"I got tired of everything" Kakuta Mitsuyo, 34th year of working style reform, working style, film adaptation... How does she see the future of novels?
1)
Kakuta Mitsuyo won the Naoki Prize for "The Girl on the Other Side" and has many hits, such as "The Eighth Day Semi".
In 2024, her 34th year as a writer, she decided to "change the way I work 180 degrees".
She said she was "sick of everything" about her previous style, which involved always chasing deadlines and sometimes starting to write before her emotions could keep up.
What are her plans for the way she will work in the future? And how does she see the rapid changes in the content industry, including digital?
2)
She changed her working style 180 degrees from 2024 to "bringing in" without accepting offers.
In 2023, I had cancelled all the serialisation commitments I had made up to that point. I had been asked to work for about three years in the future, but I apologised to the companies I had made commitments to and said, "I'm sorry, I can't do that.
From now on, I will challenge myself to write what I want without accepting offers, and when it's finished, I'll take it to a publisher myself.
3)
I'm tired of the whole way of working where you don't know what you want to write; the serialisation deadline approaches, you search for what you want to write, gather material and start writing even if you don't feel up to it.
--What will be the most significant change from before?
Since my debut, I've never written a novel without being asked.
4)
In the beginning (after my debut), I could only write about one story a year, but I was desperate to make space to write, so I accepted all the work that was offered to me until I reached the line where I "physically couldn't do any more."
There was a lot of work before I started translating The Tale of Genji.
Her standard was, "The deadline is 28 stories (a month). I'll turn down any after the 29th one."
Of course, 28 novels are impossible, so I mean including essays and other work.
5)
--It seems complex...
If you keep doing it, you'll gain skill and muscle, and eventually, you'll be able to do it.
But I felt that maybe I should continue like this and go for something else.
That was when the job on The Tale of Genji came along.
Once I finished the whole serial and started Genji, I had no time in between.
I was fortunate to be no to all the other requests while translating.
I was able to rethink my working and writing environment completely.
6)
--Do you feel like you're overflowing with things you want to write, even if you don't get any requests?
I don't know yet. I still have some work to do, like publishing Genji as a paperback. If all goes well, I'll be done with that around the summer, and then I'll start working with no deadlines or work.
Maybe I won't be able to think of anything I want to write, and the novel I brought with me full of anticipation might be rejected.
Maybe next year I'll have a part-time job. There are so many things you don't know until you start.
7)
The theme was decided based on the medium, such as magazine serialisation or newspaper publication.
--How did you decide which topics to cover?
It was based on the medium. For example, the book "Taranto", which came out right after "The Tale of Genji", was originally a serialised novel in the Yomiuri Shimbun.
I was asked to write about it when it was decided that Tokyo would host the Olympics, so I was asked to relate it to that.
8)
Which company made the request? If it was a publishing company, would it be a weekly or literary magazine? What genre and subject did they want me to write about?
In many cases, I would decide based on these aspects, and sometimes I would deal with subjects I thought "I'm not interested in".
9)
--Such undesirable situations will no longer exist in the future, but on the other hand, will you continue not to change your style in the future?
When I think about what to focus on, I value the vague "discomfort" I feel towards society daily, and I don't think that feeling will change.
10)
--In recent years, there have been cases where original authors and creators have had problems with theatrical and film adaptations.
Many of your works have been made into films; how do you feel about that?
Everyone has different opinions about the secondary use of works, so you must respect the original author's argument.
In my case, I don't get involved in secondary use at all. Once I leave it with them, I leave it there. But some people want to be involved, and there are no right or wrong answers. The feelings of the creator should be respected.
11)
--I have heard that writers ' works are like children. How do you reconcile that, Mr Kakuta?
I don't think I have a childlike sense.
When I write and publish a novel, I'm often asked, "What's the message?" but I don't have one.
I just wrote it. If there are ten readers, they will naturally get ten different messages.
12)
I think readers are free to say it's "boring".
It hurts when people say my book is "boring," but I can't correct them and say it's not dull. There's nothing I can do about it.
As for film adaptations, I think films and novels are very different.
People who have seen the film based on the original work, or people who have seen the movie first and then read the original, often say they were "disappointed", but I think I'm missing that concept.
13)
I can't see pictures in my head when I'm writing.
--I heard an episode where Kakuta-san was in tears after seeing the film version of "The Eighth Day Cicada".
I thought Kakuta-san wrote it, and he knew all the plot developments.
Some writers can see pictures in their heads when they write, and some can't.
The first type can immediately remember the actress's name as if the main character were an actress. But I'm the opposite type; I can't see pictures in my head when writing.
14)
So when I see it as a film, I'm surprised, or instead, I'm moved that it's alive.
No matter who plays the main character, I think it's perfect.
For example, in "The Eighth Day Cicada", at the beginning, the main character runs away with a baby in her arms. When I see her in the film, I feel the baby's weight for the first time.
When I saw her carrying the baby and carrying her body to the station and running away, I just burst into tears. I realise how difficult it must be.
Of course, some people are different from me, and some people would be fully involved in casting and other things if it were made into a film.
It's not a question of which is better.
15)
--The Tale of Genji is one of the works published in many different forms, such as modern translations, manga and film adaptations.
What is the reason for Genji being read and handed down?
Through translations of The Tale of Genji, I have concluded, "The reason The Tale of Genji has been read and passed down for a thousand years is not the result of Murasaki Shikibu's power."
16)
I don't think he intended to write something that would be read for a thousand years, and I don't know if he even had a sense of the time of a thousand years.
He just wrote it, and readers have continued to read it. So, the interpretation varies according to the reader and the time.
That's not something the writer can control, and I realised he had no choice but to let go of what he had written.
17)
What is the "role of fiction"?
--With the proliferation of content, including digital, novels no longer have the influence they once did.
What do you think the future holds for fiction writers?
Books are selling less and less, and some literary magazines are going out of business. The number of bookshops has also fallen dramatically, so when you think about it, it's a harsh world.
18)
While translating The Tale of Genji, I wondered why it is so popular and why people read stories.
Amidst all this, I noticed the "narrative theory" in The Tale of Genji. It's a scene where Hikaru Genji talks about what I think is Murasaki Shikibu's way of thinking.
19)
A woman looks at a scroll and wonders if there is someone whose fate is similar to hers.
Hikaru Genji replies, "Women love fake things; they're willing to be deceived.
But he also says: "That being said, what matters, what conveys human activity, is not historical fact, but stories. I've paraphrased my statement, but when I read that scene, I thought, "Ah, that's the answer.
20)
Studying history doesn't tell you how people experience joy and suffering and how they end their lives.
You can get in touch with the truth by reading fiction instead.
I felt that this was the answer given a thousand years ago.
The fact that The Tale of Genji is still read today proves these words are valid.
So, the future of novels and fiction may not be so bright, but I think it will never be zero, even with time.
"I got tired of everything" Kakuta Mitsuyo, 34th year of work style reform, work style, film adaptation... How does she envision the future of novels?
https://toyokeizai.net/articles/-/759242
Thinking about the role of "stories" in turbulent times with author Mitsuyo Kakuta
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTisSyR7c4k&t=620s
