Occupation: Model
Favorite Food: Sweets and Black Tea
Favorite Thing: Sunshine
Favorite Color: White
Favorite Flowers: Wisteria, Peach, and Cherry
Hobby: Sleeping
Nadeshiko Kinomoto is Sakura's mother, though she's been dead for seven years before the story begins. She only appears in flashbacks, photos, and as a spirit haunting her family—which means she's present in a weird, bittersweet way throughout the series.
When she was alive, Nadeshiko was a high school student working as a professional model. She fell for Fujitaka, her teacher, and they got married when she was just sixteen, despite her family's strong disapproval. She kept sending gifts to her father anyway and stayed close with her cousin Sonomi. At 27, she died—and Sonomi, who'd loved her deeply, never quite forgave Fujitaka for it. The Amamiya family apparently cut ties with him and the kids after that, which is why Sakura doesn't even realize Sonomi is her relative until partway through the series.
Even in death, Nadeshiko's love for her family is the real constant. She shows up as a winged spirit regularly, though at first only Toya can see her—the manga hints he inherited this ability from her, suggesting she could see spirits too. She watches over Sakura as things get increasingly weird with the Clow Cards, and she's not shy about intervening. When an illusion trick nearly sends Sakura off a cliff, Nadeshiko grabs her arm to save her. Later, when Sakura's burning up with fever, Nadeshiko cools her forehead with a touch. Even small moments matter—when Fujitaka finally reconciles with his grandfather, Nadeshiko rains cherry blossoms down on them to celebrate.
The family hasn't moved on. Fujitaka keeps a rotating photo of Nadeshiko by the kitchen table, and Sakura always greets it in the morning. By the end, after Fujitaka gets half of Eriol's magical powers, he's finally able to see and be with her again.
The anime keeps most of this intact, though Fujitaka never gains those powers, so he stays unable to see her. Yūko Minaguchi voices her in Japanese; the English dub renamed her Natasha Avalon and had Janyse Jaud do the voice.
Content compiled by AnimeList.moe from publicly available sources.
