About the author:
Mitsuko KAKUTA, born in 1967, authored more than 40 books (novels, short stories, essays) and is considered one of Japan’s most popular authors.
In the Japanese literary scene he is regarded as a representative author of so-called freeter novels, a genre that stands for socially critical contemporary literature.
The author has been awarded several prizes: Noma Literary New Face Prize, Chûô Kôron Literary Prize, Naoki Prize, et al.
English translations of some of his works:
The Eighth Day, Kodansha International Ltd. 2010, translated by Margaret Mitsutani
English translations of her short stories in the Asia Literary Review and Japanese Literature Today
Mama’s Boy: A Short Story, Kindle Single (2015)
Good Luck Bag: A Short Story, Kindle Single (2015)
Moving the Birds: A Short Story, Kindle Single (2015)
Pieces: : A Short Story, Kindle Single (2015)

About the book:
Translation of the title: The Cicada of the Eighth Day
Original language: Japanese
346 pages
ISBN978-4-12-003816-7 C0093
Publisher: Chûô Kôron Shinsha in Japan
Initially published in 2005 as a series in the daily newspaper Yomiuri Shinbun
Published as a book in 2007
English translation: The Eighth Day, Kodansha International Ltd. 2010, translated by Margaret Mitsutani
Has been made into a television drama series (2010) and a film (2011)

Subject:
This novel focuses on a child kidnapping and the development of the abducted girl up to the age of 21. What is special about this novel is that it not only deals with a child abduction and an extremely exciting four-year period when the young woman is on the run with the little girl, but also with the question of how a kidnapped child develops after she returns to her parents and the effects this experience can have on the inner psyche of both the abducted girl and her parents. A second central set of themes is the psychological distress and emotional turmoil faced by a young woman who loves a married man — who promises to marry her, but in reality does not want to and cannot separate from his family — as well as the deep inner torment she goes through when she becomes pregnant and has to make a decision.  
Prologue:
An omniscient narrator tells the story, but also the thoughts of one protagonist, Kiwako, are described in detail.
Kiwako, a young woman and an ordinary office worker, is in love with a married man. An unwanted abortion causes her to snap. She invades the apartment of her lover since she wants to have a look at his baby. But the baby, Erina, is so sweet that Kiwako suddenly decides to take it with her.
Chapter 1: First-person narrator: Kiwako tells her story in a diary-like way.
Kiwako gives the baby the name Kaoru and hides in different places, e. g. at a friend’s house, at an old woman’s house and in an all-female religious commune, a kind of sect, where they live for a long time. But when the commune is in danger of being exposed, they flee again and go to the little island of Shôdoshima in the Japanese Inland Sea. Kiwako takes loving care of Kaoru during the whole four years of her escape. So the reader feels more and more sympathy for her and finally hopes that she is not discovered. But when Kaoru is about four years old, they are discovered in the end. Kiwako is arrested and Kaoru returns to her family.
Chapter 2: First-person narrator: Kaoru=Erina
At the beginning of the second chapter, Erina is a second-year student. She knows that she was kidnapped as a baby, but her parents did not tell her details. She informed herself by reading books about the abduction. Her mother cannot cope with the situation and often leaves Erina and her sister to their own devices. Erina who experienced much love from Kiwako now grows up without love. But everyone blames Kiwako for this sad situation. Which is why Erina condemns Kiwako. But when she herself gets pregnant by a married man her attitude gradually changes.
Without becoming sentimental in any way, this novel is able to touch the reader deeply. It captures with great psychological depth the emotional world of the two young women who find themselves — albeit staggered in time — in an extremely difficult and surprisingly similar situation.

Translator Dr Heike Patschke presented the book in our pitching session on 3 March 2022.

For further information please contact:

Dr Heike Patzschke
On this website
Barbarastraße 4
D-50374 Erftstadt
Tel: 02235-7940577
E-Mail: [email protected]
www.japan-communication-office.de