Haruka Tono: Winning the 163rd Akutagawa Prize

When I was at the Hiyoshi Campus, I was in a light music club and played in a band. I didn't go as far as composing my own music; it was more like playing covers of existing songs and enjoying live performances with friends. In my first and second years, I devoted quite a bit of time to music.

The guitar. I didn't get good at all, so I quit after about two years.

I had friends living in Hiyoshi and would stay over at their places, so I have memories of spending a lot of time there. I often walked around "Hiyoura" (the area behind Hiyoshi Station). I also attended classes fairly regularly, so I had many opportunities to go to campus.

I didn't dislike studying law, but to be honest, I found it quite difficult. Up until high school, I could do reasonably well without trying too hard, but many of the law lectures at university were things I couldn't understand just by listening once. I only began to understand after teaching each other among friends, so it felt quite challenging.

I wasn't actually writing while at Hiyoshi, but I was taking classes in the Faculty of Letters, including one taught jointly by Professor Hiroshi Muto and Professor Motoaki Sato. There, we read Mariko Asabuki's novels and wrote our impressions, listened to the professors' thoughts, and I believe there was even an opportunity to act out a scene from a novel.

My interest in literature and novels grew due to the influence of those classes at Hiyoshi. I also remember a time when Haruki Murakami's novels were featured. Until then, I hadn't really read works referred to as "pure literature," so that was the first time I read such works properly. Looking back, I feel it was one of the catalysts that led to my later writing.

I don't feel I've been influenced that much, but I think it was one of the triggers that made me think, "Reading novels is interesting."

Oh, I see. Regarding Haruki Murakami, I thought the way "The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle" begins is very good. It starts with an everyday scene of boiling pasta, and then suddenly a mysterious phone call comes in. It makes you curious about what will happen next and keeps you reading. I feel I learned the art of "grabbing" the reader at the beginning from "The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle."

I wasn't exactly a devoted reader. When I decided to try writing a novel, I wanted a reference or a model. I read various things to see whose writing style felt most natural to me, and as a result, Natsume Soseki's writing seemed the most—how should I put it—free of quirks.

I decided to use it as a model and try writing various things by arranging it in my own way. So, rather than being deeply moved by the content, it was more that I used it as a major reference for the style of writing.

Actually, I haven't read "Light and Dark." I don't have a conscious intention to move the story forward through dialogue, but I suppose I like having characters speak long lines. I write them because it's fun to write.

Yes. I found a complete set of Soseki's works in the Mita Library, and while picking them out and reading them, I thought, "I'll use this as a reference." During my time as a student, I wrote most often in the Mita Library. The third or fourth basement floor is very calming.

It's very suitable for studying or doing any kind of work. Since the complete works of Soseki and other books are right there, I could use them as references. That library was a wonderful environment.

Yes. In my third year of university. I had finished taking most of my credits, so I had some free time. When I thought about doing something new, I thought, "Well, maybe I'll try writing a novel."

I'm often asked that, but nothing in particular comes to mind. I didn't feel much of a hurdle regarding writing novels. On the contrary, compared to other forms of expression like painting or music, it seemed like something I could do right away. I've been reading and writing all my life, so for me, it was more like I started writing novels because the hurdle was low.

There wasn't any particular trigger. When I had time and wanted to start something new, a novel was the easiest thing to start. At first, I might have had a lighthearted attitude toward it.

First, I think I'm the type who writes a fairly solid plot. I write a plot—a blueprint—that is about the same length as the novel itself. Once that's done, I feel I just have to write according to it.

It's not like that.

It's true that people have been calling it nihilism since right after my debut, but I don't really recognize it myself, and I still don't quite understand it. Regarding the distance from the world, people often say I'm "looking at things from a bird's-eye view" or "looking at things with detachment." I suppose that might be true.

Hearing you speak, I just realized for the first time that maybe I was drawn to Soseki as a model because of his dryness. I certainly don't like "damp" or overly emotional writing.

I feel that's somehow different. I don't think nihilism is about the result. I think I consciously write about various things intruding into everyday scenes.

In the first place, I don't write thinking it's nihilism, so it's difficult to state my thoughts on nihilism. As for the future, how should I put it—I don't have much hope. I don't feel like life is going to get richer; if anything, I feel like it's going to get more and more suffocating.

That's right. Basically, I didn't like school very much, so I wanted to get out of there as soon as possible. I feel like I don't get along with people who like school. University is different, though.

In elementary school and such, you had to listen to what the teachers said, and I hated that. I was very bad at doing things exactly as I was told.

Well, even though I disliked it, I had a minimum level of social skills. I watched the TV everyone else was watching and joined clubs, so I think I managed to blend in. However, if you ask whether I liked it or disliked it, I disliked it.

At night and on weekends. I never pull all-nighters, and I don't stay up very late. I go to bed around midnight. Recently, interviews have increased, so I haven't been able to take much time, and my third work isn't progressing as I'd like.

I hope to have it out by the end of January. But I also think there's no need to force it to be on time. It would be bad if I released something mediocre because of that.

It wasn't like I'd be satisfied after writing one or two works. Including those that weren't published after failing to win newcomer awards, I've written eight works now. The fact that I've continued that much must mean something—that it suits me, I guess.

I'm not considering that. After all, I think there's a reason why they failed, so I can't use them as they are. If I were to use them, I'd have to rewrite them significantly, but I think it would probably be faster to create something from scratch.

Occasionally there are things where I think, "Only this idea is interesting," so I might extract just that part and use it.

I had a good feeling even before that, so it wasn't that "Kairyo" was special. Every time, I submitted what I thought was interesting, but the fact that it wasn't easily recognized was actually what didn't sit right with me. I don't think "Kairyo" is particularly superior.

For "Hakyoku," I had debuted and an editor was assigned to me, so I think that made it better. Compared to writing alone, blindly not knowing what is interesting, I was able to write with more confidence. Also, I think I was able to add more substance to "Hakyoku" than "Kairyo," and I think that was good.

I believe there are limits to a single person's ability, and you shouldn't trust it too much. That's why I want to make great use of the opinions of my editor and other reliable readers around me.

Basically, I think I've hardly been influenced at all. Starting music wasn't particularly due to my father's influence, and neither was starting to write novels. We only started keeping in touch recently.

Something I feel I shouldn't forget, or rather something I want to keep in mind, is that among women, there are those who feel threatened or uncomfortable just by a man standing nearby. I think that kind of thing came out in my work.

Yes. I feel like the division of gender roles should be dismantled. I think I probably have that kind of awareness, and it appeared in the novel in this form. Of course, a novel is not a tool for conveying my ideology or awareness of issues.

Rather than writing with a conscious intent, I think I have an awareness of such things in my daily life, and that seeped into the work.