5 questions to Kotone Utsunomiya

Kotone Utsunomiya won the last edition of Serpa Award and is the most recent author in our catalogue.
In the end of May she was in Portugal for her book launch, “The peach thief”, at Serpa’s Book Fair.
We chatted with the author about her time in Portugal and how it might have inspired her.

Hi Kotone,
Now that you’re back home in Tokyo, we’d like to ask you to share a little bit about your time in Portugal – so that we, together with your readers, can get to know you (and the “peach thief”!) a little better.

1. Our first question is naturally about food (we’re Portuguese, after all!) – what did you most enjoy eating while you were here?

Seafood! Amêijoas à Bulhão Pato was probably my favorite dish. Especially dipping the buttery bread into the delicious sauce!
I also loved the little croquettes I found at cafés around Lisbon. It was so much fun eating them without knowing what was inside! 
They came in different shapes, and it seemed like each shape had a different filling. My favorite was the half-moon-shaped one, filled with creamy shrimp. It was so good!!
And I can’t forget to mention how wonderful it was to have lunch in the garden at the Planeta Tangerina office. I loved all foods.
Obrigada! 

2. Despite Portugal being a relatively safe country, did you have any encounters with thieves while you were here?

Unfortunately, yes.
This time, I was traveling with my parents. We were walking around Sé de Lisboa when three men started walking closely behind my father.  Suddenly, he turned around and said, “What are you doing?!” They replied, “Your backpack is open!” and quickly walked away. At first, I thought they were just warning him that someone had stolen his wallet. But in fact, they were the ones trying to steal it. My father had noticed one of them covering his backpack with a handkerchief while another tried to open it. 
Luckily, he realized what was happening before they could take anything.
It would have been quite ironic if we had been pickpocketed while traveling to celebrate my new book, The Peach Thief, haha. 
The idea for the book actually came from experiences like this that I had while traveling in Europe.

3. Why does the peach thief in your book wear a green scarf on his head?

It is actually a classic image of a Japanese thief.
Even if Japanese people couldn’t read Portuguese, they would probably understand that my book is about a thief just by looking at the cover.
The green furoshiki (wrapping cloth) was a very common household item from the Edo period onward. Thieves were often depicted using a furoshiki to carry stolen goods.
The image of thieves wearing a cloth over their heads and carrying a furoshiki has long been part of Japanese popular culture, appearing in Kabuki, and later in manga and cartoons.
Today, it is a well-known cultural stereotype rather than an accurate portrayal of real thieves.

4. What was the weirdest Portuguese souvenir you took back with you?

I don’t know if these are made in Portugal or not, but I found interesting broken lighters at Feira da Ladra.
They came in all kinds of shapes—fruits, animals, and even cartoon characters. But I bought peach lighters!
Probably it was the peach thief’s personal belongings before.
Because it’s Thief’s market, right? haha.
I paid to buy the lighter.

5. We know that this was your second time in Portugal, and that the first inspired you for “The Peach Thief”. Do you think that this time you also took away material for another story?

My new idea didn’t come to me during my second trip to Portugal, it came after I returned to Japan.
Japan and Portugal have a long shared history, and Portugal has left its mark on Japanese culture in some ways.
A Japanese imaginary creature’s name comes from Que será, será… I thought it’s interesting to make the book.
Please don’t steal my idea!

↦ You can read more about Kotone on her author page.