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.
Chapters 1-4Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 1 Summary
Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of death and gender discrimination.
Thirty-three-year-old Rika Machida takes the train to her best friend Reiko Sayama’s house for dinner. Rika has found it hard to adjust to Reiko’s new lifestyle since she married Ryōsuke Sayama. Walking through the cold and studying her cracked skin, she feels herself disappearing.
Rika stops at the market for butter, discovering that due to shortages, only margarine is available. At Reiko’s, she apologizes for the purchase, but Reiko is gracious. Rika’s search for the butter reminds Reiko of The Story of Little Babaji. In the children’s story, Babaji faces off with four tigers in the jungle. The tigers end up chasing each other in circles until they turn to butter, which Babaji’s father uses to make pancakes. The friends discuss the story until Ryōsuke joins them.
Rika enjoys the dinner more than anything she’s eaten in some time. A journalist at the Shūmeisha publishing company, Rika usually eats out with clients or buys prepared dishes at convenience stores. Rika silently marvels at Reiko’s new life. Reiko recently quit her job to focus on getting pregnant and starting a family. She and Rika connected in college over their jobs and shared uninterest in starting families. Now, Rika reflects on her life, her lack of interest in food and fashion, her desperate attempts to stay thin, and her childhood with her single mother Misaki after her parents’ divorce.
Reiko interrupts Rika’s thoughts, asking about her work. Rika has been trying “to get permission to cover Manako Kajii” (12), a popular food blogger recently convicted of killing three suitors she met online. They chat about the case, its misogynistic bent, and Kajii’s attendance at Le Salon de Miyuko, a women’s cooking school. Reiko suggests that Rika write to Kajii asking for a recipe so she’ll agree to see Rika at the Detention House. Reiko and Ryōsuke continue talking about food, inspiring Rika’s reflections on Kajii’s love of butter.
At work, Rika and her colleague Kitamura chat about their upcoming meeting in the staff room. Meanwhile, Yoshinori Shinoi, a news agency editor, appears on the television. Their conversation gives Rika an idea and she races back to her desk, where her colleague Yū Uchimura chastises her about a box of Kajii’s blog printouts that’s in the way. Rika tears through the posts, reflecting on Kajii’s early life in Niigata.
Rika reads other articles about Kajii, too, realizing that the public has primarily criticized her for being overweight since her conviction. She considers her relationship with her body and with her boyfriend, Makoto Fujimura. Then, she receives Kajii’s reply to her recent letter. Kajii agrees to see Rika as long as they solely discuss food and don’t mention her case.
At the Tokyo Detention House, Kajii’s appearance surprises Rika. At the mention of cooking, Kajii rants about the difference between margarine and butter and her hatred of feminists. She then tasks Rika with making a simple recipe so they can discuss it. On her way out, Rika reflects on Kajii’s surprising opinions and food descriptions.
That night, Rika buys a rice cooker and prepares Kajii’s recipe, overwhelmed by the flavors. The buttered rice reminds her of Little Babaji. She makes another portion, telling herself she’s researching.
Chapter 2 Summary
The next week, Rika tries visiting and writing to Kajii, but Kajii refuses to see her. Meanwhile, Rika tries new recipes, referring to Kajii’s blog. One night, she makes tarako pasta. Savoring the flavors, Rika reflects on the stories about Kajii’s alleged victims and the meals she made them before their deaths. One man died in the bath, another died in his sleep, and the other fell in front of a train. Some people believed they were accidents or deaths by suicide, while others accused Kajii.
Makoto texts Rika, asking to spend the night. She cooks him a serving of pasta when he arrives. He eats it in silence and then confronts Rika for trying too hard. He reminds her she doesn’t need to be domestic or take care of him. Rika lies awake feeling disappointed and hurt.
Rika reads Kajii’s blog post from Christmas 2012. She tries visiting Kajii again, but Kajii won’t see her. Instead, Rika visits the Detention shop and sends some treats to Kajii. On the train afterward, she thinks about her weight, women’s bodies, and Kajii’s story.
