Hontani Sanae

**Hontani Sanae**  (本谷 早苗) — is a prominent character in the Haha ni Koishite series, where she is portrayed as the mother of Satoshi, one of the main characters. Playing a central role in the story, her role as a loving mother and guiding figure is a driving force for the series' narrative.

## Hontani Sanae

* Sanae
* Sanae in Hawaii T-shirt

### Relatives

* Satoshi (son)
* mother (unnamed)
* father (unnamed)

## Appearances

### Appears in

* Haha ni Koishite Remake Ban 1
* Haha ni Koishite Remake Ban 2
* Haha ni Koishite Remake Ban 3
* Haha ni Koishite Remake Ban 4
* Haha ni Koishite Tokubetsu Hen -Wagaya no Kyuuka no Sugoshita Kata-
* Haha ni Koishite Tokubetsu Hen 2 -Tokai no Musuko o Tazunete-
* Haha ni Koishite 3 Omoide no Natsu

## Biography

### Description

Sanae is a middle-aged woman with black hair and a slightly overweight appearance due to her age. She has a curvy body with full hips and breasts and a softly rounded face that gives her an attractive look. Although her appearance has changed, due to gaining some weight and other physical changes over the years, she still has her son's friends complimenting her as "beautiful" or "she still has it", which suggests that she retains her appeal and desirability even at this age. This suggests that she still has appeal, despite some physical changes. Sanae is very important to the story and her feelings of love and longing for her son play a major role in the plot.

### Age

Sanae's high school graduation year of 1986 is a reliable indicator of her age as of 2023, with the character expected to be 54-55 years old based on her appearance and behavior throughout the series.

### Current life

Sanae works as a cashier at Sunny Market, a local market in the small countryside town where she lives. As the only child in her family, all of her family members are her parents' siblings. While her son, Satoshi, was still in graduate school, she and her husband divorced.

### Residence

Main article: Hontani Family's House

Sanae lives alone in a house that was inherited from a relative and is located in a rural Japanese village. It is a 30-minute drive away from her parents' home, where her parents still reside to this day.

## Relations with Satoshi

Sanae's thoughts and feelings towards her son, Satoshi, are complex and conflicted. She loves him as her son, but also feels a strong physical attraction to him. She battles with conflicting emotions, guilt and shame, as well as desire and pleasure, in her relationship with Satoshi.
Throughout the series, she struggles with the morality and consequences of their relationship, but at the same time, finds herself unable to resist his advances and finds a sense of relief and satisfaction in their intimate connection.

## Differences between original and remake

The color of Sanae's hair is the primary distinction in her appearance between the original series and the remakes. While her hair was brown in the original version, it is changed to black in the remakes.

## Notes and references

1. ↑ Haha ni Koishite 3 Omoide no Natsu, page 19
2. ↑ Haha ni Koishite Remake Ban 2, page 2
3. ↑ Haha ni Koishite 3 Omoide no Natsu, page 12
4. ↑  Haha ni Koishite ~Wakare no Mae ni~, page 7
5. ↑ Haha ni Koishite Remake Ban 2, page 63