Ep. 09 Atsuko's Lunch
Written by Cordelia Shan; edited by Grace
In this episode,
Listen to full episode, we are going to talk about a novel called ランチのアッコちゃん (Atsuko’s Lunch) and its TV adaptation.
Summary
Atsuko’s Lunch is based on a novel series by Asako Yuzuki, and was first published in 2013. It was later adapted into a TV series, which aired on NHK on May 12, 2015. There are three books in this series, and the TV show is only an adaptation of the first two books, Atsuko’s Lunch and Three O’Colock’s Atsuko. The last book of this series is titled Management’s Atsuko.
Michiko, the main character, works as a contract worker at a company in Tokyo. In the beginning of the story, she has no personality and is always treated unfairly and pushed around by others. Her boyfriend breaks up with her because she is boring and never says no to anything. One day, she loses her appetite over her lunch, which was put together by leftovers. Her boss, Atsuko, walks by and suggests a one-week-long lunch exchange between the two of them, which is where the story starts.
The Writer and the Story
After graduating from university, Writer Asako Yuzuki majored in French Literature and dreamed of becoming a scriptwriter; she first worked at a part-time TV Show production company, then at a candy-making company, and then as a contract tutor at a tutoring company.
While working at the candy-making company, Yukuzi read the book Sugar Time by Yoko Ogawa, and she was comforted by the sweets and food in the books.
Meanwhile, she kept on writing. In an interview Yuzuki did with WEB Book Magazine in 2011; she talked about her path to becoming a writer. When she worked at a tv show production company, she had experience producing a plot for a suspense drama, where she learnt that everyone could be trained to be a professional writer. But she was also tired of the rules and limitations of script writing for TV Channels. Later, Yuzuki decided to write novels, even though it was difficult for her at first.
In 2008, Yuzuki won the All Yominomo Prize for New Writer Award for a short story; the same year she debuted as a writer. Yuzuki loves to write and translate, as well as food. She was even an instructor at a pastry company at one point. No wonder so many of her books are about food, or have a connection with food.
It is true that art, especially literature, comes above real life. Yuzuki’s previous life and working experience provide a lot of material for her writing. With the dream of becoming a writer, Yuzuki lives as a writer. She lives and observes with a camera and processes those frames with a unique medium connected with food, self-care, self-love, and human relationships.
Ambiguity and hidden metaphors, which are very common in Japanese art and culture, make it hard to capture for Western audiences. True. In East Asian culture, the direct impact written in black and white has no meaning at all. Good writing is not just about rhyming but engaging thinking. However, Yuzuki’s work is more “in-your-face.” There is impact even with common ambiguity and hidden metaphors. I thought that was why her book, Butter, was translated into English, and is very popular among many readers in English-speaking countries.
Going back to this, Atsuko’s Lunch is a book about food, and also about life at the workplace and food and human relationships or mentorships. All those keywords point to another important topic of this story: nurturing. Food nurtures the body, and Atsuko Kurokawa nurtures the young Michiko. The heroines, Atsuko and Michiko, are a great contrast and fresh character. Each volume is a collection of our uplifting stories, which happen in seven days, and Michiko’s changes within a week.
The Story - You Are What You Eat
We are what we eat, and the same applies to our approach to life.
In the first part of the story. One day during her lunch break, after passing by and hearing Michiko sigh at the lunch box built with leftovers, Atsuko tells her directly, “there is nothing wrong with eating leftovers, but it's not good to eat them with a miserable attitude. You will have a miserable attitude towards life and even yourself.”
Then they start a week-long lunch exchange. Atsuko eats Michiko’s lunch box, and Michiko goes to Atsuko’s lunch spots.
In the story, Atsuko Kurokawa, a female in a management position(which was not very common in Japanese companies ten years ago), is the head of the department and is Michiko’s boss. She is beautiful, strong, and also empowered.
Michiko, who is quiet and shy, often finds it hard to express her feelings and emotions. Michiko who is only doing general administrative work.
On day one of their lunch exchange, the warm Indian-style curry rice at a tiny hidden restaurant opened Michiko’s stomach and her eyes. Michiko’s lunch box is high-protein but oily Western-style food to please her boss. Because of the high cholesterol in the food, Atsuko ordered Japanese-style food for the next day. Michiko starts thinking about how to eat healthily and even gets a book on healthy eating.
On day two, while Jogging to a smoothie food truck from their office, Michiko meets her ex-boyfriend on the way there and does not make it to the food truck. Michiko runs back to the office without having lunch and even says no for the first time when she receieves pressure from Atsuko.
“There are only two syllables of no, i ya, i ya. Why is it so hard for you to say it?” Atsuko asks.
On day three, with the accomplishment of saying no, Michiko jogs again and gets her body ready for a healthy and delicious smoothie and chicken wrap.
