Hinako Nakazawa: Before Becoming a Novelist

2018/10/22

(Photography: Toshimitsu Kokufu)

I make my living writing novels.

My debut work was "Otosan to Ito-san" (Father and Mr. Ito). It was adapted into a film with a star-studded cast including Juri Ueno, Lily Franky, and Tatsuya Fuji, so many people may have seen it even if they haven't read the original book. My fourth work, "PTA Grandpa!", was adapted into a drama starring Ken Matsudaira on NHK BS Premium last spring, and due to its popularity, Part 2 was aired this spring. Some of you may have seen that as well.

Writing it out like this, one might think I've had smooth sailing in my life as a novelist, but that is actually not the case at all. Originally, I worked as a playwright. Since I started while still in school, it has been nearly 30 years. Although I received several awards, as everyone knows, plays don't pay the bills. I continued writing plays while working part-time jobs.

In 2012, I thought to myself that things were getting truly dire. I couldn't make a living. So, I decided to try my hand at the field of novels, which I had never written before. I wrote three novels in one year and applied for newcomer awards hosted by major publishers, but they were all ruthlessly rejected. Despair. Rock bottom. At the end of the year, with a sense of half-resignation—thinking this would be the last time and that I would get a job if this failed—I applied for the Shosetsu Gendai New Writer's Prize for Full-Length Fiction hosted by Kodansha. Fortunately, this made it to the final selection and was reviewed by a committee of prominent authors, including Shizuka Ijuin.

I still remember the day of the selection meeting well. Since the selection started at 4:00 PM, Kodansha told me to stay on standby to ensure I could answer the phone. Shortly after 6:00 PM, the home phone rang. I picked up the receiver with trembling hands. "Mama, it's me!" It was my daughter's voice. She had made a prank call from her cell phone in another room of the house. I think that prank call shortened my life by three years. But thanks to that, my tension vanished instantly.

At 6:30 PM, this time my cell phone started ringing. I pressed the call button. A low male voice came through. "This is the Shosetsu Gendai editorial department. Ms. Nakazawa, your entry has been selected as the winning work. Will you accept it?" Of course I'll accept it; how could I not? My family was making a fuss around me. Mixed with the voice on the phone, I certainly heard the sound of a heavy, thick, giant door swinging open.

And that is the story of the time before I became a novelist. If by some chance I am requested again, I think I will write the sequel.