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Agence France-Presse

Japanese writer Asako Yuzuki did not expect her novel Butter, hailed as a biting feminist critique of sexism and body shaming, to capture a cult following abroad.
Translated into English in 2024, the tale of murder and misogyny has whetted an insatiable appetite, selling more than 600,000 copies overseas, including 400,000 in Britain – more than in Japan – where it won multiple awards.
Yuzuki was inspired by the real-life story of “Black Widow” Kanae Kijima, a woman sentenced to death in 2012 for poisoning three men she met online.
The sensationalised media coverage at the time largely focused on Kijima’s appearance, speculating how someone described as unattractive could be considered a femme fatale.

Many credited her romantic success to her homemaking prowess in the kitchen.
“When the case broke, the Japanese media mainly remembered that the suspect liked to cook and took classes … to ‘please men’,” Yuzuki said in an interview. “That deeply disturbed me.”
In Butter, a journalist likewise disquieted by the portrayal of a Kijima-like character – renamed Kajii – writes to the jailed suspect, hoping to secure an interview by appealing to her gourmet tastes.
Via a letter soliciting the beef stew recipe that Kajii reportedly fed her final victim, the pair begin an intimate and life-changing relationship.
This proves a vehicle for Yuzuki to chew over the roots of misogyny in Japan, where traditional male and female roles still dominate and women are held to impossible beauty standards.
In politics and boardrooms, for example, women remain rare. Japan ranks 118th out of 146 in the World Economic Forum’s 2025 Gender Gap Report.
“Japan is a deeply patriarchal country. Very often, it is the father who occupies the central position within the family unit. This is the basis for laws, even,” Yuzuki said.

Food – particularly butter, that artery-blocking symbol of pleasure and excess – forms the molten core of the story.
Through sumptuous descriptions of butter-rich ramen and lavishly buttered rice, Yuzuki explores the tension between indulging appetites and the self-denial required to fulfil the societal pressure on women to stay thin.
“There is an incredible amount of adverts for weight loss, cosmetic surgery and diets. This country is obsessed with fatphobia,” Yuzuki said.
It is also tough for women in Japan, where the #MeToo movement never really took off, to speak out about discrimination and sexual assault.
Shiori Ito, a journalist who took the rare step of publicly accusing a prominent Japanese television reporter of rape – a charge he denies – is a case in point.

Ito’s documentary Black Box Diaries, which was nominated for an Oscar, was not released in Japan because it used material recorded clandestinely or intended for judicial use only.
“In other countries, especially the United States, from the beginning of #MeToo, many well-known journalists have seriously investigated these cases, and it is because this information was made public officially that the victims were able to be protected,” Yuzuki said.
But in Japan, “Women who have had the courage to speak out are reduced to the role of activists and consumed by the media within that framework,” she said.
Another example is Masahiro Nakai, a boy band member and television presenter accused of sexual assault. He initially disputed the facts and then apologised.
The scandal shone a spotlight on the toxic culture of women being pressed into attending dinners and drinking parties with powerful figures.

“What strikes me is this uninterrupted chain of sexual violence, and especially that these are crimes committed within one organisation, covered up by another organisation … that of the media,” Yuzuki said.
She is convinced that change can only come from outside.
“When foreigners take up a topic, especially the English-language media, it completely changes the way it is perceived in Japan,” she said.
If the European media continues to be interested in these issues, she said, then “the situation could perhaps change a little”.


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Books and literature

How foodie novel Butter stirs up Japan’s issues with sexism, misogyny and body shaming

Japanese author Asako Yuzuki speaks during an interview in Tokyo on June 24, 2025. Her new novel Butter was inspired by the real-life story of “Black Widow” Kanae Kijima, a woman sentenced to death in 2012 for poisoning three men she met online. Photo: AFP

The cover of Asako Yuzuki’s novel.

Yuzuki did not expect her novel to capture a cult following abroad, let alone be hailed as a feminist critique of sexism and body-shaming. Photo: AFP

Journalist Shiori Ito speaks with reporters in 2019 after hearing the ruling on a lawsuit she filed, accusing a former television reporter of rape. Photo: AFP

Yuzuki says Japan is a deeply patriarchal country. Photo: AFP

What is tsukudani? Popular Japanese preserved dish with more than 200 years of tradition

Tsukudani is a traditional dish in Japan dating back to the samurai Edo era more than 200 years ago. Photo: Shutterstock

Tsukudani is made with seafood that is simmered in a sweet and savoury sauce. Photo: Shutterstock

These days, tsukudani is often mass-produced at modern factories. Photo: Shutterstock

Seaweed tsukudani and cream cheese on a rice ball. Photo: Instagram/oyamada_japan

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Mary-Louise Parker in a still from The Institute (2025). Photo: Chris Reardon/MGM+

Ben Barnes in a still from The Institute. Photo: MGM+

Joe Freeman in a still from The Institute (2025). Photo: Chris Reardon/MGM+

(From left) Fionn Laird, Mary-Louise Parker and Simone Miller in a still from The Institute. Photo: MGM+

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The Archangel Michael features in an illustration containing a toxic pigment in a book that forms part of an exhibit at The Walters Art Museum in the US. The exhibit looks at toxic pigments used for millennia to illustrate and bind books. Photo: The Walters Art Museum/TNS

If Books Could Kill is an exhibit that looks at toxic pigments used for millennia to illustrate and bind books. Photo: The Walters Art Museum/TNS

A page from a book in the exhibit. Photo: Instagram/thewaltersartmuseum

“Treatise on Elephants”, an illustration containing a toxic pigment, forms part of the exhibit. Photo: TNS

The drawing by Carel. The tree, the boy’s coat and the coat worn by the pointing man were all painted with deadly Paris green. Photo: The Walters Art Museum/TNS

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Cecilia Cheung at the 23rd Hong Kong Film Awards in 2004. The actress’ personal life garnered a lot of attention in the 2000s, with tabloids covering scandals and her high-profile romantic life. Photo: SCMP

Cheung in 1999. Photo: Oliver Tsang

Cheung speaks after receiving the award for best new performer, as veteran actors Liza Wang and Danny Lee look on, at the 19th Hong Kong Film Awards in 2000. Photo: Martin Chan

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Lifestyle

Food & Drink

Culture

Books

Asako Yuzuki’s novel has gained a cult following around the world for skewering Japan on its problems with how women are viewed and treated


Asako Yuzuki’s novel has gained a cult following around the world for skewering Japan on its problems with how women are viewed and treated.


Japan

Women and gender

Gender

Food and Drinks

How foodie novel Butter stirs up Japan’s issues with sexism, misogyny and body shaming

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Asako Yuzuki’s novel has gained a cult following around the world for skewering Japan on its problems with how women are viewed and treated

Asako Yuzuki’s novel has gained a cult following around the world for skewering Japan on its problems with how women are viewed and treated