In chapter 9 of So Far From the Bamboo Grove, Yoko and her sister Ko are struggling to raise enough money to buy clothes—let alone food and gifts—to celebrate New Year's Day.

As the day draws closer, however, they start to find ways to earn money. Yoko sells cans to Mr. Naido and Ko shines shoes. On the big day, Yoko has enough to buy a fish to fry on the fire and an orange for her mother, which she places next to her mother's urn. Yoko says that she wanted to buy her mother a bouquet of flowers, but she didn't have enough money. Ko says she shouldn't have even bought the orange, and the two of them agree to eat the orange at a later date.