Stinging! The reality of a woman at a dead end and a man who won't commit—Risa Wataya's 'The Taste of Ginger is Hot' [Reading Record 37]
Hello! 🍦Mao | Reading Record here.
The 37th book I finished in 2025 wasRisa Wataya's 'The Taste of Ginger is Hot'(Bunshun Bunko).
Cohabitation doesn't equal marriage?!
A modern story of cohabitation unfolding between a man who won't commit, Hiro, and a woman at a dead end, Nayo. A book for lost men and women that offers a breakthrough after some bitter laughter.
After seeing a reading friend on Instagram say,'All single people around 30 should read this (paraphrased)', I raised my hand and said, 'Yes, I'll read it!!!', and the next day I headed to the bookstore (which, in short, just meant I went to work as usual).
The title'The Taste of Ginger is Hot'stuck in my ears somehow, and I turned the pages expecting a sharp, tingling sensation.
—It really was hot.A parade of raw, sometimes painful, and helplessly relatable emotions. I see, so this is what they mean by 'not completely relatable, but realistic'... I nodded many times while reading.
▫️The 'dead end' of a spiraling story
The protagonists of the story are a man and woman in their late 20s who have been living together for three years.The woman, Nayo, is positive about marriage. She honestly thinks, 'Things are going so well (subjectively), so I want to get married soon.' On the other hand, the man, Hiro, is somewhat indecisive. He surely doesn't have zero desire to get married, but he can't take the step, thinking, 'Isn't it fine to just stay like this (cohabiting)?'
This relationship between the two is truly something that 'could happen anywhere,' so why is it so painful? Even though there are feelings of love... the rhythm just doesn't match. They want to move forward, but they just keep marking time.
There is a passage like this in the work.
It's too luxurious to be afraid of getting bored or being bored of.
Is cooled-down affection such a bad-tasting food, even though it hasn't rotted yet?
To the point where you could just throw it in the trash?
When I read these words, I involuntarily let out a strange sound,'Oguuu'.
'Cooled-down affection' cannot be easily thrown away precisely because there is still a lingering scent of love.But if you eat it, it tastes bad. Your heart won't accept it. Such affection definitely exists.Once you've missed the peak, is it already over?Is it the end?? Emotions from my own past relationships are evoked.
▫️'Wanting to be happy' and 'love that requires effort'
Nayo thinks.
If I try just a little harder, I might be able to be happy. But are love and marriage things you try a little harder for?
(Omitted)
I didn't know until now that such a situation existed, where you have to try hard even while giving up somewhere.
I understand this feeling too well. When love is driven by the heat of 'liking' someone, there is momentum, and a little effort is fun. But when it eventually becomes'effort to achieve success', only the pain remains.
Is it my fault that things aren't going well, is it the other person's fault, or is it a matter of timing in the first place—while holding onto questions with no correct answers, I still think, 'I have to try.'—But, toward what? Aiming for what?
Nayo's thinking is even somewhat self-destructive. But on the other hand, it is helplessly endearing.
Her straightforwardness and her relationship with the somewhat fragile Hiro shake the reader's emotions.
▫️Irritated by the man's 'selfishness'
This might be a bit of a spoiler, but there is an unbridgeable gap between Nayo, who wants to get married right away, and Hiro, who tries to delay the moment of decision, and the two decide to take some distance. Or rather, Nayo unilaterally walks away.
There, Hiro finally enjoys his freedom, having felt somewhat constrained by Nayo, but on the other hand, he begins to feel intensely that "I'm lonely without Nayo." And so, he goes to pick up Nayo, who has returned to her parents' home.
Wait, hold on a second✋🏻 You were the one who couldn't commit, but the moment Nayo leaves, you suddenly say "I love you after all"... isn't that too selfish!? I want to scream. Somehow, the tone of Nayo's monologue after the chapter changes is completely different, and Hiro's sudden change of heart is very strange and not easy to swallow. Is this the "Wataya style"...
But within these words and actions, his own desperation and pathetic nature seep through, and it is also unbearably real.
A man who says "I want time to myself," but then feels lonely the moment he is actually alone. A man who finds Nayo annoying when she is around, but feels anxious when she is gone.
This contradiction is truly irritating. Yet, I feel frustrated that I understand it.
I can't relate. But I get it.
Love alone isn't enough. But love is what stops you in your tracks.
It is packed with the complexity of human beings.
▫️The spice of love that the "taste of ginger" teaches us
The charm of this novel, I think, lies in the fact that the folds of emotion are carefully depicted within a "simple structure that just goes in circles." Neither Nayo nor Hiro are bad people. In fact, both are kind, and neither is trying to hurt the other. But for some reason, they just don't click.
Because I project myself as a reader onto that, it's all the more painful, and yet I keep reading.
As the title "The Taste of Ginger is Hot" symbolizes, the reality of love and marriage is a mix of sharp stimulation and gentle warmth. Precisely because it is hot, one hesitates to take a bite. But somewhere, you want to taste it again. It was a book that quietly, yet firmly, etched those feelings into me.
By the way, I want someone to tell me the correct answer (or a proposed interpretation) for this title. It's too philosophical for me to understand.
▫️I want to read more of Risa Wataya's work
Until now, I had only read about one of Wataya's works.
But after reading this, I thought, "Oh, this person's choice of words might really resonate with me." Each sentence is delicate, and it feels as if she is translating the emotions I couldn't put into words myself.
What should I read next? "Kawaisou da ne?"? "Tenohira no Kyo"?
If you have any recommendations, please let me know.
▫️Recommended for people like this
✔️People who are living together or thinking about marriage but feel they are out of step with their partner
✔️People who have experienced a love that couldn't move forward with "love" alone
✔️People who want to observe human clumsiness and immaturity from a slight distance
✔️As a "first book" for those who have never read Risa Wataya's work
▫️Summary
"What even is this relationship right now..."
The subtle atmosphere between lovers, the difference in temperature toward marriage, and the sadness as the shape of "love" gradually changes.
My emotions are all over the place while reading this, but it's incredibly interesting.It was a new kind of realistic love drama where empathy and discomfort alternate😌
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