Ken Kaneki's aunt is his maternal aunt, and his caretaker after the death of his mother. She was responsible for her sister's death, and abused Kaneki during his time living with her family.
Appearance
She is a middle-aged woman with a fair-skinned complexion, slender body frame, shoulder-length brown hair, and a cynical smile.
Personality
Kaneki's aunt was two-faced, manipulative, frivolous and would often visit Kaneki's mother for extra money by falsely claiming she was struggling with her financial shortcomings despite living well.
She and her husband were supposed to take care of Kaneki after his mother died. However, despite all her sister had done for her, Kaneki's aunt always compared him with her delinquent son, and so it was difficult for Kaneki to live with her.
Plot
Past: "Lone Reading"
While Kaneki was under her care she would ignore him as much as possible. Their only contact was either accidental or when she went out of her way to distress him. While Kaneki was out, she cleaned his room and threw away all of his books to be taken to a recycling center. However, she had also thrown out a magazine that belonged to Hideyoshi Nagachika, so Kaneki was forced to confess what happened to his friend. Hide confronted her about it, and was able to help Kaneki recover the books.[1]
Aogiri Raid
While trapped in Yamori's torture room, Kaneki recalled his past and his interactions with his aunt. He remembered her as always asking his mother for money and initially assumed that she too was living a difficult life. As her demands for money increased, Kaneki's mother began to take on more and more work. Eventually, this caused her to die from overwork and Kaneki was sent to live with his aunt's family.
At first, she seemed kind to him and praised him for his good grades. However, she quickly began to resent him and compared him to her own lazy son, accusing him of "looking down on her" just like she imagined her own sister did. She began to withdraw all affection and care from Kaneki, giving him less and less food before finally leaving him out of family meals entirely.
While living with his aunt, Kaneki learned that her supposed money problems were a lie: her family lived in a comfortable two-story home and had new appliances purchased with the money his mother gave them. She treated him cruelly, calling him names and brushing off anything he said with annoyance. He learned to sneak around to avoid dealing with her as much as possible.[2]
Relationships
Ken Kaneki
Her nephew, she initially welcomed him into her home with open arms after he was orphaned. Her kind facade quickly faded when Kaneki reminded her of her younger sister and she became abusive. She constantly made him feel unwelcome and uncomfortable in her home by insulting him and his mother, withholding food, and throwing out his belongings.
Younger sister
Her younger sister and Kaneki's mother, Kaneki's aunt always pestered her for money. The frequent demands for money caused her younger sister to die from overwork, though she showed little to no remorse afterwards. After she died, Kaneki's aunt would always badmouth her and blamed her for feeling inferior.
Yuuichi Asaoka
Her son, she complained about his poor grades and lack of initiative. The contrast between him and Kaneki exacerbated her negative feelings towards her sister.