshiki Mizoguchi after he came to Itomori for research. During their interviews, they bonded and a mutual attraction formed between them. When Toshiki fell in love with her, he confessed to which Futaba hugged and kissed him in response. Although their marriage was strongly opposed by Hitoha, she accepted it when Toshiki was formally adopted into the family and began working full-time in the shrine. Soon after, their daughters Mitsuha Miyamizu and Yotsuha Miyamizu were born.

However, two years after Yotsuha's birth, Futaba was diagnosed with an illness that caused her immune cells to go out of control, but she refused to let herself be hospitalized and tested until she downright collapsed. Even then, Futaba refused to be transferred to a specialized hospital in the big city. Predicting that her end is close, Futaba gave Mitsuha her braided ribbon, in hopes of her daughter finding her soulmate through it. After a fight with her illness, Futaba passed away.

Hitoha Miyamizu
Hitoha is Futaba's mother. Although she thought that her mother's stubbornness was a problem, it was also dear to her and she liked it. Despite their arguments and up-and-downs, Futaba cherished Hitoha deeply.

Toshiki Miyamizu
During the time that Toshiki came to Itomori for research, the two bonded over their interviews, and due to their common interests regarding old traditions and folklores, they often had long and meaningful discussions. Although their relationship was initially professional, they soon opened up to each other and Futaba later confessed that during the first time she saw him, she felt as if she would marry him as if by fate.

As they continued to meet, Toshiki opened up his heart to someone for the first time and he eventually fell deeply in love with her and felt too, that he was going to marry her. Soon after, they became a very loving and supportive married couple. Toshiki described their relationship as one which didn't need words to express what they thought since they understood each other very well either way. Futaba loved Toshiki so deeply that she sometimes couldn't verbally explain it. They lived as a happy family until Futaba's death, which crushed Toshiki entirely.

Mitsuha Miyamizu and Yotsuha Miyamizu
Mitsuha and Yotsuha are Futaba's daughters whom she loved deeply that she wanted to be the best mother she could and raise them so they could be independent and teach them all sorts of things. She always supported her daughters, primarily Mitsuha since she was older, in everything they did.

Etymology

 * The name Futaba (二葉) means "two leaves/two flat things, bud, sprout".
 * Her name is connected to her mother's name with her name meaning "one leaf", her eldest daughter's name meaning "three leaves" and her younger daughter's name meaning "four leaves".
 * Futaba's surname Miyamizu (宮水) means "temple, shrine, palace" (宮) (miya) and "water" (水) (mizu), reflecting the family's role as priestesses.

Trivia

 * When Futaba was alive, she was greatly admired by people around her, being described as a "goddess" or a "ray of light".
 * The citizens of Itomori note that Mitsuha Miyamizu and Yotsuha Miyamizu inherited Futaba's beauty and almost looks identical to her.