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Natsuko Imamura (author), Lucy North (translator), The Woman in the Purple Skirt, Penguin Random House, 2021. 224 pgs.
In Natsuko Imamura’s novel The Woman in the Purple Skirt (『むらさきのスカートの女』), the focus is, as the title suggests, on Mayuko Hino, a character known by her distinctive attire—the only skirt she ever wears is purple. The story is narrated by an unnamed first-person observer referred to as the Woman in the Yellow Cardigan, who becomes fascinated by the Woman in the Purple Skirt. Eager to befriend her, the narrator subtly intervenes in her life. She leaves a jobs magazine on a bench where the Woman in the Purple Skirt frequently sits, hoping to guide her towards a cleaning job at a hotel. The plan works: the Woman in the Purple Skirt picks up on the suggestion, attends the interview, and begins working at the same hotel as the narrator.
Readers are drawn in by the mysteries surrounding not only the Woman in the Purple Skirt but also the Woman in the Yellow Cardigan. Questions naturally arise: why does the narrator observe the Woman in the Purple Skirt so closely? Who exactly is the Woman in the Yellow Cardigan? As the story progresses, readers learn that the narrator, Gondo-san, is a quiet, unremarkable figure at her workplace. Beyond this, little is revealed about her identity or her motives for wanting to befriend the Woman in the Purple Skirt, leaving readers in suspense until the very end. The intrigue is heightened by the story’s simplicity: just as the Woman in the Purple Skirt settles into her job at the hotel, rumours begin to swirl about her stealing amenities and having an affair with the married hotel director. The narrator, who continues to stalk her, witnesses a sudden moment of violence when the Woman in the Purple Skirt accidentally strikes the director, causing him to fall lifeless to the ground. The narrator advises her to flee, promising that they will meet again. Yet, from that moment on, the Woman in the Purple Skirt disappears without a trace.
It is perhaps the lingering suspense that makes The Woman in the Purple Skirt so compelling, ultimately earning it the prestigious Akutagawa Prize in 2019. However, the suspense here differs markedly from that of a typical detective or crime story. The narrator, whose background remains largely unknown, is revealed to be stalking the Woman in the Purple Skirt. As the story unfolds, the narrative focus subtly shifts from the Woman in the Purple Skirt to the Woman in the Yellow Cardigan. Yet, this shift offers no clarity regarding the true identity of either character; instead, it introduces even more questions. Where has the Woman in the Purple Skirt disappeared to? Why is the Woman in the Yellow Cardigan blackmailing the hotel director, with whom she knows Hino is having an affair? As a reader, the suspense not only evokes excitement but also a sense of unease, compelling us to continually reexamine and interpret the story’s deeper meanings.
Natsuko Imamura once revealed that she wrote The Woman in the Purple Skirt from a personal longing to have someone watch over her.[1] This desire is embodied in the character of the Woman in the Yellow Cardigan, who is deeply concerned with the Woman in the Purple Skirt. The hotel setting also mirrors Imamura’s own experience working as a hotel cleaner. Viewed through a societal and biographical lens, the story could be interpreted as the writer’s unconscious resistance to an indifferent society. For example, from the observer’s perspective in the story, the Woman in the Purple Skirt is portrayed as lonely and desolate; when she disappears, nobody but the Woman in the Yellow Cardigan seems to care. This mirrors real-world issues like Japan’s “working poor” and the phenomenon of “evaporated people”—those who disappear from their lives for various reasons.
The suspense in The Woman in the Purple Skirt is reminiscent of that found in Hoshi no Ko (『星の子』or Child of the Stars, 2017), where the first-person narrator, Hayashi Chihiro, recounts her life from birth to her third year of junior high school. While it is clear that her parents are involved in a peculiar religious group, Chihiro never reveals the specifics about the organisation. Similar to The Woman in the Purple Skirt, Hoshi no Ko leaves readers with more questions than answers, such as the true nature of the religion or the sudden appearance of Chihiro’s older sister. In a conversation between Natsuko Imamura and Ogawa Yōko, Ogawa aptly notes that Hoshi no Ko withholds key information from the reader,[2] which may reflect Imamura’s signature narrative style. Likewise, in The Woman in the Purple Skirt, readers are left in the dark about the relationships between characters, their identities, and essential background details, creating a deliberately unstable narrative.
Lucy North, the translator of The Woman in the Purple Skirt, delivers a commendable English version that preserves the mystery and intrigue of the original. It is unnecessary to reiterate the challenges of translating cultural nuances—such as the unique aspects of Japan’s working culture—since North addresses these points in the “Afterword” of the English edition.[3] However, it is worth noting that the tone experienced by Japanese readers differs from that in the English translation. For example, in the original version, when the Woman in the Yellow Cardigan stalks the Woman in the Purple Skirt during her one-day itinerary leading to her arrival at the hotel, the Japanese text is written in short, sometimes fragmented sentences, often consisting only of nouns or noun phrases. In the English version, the sentences flow more smoothly and are longer, reflecting English writing conventions. Additionally, while Japanese often omits subjects, English requires them for clarity, further altering the reading experience.
While no translation can fully replicate the original text, Lucy North’s effort in translating The Woman in the Purple Skirt deserves appreciation. Her work opens the door for a broader audience to explore contemporary Japanese literature, especially the works of female Japanese authors—a group that continues to receive insufficient attention in the global literary landscape.
Works Cited
▚ Natsuko Imamura (2020 [2019]). Hoshi no ko. Asahibunko.
▚ — (2024 [2022]). Murasaki no sukato no onna. Asahibunko.
[1] Natsuko Imamura (2024 [2022]). “Murasaki no sakato no onna to watshi,” Murasaki no sukato no onna. Asahibunko., pp. 167-171.
[2] Natsuko Imamura (2020 [2019]). “Taidan,” Hoshi no ko. Asahibunko., p. 236.
[3] Natsuko Imamura (2024 [2022]). “Kaisetsu,” op cit., pp. 208-209.
How to cite: Au, James Kin-Pong. “Lingering Suspense: Natsuko Imamura’s The Woman in the Purple Skirt.” Cha: An Asian Literary Journal, 18 Sept. 2024, chajournal.blog/2024/09/18/woman-purple-skirt.
James Kin-Pong Au is a Master’s graduate of both Hong Kong Baptist University and the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London. He is currently a PhD candidate at the University of Tokyo, writing his dissertation about the relation between history and literature through close readings of East Asian historical narratives in the 1960s. His research interests include Asian literatures, comparative literature, historical narratives and modern poetry. During his leisure time, he writes poetry and learns Spanish, Korean and Polish. He teaches English at Salesio Polytechnic College and literature in English at Tama Art University. [All contributions by James Kin-Pong Au.]
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