Rika meets up with Yoshinori Shinoi for drinks. He’s been her contact for some time and has given her tips for new stories. They meet regularly, eating, drinking, and chatting pleasantly. She tells him about Kajii, and he gives her some advice. They chat about the public opinion of her case and Kajii’s supposed devotion to her lovers. The conversation turns to loneliness and food. Afterward, Rika reflects on the stories Kajii’s victims told about their relationships with Kajii before their deaths. They didn’t like Kajii’s looks but wanted to be with her because they feared dying alone. Rika scoffs at these notions, convinced she’d never embrace self-destruction to avoid loneliness.
Kajii writes to Rika, thanking her for her gifts and asking her to eat a Christmas cake from West Bakery for her and then to visit and tell her about the experience. Rika calls Reiko for help finding the cake, as it’s sold out everywhere. Ryōsuke works for a confectionary and invites Rika to his facility to try the West Bakery cake. The flavor overwhelms her, lingering in her mouth as she walks out into the snow. She goes to see Kajii and describes the experience.
Chapter 3 Summary
On New Year’s Day, Rika receives a message from Shinoi about the Detention House cuisine while she’s staying at her mother’s. She folds up her futon, studies the apartment, and reflects on her childhood and mother’s solitary life. Misaki spends most of her time caring for her ailing father, who treats her poorly. When Misaki returns home from another difficult visit, Rika tries cheering her up by toasting and buttering mochi for them. Then she takes Misaki past Kajii’s old apartment and out for food. At the restaurant, Rika is glad Misaki’s mood seems to have improved. They finish their meal and talk about visiting Rika’s father’s grave but don’t go to the cemetery.
On January 4, Rika meets with another client who comments on her weight. Shortly thereafter, Makoto texts asking if she gained weight and warning her that she’ll lose respect at work if she doesn’t take care of herself. Upset, Rika makes a date with Reiko and asks her opinion on the matter. Reiko assures her she looks fine but looks upset when Rika mentions Kajii and her cooking experiments. Rika changes the subject, asking for Reiko’s culinary advice.
During Rika’s next visit with Kajii, Kajii talks about her mother’s obsession with dieting. She scolds Rika for worrying about her weight, insisting men really like full-figured women. She then tasks Rika with visiting the French restaurant Robuchon, where she often went with her last victim, Tokio Yamamura. She then monologizes about women’s and men’s roles, insisting women must care for men.
Outside, Rika reflects on her visit, feeling bad about herself. She’s gained more weight and hasn’t had time to exercise. Dismissing her anxieties, she decides to focus on the case and book a reservation at Robuchon.
Chapter 4 Summary
At Robuchon, the restaurant’s opulence stuns Rika. The food’s richness moves her. Eating alone, she thinks about Kajii’s life and the media’s theories about her identity. Rika wonders if Kajii really did fancy herself to be Holly Golightly from Breakfast at Tiffany’s. At the meal’s end, Rika finds herself wanting more.
Rika doesn’t feel well after her Robuchon dinner. With Reiko’s help, she tries eating blander foods to recover. Over soup, Rika mentions Kajii’s extravagant lifestyle and again notices Reiko’s demeanor shift. She tries softening Reiko by mentioning The Story of Little Babaji, but Reiko doesn’t like how she’s comparing the story to Kajii’s story, insisting Kajii is to blame for the men’s deaths, not the men.
After Reiko leaves, Yū tells Rika how lovely Reiko is and remarks on how much she seems to admire Rika. She then starts talking about her and Makoto’s shared love for the girl band Scream.
That evening, Rika and Makoto go out for dinner. Over a bland meal, Rika explains why she’s gained weight. Makoto starts talking at length about a woman’s image and self-care, which irks Rika. After dinner, Makoto suggests staying at Rika’s, but she declines.
At the Detention House, Rika tells Kajii about Makoto and his comments about their body. Kajii insists he’s immature and stingy and recommends Rika pursue older, affluent men. She also insists Rika should never eat “things she [doesn’t] want to eat” (115). Reflecting on her recent weight change, Rika realizes Kajii loves not only food and sex but also her body.
Rika meets with Shinoi at a new restaurant. She immediately announces that she’s gained weight, afraid he’ll mention it. He insists he hadn’t noticed. Throughout the dinner, Rika feels at ease, remembering why she likes Shinoi. Outside afterward, she and Shinoi walk close together, reminding Rika she’s entirely alone.
