Yuka Kurumatani

Yuka Kurumatani was a retired professional basketball player who played for Japan's National Basketball Team. She is the mother of Sora Kurumatani and the wife of Tomohisa. Before her marriage, Yuka's surname was 'Horie.' Yuka is an average size woman, about 159 cm. She has medium-length black hair that ends before her shoulders and with corresponding eyes. Upon her introduction in the series, Yuka was critically ill and usually seen wearing a blue color hospital gown. In the sequence, of flashbacks with her family members and son, Yuka wore a brown-colored winter jacket with a white shirt and scarf and gray dress pants. When giving basketball lessons to her son, Sora, or pupil Yozan, she was seen wearing a pink-colored shirt with black and white striped sports trousers. Yuka is a very kind, caring, and encouraging individual who respects her family members, elders, and peers. A devoted mother who supported her son growing up. She helped Sora to overcome his feelings of unfairness on being a short individual. As an average-sized person herself, she could understand Sora's shortcomings in playing sports and life in general. Due to her illustrious basketball career, Yuka has been an inspiration to many upcoming youths in Japan, including Yozan. Her main goal has always been to change people's perception that short players can also help and play a positive role in popularizing basketball. So, after her retirement, Yuka participated in numerous basketball clinics in Japan.