53 pages • 1 hour read
Asako YuzukiButter: A Novel of Food and Murder
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2024A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Background
Cultural Context: Beauty Standards in Japan
Throughout Butter, Asako Yuzuki interrogates the toxic impact of beauty standards in Japan on women’s psyches. In Japanese culture, women are expected to have “light, flawless skin, a slim, petite figure, slender legs, and a quiet personality” (“Modern Japanese Beauty Standards and How They Differ From Other Cultures.” The JBeauty Collection, 15 Nov. 2022). In part, Japan’s geisha tradition and the culture’s traditional kimonos for women inspire these rigid beauty standards. Geishas—professional artists, entertainers, and performers—were valued for their thin figures and pale skin. This tradition is embedded into the culture’s contemporary society and continues to influence how women are regarded vocationally, socially, and sexually. Beauty standards in Japan are also tied to historical notions of leisure, wealth, and ease. Thin women with fair skin were seen as women who could afford specialty face powders and high-quality foods. In contemporary Japanese society, these traditional beauty values are also “embodied by modern J-pop idols” (Young, Nana. “Beauty Boundaries: Mapping the Landscape of Japanese Aesthetics.” Bokksu, 3 June 2024). In Butter, the Scream band that Makoto Fujimura religiously follows until one singer gains weight is a narrative allusion to these contemporary celebrities and their influence on culture, including dominant beauty standards.
Furthermore, the public reaction to Manako Kajii’s weight and appearance are the direct result of beauty and body image standards in Japan. While some feel these attacks on Kajii’s appearance are a form of sexual harassment, the majority voice upholds the notion that Kajii’s full figure is evidence of her inability to care for herself or control her urges. For these same reasons, people make Rika feel self-conscious when she begins eating at her leisure and gains weight. As was true in historical Japan, in Yuzuki’s fictionalized version of Tokyo, “a slender figure […] [is] linked to beauty, sophistication, and refinement” (Young). Rika, therefore, feels sloppy, careless, and gluttonous because she is gaining weight. Yuzuki uses Rika’s experience to represent the experience many women in contemporary Japan face. By contrast, a character like Kajii represents the slight “shift in contemporary Japanese body aesthetics towards acknowledging and celebrating diverse body types” (Young). Because Kajii isn’t acquitted by the novel’s end and the characters continue to regard her in a negative light, her body is still regarded as a sign of her negligence. At the same time, Rika’s gradual adjustment to and acceptance of her weight gain reveals the contemporary Japanese woman’s attempts to challenge historically driven beauty standards and body image pressures.
Geographical Context: Tokyo, Japan
The novel is set in contemporary Tokyo, Japan, the nation’s capital and the world’s second-largest metropolitan area. The city, home to 14 million residents, is known for its bustling atmosphere, eclectic food scene, historical sites, and cherry blossom season in spring. The culinary aspects of Tokyo life feature heavily in Yuzuki’s narrative, as Rika gains more interest in enjoying, cooking, and sharing food with others. Tokyo is known for its local seafood, as the city lies at the head of Tokyo Bay. Popular dishes include tempura (a fried batter for vegetables and seafood), nigiri-zushi (sushi), soba (buckwheat noodles), ramen (wheat noodles), yakitori (grilled chicken skewers), chankonabe (a hot pot dish), monjayaki (a vegetable, meat, and seafood pancake), tsukudani (small foods simmered in a soy sauce and sweet sake mixture), and wagashi (traditional Japanese sweets) (“Tokyo Food Guide.” Japan Guide).
Additionally, convenience stores, known as konbini, are embedded into the culture in Japan. At konbini, people can purchase fresh and prepared meals like bento lunchboxes, steamed buns, and onigiri rice balls as well as many snacks, drinks, and sweets. These convenience stores are popular across ages and occupations, attracting office workers, students, and parents alike. Japan’s biggest konbini chain is 7-Eleven, with over 21,000 stores in Japan (Notoya, Kiuko, and River Akira Davis. “Why 7-Eleven Is a National Treasure in Japan.” New York Times, 24 Aug. 2024). In Butter, Rika takes advantage of convenience stores’ offerings—purchasing prepared dishes from them—frequents restaurants with clients, and enjoys Japanese dishes like ramen in Shinjuku, an area known for its network of narrow alleyways with many small eateries.
Tokyo is also a central hub for media and publishing. In Butter, Rika works as a journalist at the Shūmeisha publishing company in Tokyo. Japanese newspapers and broadcasters are owned by five major media conglomerates, including Yomiuri, Asahi, Nihon-Keizai, Mainichi, and Fuji-Sankei, all of which have headquarters in Tokyo. Yomiuri and Asahi have the most popular newspaper circulations, selling 6.2 million and 3.2 million copies each day. Japan’s public service broadcasting agency, Nippon Hōsō Kyōkai (NHK), is among the world’s largest public broadcasters (“Japan.” Reporters Without Borders). While Japanese journalists experience a relatively safe working environment compared to more restrictive countries, the broader sociocultural context still influences mainstream media. Notably, “the weight of traditions, economic interests, political pressure, and gender inequalities prevents journalists from fully exercising their role of holding the government to account” (Ryall, Julian. “Why Japan Ranks Poorly in Press Freedom.” DW, 8 May 2023). This results in self-censorship on topics deemed “sensitive” such as political corruption, sexual harassment, health issues, or pollution (“Japan”). There are significantly fewer female journalists in Japan compared to male, although the number of women in journalism is increasing slightly. In Butter, others’ perception that Rika is compromising her reputation in the journalism world by gaining weight shows the sexist double standards women in the industry face. In the novel, many characters work in media beside Rika, including Makoto Fujimura, who works in the books department of Rika’s company; Kitamura, a male coworker; Yoshinori Shinoi, who works for a media agency and gives Rika regular tips; and Yū Uchimura, Rika’s junior colleague. Yū often gives Rika encouragement when she feels defeated or receives negative feedback from readers or editors, which shows the supportive dynamic the two women cultivate as colleagues.
