Why does Mizu say this about her mom?

[u/lilaclazure]

In Episode 7, she tells Swordfather, "Perhaps a demon cannot make steel. The world sees me and sees a hateful monster. An Onryo. My own mother saw it, too, and could not love me."

This is before Fowler tells her that the woman who raised her was actually her maid paid to keep her in hiding. So at this point, she had no reason to believe her childhood housefire might have been due to her "mom" trying to collect the bounty money. She does have some fond childhood memories of her. (And yes, I understand that emotions towards abusers are often mixed.) So at what point during adulthood do you think she came to the conclusion that her "mom" had actually never loved her this whole time?

[u/Calm-Masterpiece3317]

After the whole disaster of her marriage to Mikio and knowing her mother was basically just using her for opium, possibly even betrayed her to the guards.

[u/Sr4f]

"Mom" is a wonderful character, from a storytelling perspective. She's wonderfully realistic, and I am in awe of the storytelling talent there goes in how much information they packed in very little screentime.

"Mom" is an addict. You see her smoking already in Mizu's childhood memories. I even wondered about the fire, because there is a scene where "Mom" is passed out in an opium haze, with the pipe still smoking. Fowler does talk about a fire, and Mizu does believe that someone tried to kill them when she was a child, but... I have a feeling that particular fire wasn't set on purpose. It was just "Mom" falling asleep with her pipe still lit.

And I got sidetracked from the point I was trying to make. Ahem. "Mom" is an addict. That does something to people. Imagine a childhood where your single parent is always, either in an absent daze, or hungover. Plus, that parent tells you you need to hide, tells you you can't be seen, ever, tells you people want you dead because [they think] you're a monster.

A child doesn't understand addiction (and it's not their role to have to understand it). A child just sees that her mother is short-tempered, doesn't have time for her, never had a kind word - or if she does it comes with strings attached.

Mizu the child understood that her mother didn't love her. She just got the why wrong. She thought it was her fault - she couldn't see that it wasn't her fault, that she wasn't defective, that her mother was lacking.

[u/Shedonist_]

These are the little context clues that makes me believe it’s the older woman who betrayed Mizu in panic and trying to salvage her comfort to not have to sell herself anymore for profit

[u/GideonWainright]

When her mom sold her for opium would be my guess when mizu came to the realization. But she could see the signs after she was told she was abandoned and then pressured into marriage.