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[ESSAY] “Beyond First Love: Family Trauma and the Search for Connection in Rio Shimamoto’s First Love” by James Kin Pong Au
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on First Love.
Rio Shimamoto (author), Louise Heal Kawai (translator). First Love. Honford Star, 2024. 280 pgs.
While Rio Shimamoto’s First Love is at once a psychological drama and a work of literary crime fiction, it also conveys a strong sense of reality, reminding readers that family problems can sometimes end in tragedy. The plot itself is straightforward: a psychologist named Yuki Makabe is invited by a publisher to write a book about the case of Kanna Hijiriyama, who stands accused of murdering her father. Readers may readily associate the novel with similar news stories, such as a case reported in October 2017, in which a daughter was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after allegedly stabbing her father in Hokkaido.
Although it is unclear whether Shimamoto drew on any actual murder cases, the novel echoes real-life family issues such as childhood trauma and the effects of parental neglect and abuse. As the story unfolds, for instance, the patriarchal violence inflicted on Kanna is gradually revealed. Her adoptive father, Naoto Hijiriyama, an art professor, exploits her by making her pose nude before the students in his drawing class. Kanna’s inability to articulate her thoughts also leaves her vulnerable to exploitation by several men.
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At first glance, the title First Love might suggest a novel about romantic love between a couple. The story, however, is considerably more complex. If we consider the concept of love in the novel on two levels, then at the surface level it refers to Kanna’s first experiences of familial, romantic, or even platonic love. From Kanna’s letters, readers learn that she never receives love from either her adoptive father or her biological mother. Towards the end of the story, in particular, it emerges that her mother failed to notice that Kanna was cutting herself to avoid having to work as a nude model for her father. Kanna is also traumatised by an incident in which she locks the door and falls asleep while her father is away, only for him to return home, find himself locked out, and fly into a rage.
These family problems are also intertwined with Kanna’s romantic relationships. After being scolded by her father for locking the door, she runs away to her paternal grandparents’ house. Yet she feels that they, too, fail to understand her, and she leaves in despair, wandering aimlessly along the river. There she encounters her “first love”, Yuji Koizumi, who works part-time at a convenience store. The two later become sexually involved while Kanna is still a minor. Her family problems thus act as a centrifugal force, driving Kanna to seek affection from Yuji, who treats her with greater kindness than her parents do. This period of apparent happiness, however, is merely a prelude to further suffering. After Yuji abandons her for fear of being charged with having sexual relations with a minor, Kanna struggles to navigate her relationships with men, a difficulty that may have contributed to her troubled relationship with her boyfriend, Yoichi Kagawa.
Not all of Kanna’s relationships, however, are characterised by exploitation and suffering. Kyoko Usui appears to be a true friend, judging by the unwavering promise to protect Kanna that she makes during her meeting with Yuki Makabe. The two have known each other since primary school. From Yuki’s perspective, Kyoko seems to harbour a “peculiar affection” for Kanna. Although the story does not explicitly confirm this, Kyoko also appears to bear a certain hostility towards men. In a conversation between Kyoko and Kasho, the lawyer, Kasho suggests that Kyoko “would be into Takarazuka and stuff”, referring to the all-female theatre troupe. The remark may hint that Kyoko is attracted to women. Her relationship with Kanna therefore introduces another possible form of affection, distinct from the romantic relationships that have brought Kanna suffering.
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Beyond these different forms of love, which are intertwined with Kanna’s family conflicts, the story also explores, at a deeper level, the psychological and emotional development of both Kanna and Yuki Makabe. At the outset, Kanna appears fragile and admits to murdering her father immediately after an interview for a presenter position at a major television station. In her early letters to Yuki, she likewise expresses uncertainty about being held at the detention centre. As the story progresses, however, Kanna gradually gains confidence, which enables her, towards the end, to defend herself by arguing that her father’s death was an accident rather than murder. From Kasho’s remarks, readers learn that Kanna’s ambition to become a television presenter, together with the training she has received, has enabled her to speak calmly and objectively. Her development suggests that, despite her traumatic family experiences, she gradually acquires the ability to express herself and defend her own position.
