03-03-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
Writer Asako Yuzuki talks food, culture and the inspiration behind Butter
I was born in Tokyo in 1981. At that time,
Tokyo still had the atmosphere of the 1960s and 70s . The sky felt high and the buildings were kind of dreamy and dramatic-looking. I now appreciate that that time was precious. My father was a salaryman and my mother worked in the clothing industry. As a child, I loved reading and read widely. My favourite authors were Frances Eliza Hodgson Burnett, Lucy Maud Montgomery,
Louisa May Alcott , Astrid Anna Emilia Lindgren and Margaret Rumer Godden. I loved imagining new cities, unknown foods and cultures.
All things Parisienne
Asako Yuzuki attended Rikkyo University. Photo: Shutterstock
When I was 15, I became very ill. The experience had a huge impact on me. I became quite anxious, but it also made me much more resilient. I learned how to stand on my own feet and act when I saw an opportunity. During my high school years, fashion magazines were popular, and many Japanese people were obsessed with 'Parisienne' images. Naturally, I also became obsessed with all things Parisienne. I went to Rikkyo University to study French literature. I was attracted to the way it portrayed human relationships with an emphasis on dialogue.
The write thing
Portrait of French writer Pierre Choderlos de Laclos (1741-1803). Photo: Leemage/Corbis
At university, I was exposed to many films, books and people, and I began to form my own tastes and preferences. I had visions of becoming a scriptwriter for television dramas, so I took up writing as a part-time job. I was paid to write dialogue and plots, but not stories. I didn't become fluent in French at university, but I researched the representations of monasteries in the works of French novelists
Pierre Choderlos de Laclos and Honoré de Balzac. I still feel these authors' influence on my writing today.
The sweet spot
