The manager of Rex. He is an older man who is described as having “devoted his life to elegance in dress,” (p. 25). Mr. Shibuya is shown as having more concern over the needs of others than his own. He especially feels a sense of responsibility for Fusako, because he has been helping her since her husband died five years previous to the opening of the novel. Mr. Shibuya echoes the traits of the goods he sells. He is elegant, refined, and exists for the sole purpose of bettering someone else's life.