Kanna is not the only character whose present is shaped by past family experiences. The story centres on Kanna’s case, yet the psychologist Yuki Makabe is also revealed to have endured romantic and familial difficulties of her own. Yuki once discovered that her father had paid for sex with young girls during an overseas trip. Afterwards, she slept with several men to prove to herself that sexual relationships were merely casual, behaviour that appears to reflect the psychological impact of her father’s actions. Although Yuki now has a loving family of her own, with her husband, Gamon, and their son, Masachika, her past clearly mirrors Kanna’s present. Nor is Yuki’s present life free of problems, as her mother seems to exploit her whenever she calls, treating her daughter like a cash machine. Through the parallel between Kanna and Yuki, the novel suggests that the effects of family problems can extend beyond childhood and continue to shape one’s relationships in adulthood.
The novel also suggests that its central theme of “first love” encompasses not merely romantic love but also the healing power of connection, empathy, and acceptance. Kanna’s letters, for instance, show how she gradually opens her heart to Yuki and tells her everything she knows, despite initially refusing her help. Another example lies in Kanna’s changing attitude. At first, she displays confusion and uncertainty, reflecting the trauma she has suffered within her family. During the trial, however, she overcomes this initial uncertainty and seeks to challenge the prosecution’s case. Through her interactions with others, Kanna becomes increasingly capable of articulating her thoughts and standing her ground.
Nevertheless, the novel does not offer straightforward answers to every question surrounding Kanna’s case. Since it seeks to expose family problems and to show how girls like Kanna fall victim to abuse, it perhaps leaves readers to decide whether to believe Kanna’s testimony and whether the eight-year prison sentence is justified, given that the defendant appears to have had a clear motive for murder. Indeed, on closer examination, Kanna Hijiriyama’s narrative reveals numerous contradictions. Her relationship with Yoichi Kagawa, for instance, remains ambiguous, as she alters her account of it several times. Readers may also question whether Kanna’s inability to express herself compromises the reliability of her testimony. A further unresolved question is whether Kanna really murdered her father. Although she resolutely denies killing him in the end, it remains unclear whether she bought the knife to cut herself in front of him or to stab him. These uncertainties complicate the reader’s understanding of Kanna: while her experiences elicit sympathy, they do not necessarily offer a complete account of her actions. In this sense, the novel invites readers to consider the relationship between victimhood, psychological trauma, and responsibility without ever entirely resolving it.
The translator offers a clear and fluent rendering of the original. Compared with the Japanese text, the translation either adds explanations for English-speaking readers or simplifies culturally loaded terms. One notable example occurs in the scene in which Yuki Makabe and Kasho meet Kyoko Usui, Kanna’s close friend. After Kasho suggests that Kyoko seems to be into Takarazuka, the translation adds an explanation to help readers understand what Takarazuka is: “[H]e was referring to the famous all-women theatre troupe and their dedicated female fan club”. Another example can be found in a conversation between Yuki and Kasho. When Kasho asks Yuki where to put the lilies her mother has given her, she replies jokingly, “Perhaps a ritual burning?” The original, however, uses takiage, a term that refers to the traditional practice of burning sacred or cherished items at a Shinto shrine or Buddhist temple. These examples demonstrate the considerable effort the translator has made to ensure that readers with little or no knowledge of Japanese culture can understand the text.
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Little by Little
My first encounter with Rio Shimamoto’s work was through Little by Little (2002), in which she depicts the quiet but emotionally complex life of Fumi, a recent school leaver who lives with her mother and younger half-sister. Having grown up amid her mother’s repeated marriages and divorces, Fumi struggles with a fragile sense of self and the emotional scars of her past. Although the two novels have quite different settings, they share a striking similarity: neither Fumi nor Kanna comes from a stable family. Moreover, Little by Little is largely devoid of dramatic events, just as the narrative of First Love is not driven solely by its central murder. Through subtle interactions with those around her (including Yanagi, her calligraphy teacher, and Shu, an acquaintance of her mother’s), Fumi gradually comes to terms with her family dynamics and discovers her own identity. In First Love, by contrast, the murder is revealed at the very beginning of the novel, and the narrative revolves around Kanna’s upbringing and her relationships with other characters. Despite this difference in narrative structure, both works explore how family circumstances shape the emotional development of young women.
