![]() ![]() It’s just as cruel as it always was,’ Sukegawa writes. Though she is no longer legally required to be removed from society, public perceptions are still harsh. In Japan, those with leprosy were isolated from society, unable to work or interact, until the ban was lifted in 1996. Unfortunately for Tokue, there is a large stigma around leprosy. ‘ Are you telling me to fire someone who’s not sick, just because she was in the past?’ ![]() As is Sentaro, the ex-con turned pancake maker who is reluctant to hire her fearing she will be too old and slow for the labor but changes his mind after tasting her sweet bean paste. It helps because much of this comes from Tokue, an elderly woman who’s hands have become gnarled due to Hansen’s disease, is so endearing a character. It is indeed rather sweet as confectionery but manages to never seem overly saccharine even as it delivers big sweeping messages on interconnectedness and people being our footholds to know we are part of a big, beautiful cosmic existence. This was a charming little novella and made for a nice final read for 2022, so thank you to Nenia for recommending it (read her wonderful review here). And that's how I was able to live out my life.’ I made sweet things for all those who lived with the sadness of loss. Durian Sukegawa delivers a lovely book that tackles a difficult piece of Japanese history surrounding the treatment of people with leprosy that becomes a moving statement not just about accepting and understanding one another and history, but also about embracing and including. While fairly simple itself, it is still effectively affecting and spirals through moments both heart-warming and heart-wrenching as the characters face the trials and tribulations of life with grace and remind us all to be open to love and acceptance. Short and with a simple but direct prose, wonderfully translated by Alison Watts, Sweet Bean Paste is a story as sweet as the title would imply, making for an idyllic little read. In Sweet Bean Paste by Durian Sukegawa, an unlikely friendship between an formerly incarcerated confectionary shop worker, the 78 year old woman he hires and a troubled teen girl becomes an emotional investigation into stigmas around identity and health and demonstrates that the only thing shameful about them are the stigmas themselves. Social stigmas are an oppressive force, particularly in societies when one’s value is often determined by the profitability of one’s labor for others. Phone orders min p&p of £1.99.‘ We are born in order to see and listen to the world.’ Free UK p&p over £10, online orders only. To order a copy for £7.64 (RRP £8.99) go to or call 03. Sweet Bean Paste is published by Oneworld. Depending on your inclinations, you may find this simply delicious or cloyingly sweet – like Tokue’s bean paste. He, in turn, faces his demons and embraces a very Japanese doctrine of restorative hard work. Tokue braves widespread prejudice to leave her community and teach struggling dorayaki pancake-maker Sentaro how to cook sweet bean paste. But what purpose is to be found for those individuals, such as leprosy-sufferer Tokue, who are deprived of an opportunity to contribute to society by being shut away in prison-like hospitals most of their lives? Leaning heavily on a sentimental philosophy of cosmic interconnectedness, Sukegawa makes Tokue his mouthpiece to promote a belief that humans exist to verify the existence of the universe. ![]() A common answer to this, in Japan, is that one must be “a useful member of society”. In an endnote, Sukegawa writes that he wanted to explore what “life is all about”. U ntil 1996, leprosy patients in Japan were forcibly isolated in sanatoriums, despite growing awareness that the disease was treatable and not very contagious: the disfigurement the disease could cause contributed to the prolonged policy of quarantine, even for the cured. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |