The Japan Society
13 / 14 Cornwall Terrace
London NW1 4QP
Free for Japan Society Members
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Japanese version available here
Sweet Bean Paste is a moving novel about the burden of the past and the redemptive power of friendship. Its protagonist Sentaro spends his days in a tiny confectionery shop selling dorayaki. He has a criminal record, drinks too much, and his dream of becoming a writer is just a distant memory. But everything changes when he meets Tokue, an elderly woman with a troubled past who teaches him how to make the best sweet bean paste Sentaro has ever tasted. As their friendship flourishes, social pressures become impossible to escape and Tokue’s dark secret is revealed.
Durian Sukegawa (b. 1962) is a Japanese writer, poet and musician born in Tokyo. He grew up in Kobe and Nagoya and studied oriental philosophy at Waseda University, before going on to work as a reporter in Berlin and Cambodia in the early 1990s. He has written a number of books and essays, TV programmes and films.
To reserve your place, please call the Japan Society office on 020 3075 1996 or email events@japansociety.org.uk or submit the online booking form.