Days of One Thousand and One Seconds and Silhouette
From what I have read of Shimamoto’s short story collections, such as Issen Ichibyō no Hibi (Days of One Thousand and One Seconds) and Shiruetto (Silhouette), her stories tend to focus on character-driven romance and the emotional struggles of young people. In Issen Ichibyō no Hibi, for instance, many of the characters are emotionally awkward or guarded. In the first story, “Kaze Hikaru”, a young woman named Makoto recounts how her four-year relationship with her partner, Tetsu, comes to a heartbreaking end. Some of these characters reappear in later stories in the collection. In Shiruetto, by contrast, the first-person narrator describes how she is torn between her present life and her memories of her former boyfriend, Kanmuri. Although she begins dating Secchan, a gentle university student, she cannot shake off the “silhouette” of Kanmuri. In First Love, too, Shimamoto explores the delicate emotions and intricate relationships of her characters, setting them against complicated family backgrounds and romantic histories. These earlier works therefore provide a useful context for understanding her enduring interest in emotionally complex relationships.
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Yet First Love also departs from Shimamoto’s earlier works in several respects. In an interview given after she won the Naoki Prize, Shimamoto discussed the novel’s psychological complexity and its relationship to mystery fiction. The courtroom scenes, in which Kanna faces the lawyers and prosecutors, further distinguish the novel from the character-driven romances and youth dramas of her earlier fiction. The epistolary element, in the form of Kanna’s letters, is another distinctive feature that sets First Love apart from these works.
Ultimately, what makes First Love so compelling is the way it combines a crime narrative with an exploration of family trauma and the need for affection. Through Kanna and Yuki, Shimamoto shows how past experiences can continue to shape relationships long after childhood, while also suggesting that connection and empathy may help people find ways to express themselves. At the same time, the novel does not allow readers to settle every question about Kanna’s past or her guilt. Readers may come to understand her suffering without ever being able to establish with certainty what happened. This tension between empathy and uncertainty makes First Love more than a story about a murder or a young woman’s first romantic experience: it is also an exploration of how difficult it can be to understand another person’s inner life.
Bibliography
▚ Bungeishunju Promotion Department. “Naokishō jushō! First Love Shimamoto Rio intabyū (Naoki Prize Winner! First Love: Rio Shimamoto Interview).” YouTube video, 18 July 2018.
▚ “Daughter Arrested on Suspicion of Attempted Murder over Father’s Stabbing.” The Mainichi, 30 October 2017.
▚ Shimamoto, Rio. Fāsuto Ravu (First Love). Bunshun Bunko, 2020.
▚ Shimamoto, Rio. Issen Ichibyō no Hibi (Days of One Thousand and One Seconds). Kadokawa Bunko, 2009. First published 2005.
▚ Shimamoto, Rio. Ritoru Bai Ritoru (Little by Little). Kadokawa Bunko, 2006. First published 2002.
▚ Shimamoto, Rio. Shiruetto (Silhouette). Kadokawa Bunko, 2018. First published 2004.
How to cite: Au, James Kin-Pong. “Beyond First Love: Family Trauma and the Search for Connection in Rio Shimamoto’s First Love.” Cha: An Asian Literary Journal, 25 Oct. 2026, chajournal.com/2026/10/25/love-first.
James Kin-Pong Au holds Master’s degrees from Hong Kong Baptist University and the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London. He is currently a PhD candidate at the University of Tokyo, where he is writing his dissertation on the relationship between history and literature through close readings of East Asian historical narratives from the 1960s. His research interests include Asian literatures, comparative literature, historical narratives, and modern poetry. In his leisure time, he writes poetry and studies Spanish, Korean, and Polish. He teaches literature in English as an assistant professor at Tama Art University. [All contributions by James Kin-Pong Au.]