Butter: A Novel of Food and Murder

Throughout Butter, Asako Yuzuki interrogates the toxic impact of beauty standards in Japan on women’s psyches. In Japanese culture, women are expected to have “light, flawless skin, a slim, petite figure, slender legs, and a quiet personality” (“Modern Japanese Beauty Standards and How They Differ From Other Cultures.” The JBeauty Collection, 15 Nov. 2022). In part, Japan’s geisha tradition and the culture’s traditional kimonos for women inspire these rigid beauty standards. Geishas—professional artists, entertainers, and performers—were valued for their thin figures and pale skin. This tradition is embedded into the culture’s contemporary society and continues to influence how women are regarded vocationally, socially, and sexually. Beauty standards in Japan are also tied to historical notions of leisure, wealth, and ease. Thin women with fair skin were seen as women who could afford specialty face powders and high-quality foods. In contemporary Japanese society, these traditional beauty values are also “embodied by modern J-pop idols” (Young, Nana. “Beauty Boundaries: Mapping the Landscape of Japanese Aesthetics.” Bokksu, 3 June 2024). In Butter, the Scream band that Makoto Fujimura religiously follows until one singer gains weight is a