On day four, Michiko makes a lunch box by following the healthy eating book. Michiko is also sent to the top of the roof of their office building and has Okominoyaki with a mysterious old man. She learns that there is not only one way to do things, andshe needs to be more creative. Afterwards, she even works overtime for a project, and is able to say no to the jerk ex-boyfriend for the first time, loud and clear.
On day five, she hands in her creative project proposal to help the curry restaurant she went to on Monday. Besides serving the curry, she also makes food. After learning to be more creative, she ends up developing a new menu for the restaurant. Michiko learns that creativity can be found everywhere in life, and not just at work.
Atsuko does not say a lot to mentor Michiko. After seeing her potential, she pushes Michiko to learn through her actions. In one of the later episodes, Atsuko asks, “Do you want to have a life change? Then start with changing the food you eat. Our body is made up of what we eat; we are what we eat, and the same applies to our life. “
Females at Workplace/Mentorship/Relationships
Besides food, Asako Yuzuki’s works often focus on women. After reading many of her books, I found the female image in Yuzuku’s writing is extremely diverse and three-dimensional, which I cannot appreciate enough.
If we only talk about the female image in Atsuko’s Lunch, Atsuko might still be uncommon in Japan but very common elsewhere. At the Japanese book reading tracker website, Book Meter, some readers comment that Atskuko’s strength is overwhelming. Why is it still hard for people to accept a female with a strong personality in 2023?
On the topic of women in management positions or empowerment, Yuzuki can be following the stereotype; for example, Atsuko and another supervisor that Michiko had later in another department are unpredictable, and like to give young people a hard time, which I disagree with. But, in terms of Japan’s hierarchical social structure, it makes sense.
Food is the primary nourishment for our body. Similar to how Atsuko mentors or nourishes Michiko.
Michiko asks why Atsuko is willing to mentor her. Atsuko answers, “there is a proverb from the Middle East - whoever can make a cup of good tea can do anything well.” Atsuko sees Michiko’s potential through the tea Michiko makes. Also, Michiko reminds Atsuko of her mother, who did not know how to cook and take good care of herself. So, Atsuko was happy to invest in her. Another important factor is Michiko herself was willing to be helped.
I personally learnt so much by reading this book and watching the TV show. For example, I remember to consider every task or job, even if it’s just a room booking or ordering take-out. Or when someone asks a question that is too personal, the best way to avoid it is to redirect the question back to the person.
With all the foster and cultivation from Atsuko, Michiko later gains the trust of her bosses, passes the exam and becomes a permanent employee; then, in the third book, she does a great job at a higher-ranking department.
This almost perfect mentor relationship got me thinking: how often could that happen in real life?
First of all, as far we know, there are few female employees in management positions. Second, how many of them are willing to level up the younger generation, but not see them as a threat and put them down? Bullying and gender or age jealousy are expected in any workplace and any professional area.
And here it goes – the best way for individuals to avoid and end unhealthy or toxic patterns is by working on themselves by practicing self-case and self-love. And, have books like this one as a mentor, to guide those who need advice on both professional and personal development.
Females’ Voice and Self Care and Self Love
In the story, 15 years ago, Atsuko’s mother passed away from cancer. Atsuko’s mother did not know how to cook and always ate frozen food, which caused her death. That is how Atsuko realised that food equals life.
For Atsuko, thinking seriously about what to make and what to eat for lunch and having them that day is the first step of self-care. And saying no is the first step in practising self-love.
I believe my listeners might already notice that self-love and self-care are quite different in the East and West. In most of the tv shows or books we talked about in this podcast, there is no easy solution, or there is no extreme of doing or not doing anything. Looking at self-care tips online, you’ll probably see common advice that is seen almost everywhere: eat well, exercise, sleep, go outside and, of course, drink more water.
But here is one core thing that I found is missing: without practicing self-love, self-care does not exist. Practising self-love is not being selfish but learning about yourselfand creating the necessity for yourself. Most of the time, only we can create space for ourselves, and seek the balance within our own body. Then, we can help and give love to the outside world and other people.
Atsuko, in the book, expresses that, “if you don’t even know how to love yourself, you won’t be able to receive or deliver it to anyone else.”
Ending
In 2015, when I watched this TV show for the first time and then read the book in 2016, I was a student living aboard alone in my mid-20s. I took on five part-time jobs and went to school full-time. the idea of self-care and self-love did not register with me. Back then, all I thought about was surviving. I did not get the core idea of the story at the time.
This year, to write for this podcast, I reread the book and felt like I understood the core message of the story for the first time. Everyone is so busy around us; therefore, we have to take care of ourselves – self-care and self-love are a part of being an adult, and we all need to keep learning about practicing them.
Suppose you, my listeners, agree that life is three-dimensional. In that case, culture has multiple layers, and no notion takes anything for granted. In that case, Asako Yuzuki’s works are for you, and you might enjoy Atsuko’s Lunch as well.
Reference
Book on Amazon Japan: https://amzn.asia/d/5pJcNmQ
TV Show Website in Japanese: https://www6.nhk.or.jp/drama/pastprog/detail.html?i=3504
