Cover ‘Butter’ author Asako Yuzuki signing copies of her book at The Bookhive in Bangalore, India (Photo: Instagram / @bookhive_blr)
‘Butter’ author Asako Yuzuki signing copies of her book at The Bookhive in Bangalore, India (Photo: Instagram / @bookhive_blr)
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Japanese female author Asako Yuzuki’s road to success wasn’t as smooth as ‘Butter’, but she is undeterred in her mission to elevate the status of her nation’s women through powerful storytelling
For years, male authors like Haruki Murakami and Keigo Higashino have enjoyed the international limelight when it comes to modern Japanese literature. But in 2024, Asako Yuzuki—and her best-selling novel Butter—changed this status quo.
The Tokyo-born author is not new to the literature scene. She won the All Yomimono Award for New Writers for Forget Me, Not Blue in 2008, the Yamamoto Shūgorō Award for Nile Perch No Joshikai in 2015, and has been nominated for the Naoko Prize several times. Her novels have also been adapted for television, radio and films.
One might wonder why it took Yuzuki so long to achieve international fame, considering she has 23 novels under her belt and is celebrated as one of Japan’s most prolific writers. The answer likely lies in the sexist systems she has had to navigate throughout her career. She sits down to discuss this and more with Tatler ahead of her visit to Hong Kong for the Hong Kong International Literary Festival (HKILF) 2025, which takes place from March 1 to 8.
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Above Cover of Asako Yuzuki’s latest novel ‘Butter’ (Photo: courtesy of Asako Yuzuki)
Cover of Asako Yuzuki’s latest novel ‘Butter’ (Photo: courtesy of Asako Yuzuki)
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“[Since] I started my career as a professional writer, it’s been a constant struggle to strike a balance between feminism, storytelling, making a living and being recognised as an established ‘writer’,” she says.
Hearing a Japanese author speak so openly about feminism—not gender equality, not women’s rights, but feminism—is somewhat of a rarity even now. And there’s no doubt that Yuzuki was one of the few trailblazers: she has never been shy about her values, even before 2010s when the movement was not yet woven into the fabric of mainstream society as it is today.
From early on in her career, her work has been centred on women’s lives, the burden of the male gaze and the unfairness of beauty standards. For example, in Nageki no bijo (2011) she tells the story of a woman who becomes frustrated with the prevalence of attractive people online and attempts to vandalise a beauty website. In Diana the Book Clerk (2014), she wrote about the devastating evolution of a friendship between two girls from different backgrounds. In Itō-kun A to E (2013), she narrates the tale of different women interested in the same man.
“In Japan, women’s social status is very low, so even female characters in fiction tend to be depicted as devoted caretakers,” she explains. “I really wanted to resist this and my stories are the result of such struggles.”
“[Since] I started my career as a professional writer, it’s been a constant struggle to balance out feminism, storytelling, making a living and being recognised as an established ‘writer’.”
She continued this theme in Butter. The novel is based on the true-crime case of the Konkatsu Killer, in which a woman named Kanae Kijima was found guilty of poisoning three of her male lovers in 2010 (and suspected of four more murders). Interestingly, what drew public attention to Kijima’s case was that she was not conventionally good-looking. This led to widespread speculation during her trial, in the media and among the general public, as to how she could seduce men to be her lover while looking “the way she did”.
“I was not fascinated about that case per se,” confirms Yuzuki, “but I was more interested in how the media played its role in depicting the case.”
In Butter, one of the central characters is Manako Kajii, who is inspired by Kijima. Kajii is accused of similar crimes and faces similar body shaming throughout her trial. This narrative is challenged only when a female journalist named Rika Machida dives deeper into Kajii’s story. The process of investigative journalism into Kajii’s case transforms Machida both physically and figuratively—as her relationship with the killer deepens, she finds herself questioning and rejecting many of society’s set standards. Encouraged by Kajii, she explores the joys of food and cooking, which leads her to gain weight but ultimately to also find peace within herself.
In many ways, the book explores fatphobia and misogyny in Japanese society by examining the unattainable beauty standards imposed on women—and their relationships with male partners.
“The issues that Japanese women face in Japan are reflected in the reactions Rika gets from people as her appearance changes,” Yuzuki says. “I personally feel the same kind of pressure by Japanese society’s standards.”
With its exploration of societal issues, Japanese cuisine and true crime, Yuzuki’s novel has all the elements necessary to captivate both local and international audiences—especially thanks to the author’s sharp and witty observations which are strewn throughout Butter. As Kajii tells Rika on their first encounter, “There are two things that I simply cannot tolerate: feminists and margarine.”
Above Author of ‘Butter’ Asako Yuzuki (Photo: courtesy of Asako Yuzuki)
Author of ‘Butter’ Asako Yuzuki (Photo: courtesy of Asako Yuzuki)
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Although her works have achieved success with both local and international audiences, Yuzuki observes that the reception has been markedly different. “Butter was never marketed as a ‘feminist novel’ in Japan, but they are labelled as such overseas,” she explains. “It’s shockingly different. This came as a revelation to me.”
In Japan, she notes that her latest book has often been viewed as the tale of “a not-so-pretty woman”, while globally the international readership is becoming more interested in women-centric literature coming out of Japan, especially due to the works of other popular female authors, such as Mieko Kawakami’s Breasts and Eggs (2020), Sayaka Murata’s Convenience Store Woman (2016) and Banana Yoshimoto’s Kitchen (1988).
Explaining this rising interest, Yuzuki says, “I think the main factor is that Japan has [declined] economically and, as a result, more and more people can afford to come visit and experience Japan firsthand,” she says. “I’m sure they’ve learnt about fascinating, fun parts of Japan, but at the same time, have ended up witnessing a pretty distorted part of our society.”
Wanting to continue her mission of spreading awareness around gender inequality in her country, she already has a pretty clear idea of the “pretty distorted” part of Japanese society she wants to highlight and denounce next: the Japanese daycare system.
“Now it’s considered a given that women with kids can seek a service to take care of their kids, but in the 1950s such demand was considered very dangerous and shook the whole society,” she reveals, “I want to write about that.”
Asako Yuzuki will be speaking at the Hong Kong International Literary Festival (HKILF) 2025 on March 4, at the Lecture Theatre at Hong Kong Central Library. For more information, visit festival.org.hk.
Salomé Grouard was Digital Editor and Front & Female Content Lead at Tatler Hong Kong. Primarily focused on managing Tatler Hong Kong’s digital platform and content, she also covers gender equality, the music scene and sports through interviews with industry leaders, experts and trendsetters.
Interview highlights include renowned conservationist Dr Jane Goodall, Korean actor Park Seo Jun, singer Jorja Smith, Chinese TV host Yue-Sai Kan, YouTuber Kimono Mom, Japanese rapper Awich, and Brazilian jiu-jitsu fighter Mikey Musumeci.
She has also produced stories on revolutionising sexual wellness in Asia, activism within the surfing community, Asian trans musicians reclaiming their narratives through music and looked at the toxicity of gym culture through the lens of the plus-size community. She also covers music festivals, such as Hong Kong’s Clockenflap and Bali’s Suara.
