Cross-cultural communication （167）　

167) Butter
Yuzuki Asako's novel “Butter” achieved a triple crown by winning three consecutive British literary awards between 2024 and 2025. Of course, this was for the English translation of the work. When I think of British literary awards, I inevitably recall Kazuo Ishiguro, one of my favorite authors who even won the Nobel Prize in Literature.
He received all his education in Britain, and apart from a few works set in Japan, nearly all his novels are set in Britain. To understand why a novel by a Japanese female author resonated so deeply with British readers, I read it in the summer of 2025. Naturally, I read the original Japanese version.

The protagonist is Rika, a weekly magazine reporter. She schemes to secure an interview with Kajii Manako, who is detained on suspicion of murdering multiple male partners, in order to write an article about her. She manages to arrange an interview with Kajii in prison and learns that Kajii loves cooking, especially French cuisine. To sustain the interview, Rika begins eating the dishes Kajii taught her during their meetings, especially those using butter. The first she tried was butter rice-hot rice topped with butter and soy sauce-and she becomes hooked. The description of this ultra-simple butter rice (essentially a food review) is masterful. Later, Rika's food reports on authentic French cuisine she eats out are also superb. I imagine that these Japanese-style food reports, including dishes unfamiliar to the British, are one reason this novel resonated in the UK.

However, the novel's essence lies in depicting the difficulties Japanese women face, portrayed through Kajii in prison, Rika the journalist, and Rika's friend since student days, Reiko. This is the core of the novel, so spoilers must be avoided. I'll stop here. The model for Kajii, a quasi-main character, is the perpetrator of an actual crime widely reported across Japan. Because of this, the novel generated considerable buzz in Japan from the time its first hardcover edition was published in 2017. However, since this incident likely wasn't reported in the UK, I imagine what resonated there was the portrayal of the “difficulty of living of women” (a topic now universal worldwide) experienced by women under Japan's rather unique circumstances. Another factor, I feel, is the skill of the English translation. Research indicates it was translated by Polly Barton, a British woman. She had previously translated works by Yuzuki before this one. Since the reception and sales of a translated book depend heavily on the translator's skill, I hope Ms. Barton will continue introducing the works of talented Japanese authors to the English-speaking world, contributing to cross-cultural communication.

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