Watashi, Teiji de Kaerimasu

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Watashi, Teiji de Kaerimasu
AuthorKaeruko Akeno
Original titleわたし、定時で帰ります。
CountryJapan
LanguageJapanese
GenreFiction
PublisherShinchosha
Publication date
2018
Pages360
ISBN9784103516415

Watashi, Teiji de Kaerimasu, subtitled No Working After Hours!, is a 2018 novel by Japanese writer Kaeruko Akeno. The story follows the life of a woman who refuses to follow the working habits of her coworkers and bosses. The book and its sequel were adapted by Satoko Okudera into a 2019 TBS television drama starring Yuriko Yoshitaka that drew international attention for its criticisms of Japanese corporate life.

Plot[edit]

After growing up with a father whose corporate life meant that he did not spend time with his family, office worker Yui Higashiyama decides that she will never work overtime, and regularly leaves work at the official end of the day. This places her in conflict with other employees, who usually stay at work until much later, and with her bosses at the company, who see her refusal to work overtime as a lack of commitment to the company and its clients. Her situation is complicated by the arrival of an ex-boyfriend who joins the company. Higashiyama gradually convinces her fellow workers to go home on time in order to save their health and relationships, but ends up breaking her original commitment, which results in her hospitalization and the demise of her own relationship with her fiancé.[1]

Publication and reception[edit]

During a period of high unemployment, Kaeruko Akeno worked at a "black company" that placed excessive demands on its employees.[2] Her negative experiences and her disapproval of the work habits of career employees inspired the character of Yui Higashiyama.[3] The story was originally serialized in the Shinchosha magazine Yom yom.[4] On March 30, 2018, it was published by Shinchosha in a single volume.[5] The Sankei Shimbun reviewed the book as an "editor's recommendation", with the editor noting the book's potential to spark conversations about working life among its readers.[6] A sequel, titled Watashi, Teiji de Kaerimasu HYPER, was released in 2019.[7]

Television adaptation[edit]

In 2019, the novel and its sequel were adapted by screenwriter Satoko Okudera into a TBS drama starring Yuriko Yoshitaka as Yui Higashiyama.[8][9] The show's theme song, "Ambitious", was performed by Japanese band Superfly.[10] A review in The New York Times called the show a "modest television hit" and noted that it had prompted conversations about work-life balance in Japan, but also observed that the television adaptation had a much more positive ending than the original novel.[2] Writing for The Japan Times, reviewer Philip Brasor criticized the show for letting other workplace issues such as gender discrimination and problematic hierarchies distract from the focus on the titular overwork culture. He felt that equivocating instead of confronting it head-on robbed the show of its most potent critiques of the Japanese work environment.[11] A large earthquake in Niigata Prefecture occurred during the show's final episode, leading the broadcast to be suspended halfway through the episode and rescheduled for a later date.[12]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Akeno, Kaeruko (2018). わたし、定時で帰ります。 [No Working After Hours!] (in Japanese). Shinchosha. ISBN 9784101004617.
  2. ^ a b Dooley, Ben; Yamamitsu, Eimi (June 18, 2019). "In Japan, It's a Riveting TV Plot: Can a Worker Go Home on Time?". The New York Times. Archived from the original on July 2, 2019. Retrieved July 5, 2019.
  3. ^ Nakatsumi, Asako (June 18, 2018). "職場の理不尽な「あるある」がいっぱい　『わたし、定時で帰ります。』". Asahi Shimbun (in Japanese). Archived from the original on June 18, 2018. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
  4. ^ Akeno, Kaeruko (April 16, 2019). "『わたし、定時で帰ります。』はゆとり世代のある問いから生まれた". Shūkan Gendai (in Japanese). Retrieved July 5, 2019.
  5. ^ "マキヒロチ装画の小説「わたし、定時で帰ります。」ノー残業女子vsブラック上司". Natalie (in Japanese). March 30, 2018. Archived from the original on July 5, 2019. Retrieved July 5, 2019.
  6. ^ "【編集者のおすすめ】『わたし、定時で帰ります。』朱野帰子著　新鮮なヒロイン像が話題に". Sankei Shimbun (in Japanese). April 7, 2018. Archived from the original on July 5, 2019. Retrieved July 5, 2019. 私たちもまだ働き方の正解を探しています。だからこそ、読んでくださった方と一緒に考えたいと思っています。
  7. ^ Akeno, Kaeruko (2019). わたし、定時で帰ります。ハイパー [No Working After Hours: Hyper] (in Japanese). Shinchosha. ISBN 9784103516422.
  8. ^ "吉高由里子、TBSドラマ初主演 "定時帰宅"モットーのヒロイン演じる". Oricon News (in Japanese). January 24, 2019. Archived from the original on June 22, 2019. Retrieved July 5, 2019.
  9. ^ "火曜ドラマ『わたし、定時で帰ります。". Tokyo Broadcasting System Television (in Japanese). Archived from the original on June 30, 2019. Retrieved July 5, 2019.
  10. ^ "Japan's Superfly Announces New Single, 'Ambitious'". Billboard. April 7, 2019. Archived from the original on July 6, 2019. Retrieved July 5, 2019.
  11. ^ Brasor, Philip (May 18, 2019). "TBS drama misses an opportunity to shine a light on genuine workplace issues". The Japan Times. Archived from the original on May 23, 2019. Retrieved July 5, 2019.
  12. ^ "地震で中止『わたし、定時で帰ります。』最終回、25日に再放送". Oricon News (in Japanese). June 19, 2019. Archived from the original on June 21, 2019. Retrieved July 5, 2019.
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