Sweet Bean Paste

Sweet Bean Paste (2013) is a work of literary fiction by Japanese author Durian Sukegawa. Originally published in Japan as An, the novel became an international bestseller and won France’s Prix Littéraire Domitys and Le Prix des Lecteurs du Livre de Poche.

Sukegawa, who studied philosophy and worked as a reporter and radio host, drew on his research into Japan’s former leprosaria (leprosy hospitals or sanatoriums) to write the story. The narrative centers on Sentaro, a man running a small dorayaki shop to pay off a debt. His life is changed by Tokue, an elderly woman with a tragic past and a remarkable talent for making sweet bean paste. Their friendship is tested by the enduring social stigma surrounding leprosy. The novel explores The Destructive Power of Social Stigma and Prejudice, Finding Dignity and Connection Through Craftsmanship, and The Inherent Value of Bearing Witness.

This guide refers to the 2017 Oneworld Publications English-language edition.

Content Warning: The source material and guide feature depictions of illness, death, ableism, mental illness, suicidal ideation, and substance use.

Language Note: The novel portrays people with leprosy, an infection with a long history of social stigma (See: Background). In the 1930s, advocates lobbied to change its name to Hansen’s disease to avoid stigma and honor the Norwegian researcher who discovered the bacterium that causes the inflection. However, more recently, referring to diseases by the names of scientists or first/famous patients has fallen out of favor because it is exclusionary and confusing. The World Health Organization’s 2015 guidelines call for reverting to biologically descriptive names (“World Health Organization Best Practices for the Naming of New Human Infectious Diseases.” World Health Organization, 15 May 2015). For this reason, this guide uses the term “leprosy.”

Plot Summary

Sentaro Tsujii, a man with a criminal record for cannabis trafficking and with unfulfilled dreams of being a writer, runs a small dorayaki (pancakes filled with sweet bean paste) shop called Doraharu. He is trapped by a debt to the shop’s owner, the widow of his late boss, and performs his work with minimal effort, using commercial sweet bean paste for the filling. His routine is disrupted by Tokue Yoshii, an elderly woman with partial hand and face paralysis, who persistently asks for a job. Sentaro initially refuses, concerned about her age and appearance.

After tasting a sample of her homemade bean paste, Sentaro is astonished by its superior flavor and aroma. He decides to hire Tokue, hoping that her skills can revive the struggling business. He restricts her to kitchen work, away from the customers’ view. Tokue introduces a meticulous process for making the paste from scratch, starting early each morning. She teaches Sentaro her methods, insisting that he treat the adzuki beans with respect.

The new bean paste dramatically improves the quality of the dorayaki; customers, including a regular group of schoolgirls, notice. The positive feedback encourages Sentaro, who becomes more invested in the craft. Despite Sentaro’s initial rule, Tokue gradually begins to interact with customers. She forms a bond with Wakana, a quiet teen from a troubled home, and often gives schoolgirls misshapen and thus unsellable dorayaki. One day, Wakana asks Tokue about her condition, and Tokue explains that it is the result of a childhood illness.

As word of the delicious dorayaki spreads, business booms. Sentaro and Tokue increase production, but the long hours lead to exhaustion. Sentaro has a severe physical collapse and mental health crisis, which forces him to take time off. In his absence, Tokue runs the shop entirely on her own, proving her capability. However, rumors circulate about Tokue’s past. The shop’s owner confronts Sentaro, revealing that she has heard that Tokue once had leprosy. Fearing contagion and damage to the shop’s reputation, she demands that Sentaro fire Tokue. Sentaro researches the disease and learns that it is not contagious after being cured, but he recognizes the power of social stigma.

As the rumors spread, sales plummet. The owner increases her pressure on Sentaro, threatening his job. Tokue decides to resign. She confirms to Sentaro that she did have leprosy and speaks of the lifelong prejudice she has faced. Sentaro, feeling powerless, accepts her resignation and is left with a deep sense of guilt.

After Tokue’s departure, Sentaro develops depression, and the shop’s business collapses. One evening, Wakana shows up to the shop after running away from home with her pet canary, Marvy. She confesses that she told her mother about Tokue’s hands, inadvertently starting the rumors. Feeling responsible, she and Sentaro decide to visit Tokue at the Tenshoen National Sanatorium, where she lives.

At the sanatorium, Tokue agrees to care for Marvy. She shares the story of her life, detailing her forced quarantining at a young age, the loss of her family, and her marriage to a fellow patient. She reveals that Tokue Yoshii is not her real name but one assigned to her when she was removed from her family’s official register. She also tells them about the Confectionery Group, a community of patients who made sweets for each other to bring joy into their difficult lives. Later, in a letter to Sentaro, Tokue explains her philosophy of “Listening,” a practice of being attentive to the unspoken language of all things in the world, which she believes is the source of her skill.

Sentaro visits Tokue again and finds her recovering from a severe illness. Tokue and her friend Miss Moriyama serve him sweet bean soup with a side of salty kombu, a specialty of the Confectionery Group. The unique combination of sweet and salty flavors inspires Tokue to suggest that Sentaro create a salty dorayaki to appeal to a wider range of customers. Sentaro begins experimenting with the new recipe, but the owner’s patience runs out. She gives him an ultimatum: If sales do not recover by the end of February, she will renovate the shop.

Despite a slight increase in sales, the owner arrives with her nephew and announces her decision to convert Doraharu into a combined dorayaki and okonomiyaki (savory pancakes) shop. Sentaro must train her nephew to be his own replacement. Feeling betrayed, Sentaro pays off the remainder of his debt and leaves the shop for good.

Sentaro falls into despair and experiences suicidal ideation. Overwhelmed by memories of Tokue and the cherry tree outside the shop, he cries himself to sleep and has a vivid dream in which he meets a young Tokue in her beautiful hometown. She serves him cherry-blossom tea made from salt-pickled blossoms. The taste, “a little bit salty with a lovely smell of flowers” (178), provides the final inspiration he needs for his new dorayaki. Reinvigorated, he contacts Wakana, and they arrange another visit to Tenshoen.

When they arrive, they are met by Miss Moriyama, who informs them that Tokue died of pneumonia 10 days earlier. Devastated, Wakana leaves her gift for Tokue, a new white blouse reminiscent of the one that Tokue’s mother made for her before she was sent away. Miss Moriyama gives Sentaro an unfinished letter from Tokue. In it, Tokue apologizes for setting Marvy free and reflects on her life, concluding that all beings are born “to see and listen to the world” and that this alone gives their existence meaning (199).

Miss Moriyama leads them to a small cherry sapling planted in the woods as Tokue’s memorial. She explains that Tokue never did hear the voices of beans but believed in living as if one could, as a way to transcend hardship. Miss Moriyama recounts how, in her final days, Tokue felt that the trees in the woods were congratulating her on a life well lived. As the full moon rises, Sentaro, Wakana, and Miss Moriyama stand together by the sapling, reflecting on Tokue’s legacy and the quiet meaning of her life.