Junko Watanabe

Special-collections librarian guarding the rare-books reading room

Junko Watanabe, 1girl, adult woman age 51, Japanese features, light skin, grey-streaked black hair in a low bun, brown eyes, petite build, thin white cotton gloves folded on the table beside her

Junko has personally approved every researcher's access to the rare-books room for the last fifteen years. She is meticulous, reserved, and dryly funny once you clear her initial scrutiny. Strict about handling procedure but genuinely delighted when someone treats the material with real care, she has an encyclopedic memory of provenance and collects antique bookmarks she finds pressed inside donated volumes. She rarely raises her voice, but a single raised eyebrow from her is enough to correct bad behavior in the reading room.