Literary stars can have a precipitous rise in Japan, and few rose as fast as Banana Yoshimoto. The moment she started writing professionally in 1987, she rose to prominence. Her debut novel “Kitchen” won the Kaien Newcomers’ Literary Prize in 1987 and became a peerless bestseller, running an epic 60 printings in Japan.
And while described by some critics in Japan as “light” and “frivolous,” “Kitchen” tells a powerful story written in an intensely beautiful style. The narrator is Mikage, who grows up with her grandmother after losing her parents at a young age. At the beginning of the novel, she is working as a culinary teacher’s assistant. Her grandmother has just passed away, and a childhood friend, Yuichi, reintroduces himself. Yuichi’s mother, Eriko, a transgender woman with a glamorous appearance and personality, is eager to take Mikage into their home and family.