Back at the Detention House, Rika asks Kajii for an exclusive interview, arguing it could help her upcoming retrial and inspire other women. Kajii insists she hates women and doesn’t care to support them. Remembering Shinoi’s advice, Rika says she wants the interview because she wants to be Kajii’s friend. Kajii scoffs, insisting she only wants worshippers.
Chapters 1-4 Analysis
Chapters 1-4 introduce the novel’s primary characters, conflicts, stakes, and themes. Written from the third-person limited point of view, the narrative focuses on the protagonist Rika Machida’s storyline. This means that the narrator inhabits her consciousness and describes the narrative according to Rika’s perspective. The way that Rika sees the world incites the narrative’s initial tensions and locates Butter’s thematic explorations within Rika’s personal experience. Her visit to her friends Reiko and Ryōsuke Sayama’s house for dinner in Chapter 1 acts as the inciting event, because it is the first time that Rika has had a home-cooked meal and enjoyed her food in some time. Reiko prepares “a selection of large plates, each of a different design and glaze” that sensorially and emotionally awaken Rika (7). Eating the food causes her to have more of an appetite than she has had for a long time and thus enlivens her engagement in life. This scene introduces the theme of Cooking as Love and Care. The dinner is symbolic of family and friendship, enjoyment, and ease—notions that have not been a part of Rika’s life, given her solitary living situation and singular focus on work. Once she discovers the simple pleasure of sharing good food with people she knows, she begins to question her lifestyle and her recent disengagement from her relationships.
Rika’s dinner with Reiko and Ryōsuke also deepens her investment in Manako Kajii and offers her a throughway into Kajii’s case. While Kajii is publicly known for her alleged involvement in multiple “suspicious” deaths in the city, she is also widely known for her blog, “a string of descriptions of extravagant foods and other luxuries which she […] kept updating right up until the day before her capture” (12). Rika’s sudden interest in food offers her an organic opportunity to connect with Kajii. Food, cooking, and recipes give them something to talk about and gradually begin to endear the unexpected characters to each other. Indeed, Rika asks Kajii about the food she’s made because, according to Reiko, “[w]omen who love to cook are so delighted when someone asks them for a recipe that they’ll tell you all kinds of things you haven’t asked for along with it” (15). Rika is using food and recipes as a way to get close to Kajii and manipulate information out of her. However, as soon as she starts talking to Kajii about cooking and food, her senses are heightened, and she’s thrust into a new and unfamiliar world. The novel uses Rika’s attempts to get to know Kajii via cooking to highlight that food is inherently a way to share and connect with others. Rika’s newfound cooking experiments and adventures simultaneously usher her along her Quest for Self-Realization and Liberation. Food quickly becomes an agent for change in Rika’s life, as it gives her a way to branch out of her insular, predictable reality and experience the world in new and exciting ways.
In Chapters 1-4, repeated images and descriptions of butter, a recurring motif in the novel, underscore the symbolic resonance of good food. In Chapter 1, for example, the way that Kajii describes the taste of quality butter on plain rice captures the healing and awakening properties of the ingredient:
Cool butter and warm rice. First of all, savor the difference in their temperatures. Then, the two will melt alongside one another, mingle together, and form a golden fountain, right there inside your mouth. Even without seeing it, you just know that it’s golden—that’s the way it tastes. You’ll sense the individual grains of rice coated in butter, and an aromatic fragrance as if the rice were being fried will ascend to your nose. A rich, milky sweetness will spread itself across your tongue (31).
Kajii’s use of diction like “melt,” “mingle,” “golden,” “fountain,” “aromatic,” “fragrance,” “rich,” and “milky” vividly describes the experience. She uses sensory detail that captivates Rika and, in turn, inspires her to go in search of good butter and replicate Kajii’s recipe. The butter indeed offers Rika a sensory and spiritual awakening, which makes her realize how stingy and bland her life has been thus far. This is why she started experimenting with various recipes, cooking for herself, preparing food for her mother and boyfriend, and visiting new restaurants. The richness of the butter is a metaphor for the richness of life Rika can experience if she opens her heart and mind. In these ways, Rika’s burgeoning food explorations launch her self-discovery journey and compel her to care for herself and others in new ways. While visiting Kajii is indeed a way to work on her article, these visits also enliven Rika to her banal reality and grant her access to a more vibrant way of existing.
