Eiko Yamaguchi made her debut as a writer at the age of 49, winning the 20th Matsumoto Seicho Prize for her novel "Shanghai Under the Moon." At the time, she was working at the Marunouchi Newspaper Business Cooperative Association's employee cafeteria, which caused quite a stir when people heard that "the cafeteria lady" had won the award.

The 14th installment of the series "Konkatsu Shokudo," which Yamaguchi has been writing since 2018, was published in November 2025.
The story is set in Megumi Shokudo, a restaurant run by the protagonist, former fortune teller Tamasaka Megumi, and depicts how various men and women form relationships.
The various dishes that appear in the book are all so exquisite that just reading about them will make you hungry. The descriptions of the alcoholic beverages that go with the dishes are also outstanding, with sake being particularly prominent.

From a girl's manga artist to a screenwriter: A dream that changed after frequenting art house theaters

Mr. Yamaguchi graduated from the School of Letters, Arts and Sciences II at Waseda University, but I am also an alumnus (Faculty of Political Science and Economics).

"I almost didn't go to college."

Apparently, when he was a student, he used to frequent a nearby art house theater.

Yamaguchi-san
"Iidabashi had the Ginrei Hall, and Takadanobaba had the Pearl Theater and Waseda Shochiku. At the time, you could see a double feature for 500 yen. Most of them were foreign films. I only have memories of watching movies or reading manga back then, but it was after I made my debut as a novelist that I felt my involvement became deeper, with me being invited to dinner parties and contributing to the Waseda Gakuho."

After graduating, Yamaguchi got a job at a jewelry and fur import and sales company. At the time, she was aiming to become a shojo manga artist, a dream she had had since childhood.

Yamaguchi-san
"When I was a child, magazines like Margaret and Bessatsu Shojo Friend were just starting to be published. I've always loved reading, so it was only natural that I started reading them. I read the monumental works of shojo manga like The Rose of Versailles, The Poe Clan, Arabesque, and Glass Mask in real time, and I was hooked.
Gradually, I started to imitate his style and draw my own, and before long, I was able to create original characters and stories. However, I was so bad at drawing that the editors I brought my work to gave me their stamp of approval (laughs)."

Although she had always dreamed of becoming a manga artist, her daily life gradually began to distance her from creative writing, and one day, she came across an ad for trainees at the Shochiku Scenario Institute. She immediately decided to enroll, and her dream changed from being a manga artist to becoming a screenwriter.

Yamaguchi-san
"Since I frequented art house cinemas so often, I feel like it would have been an option for me to choose screenwriting sooner. When I was around 30, I started watching films like Yamada Taichi's "Early Spring Sketchbook" and "Uneven Apples," and Mukoda Kuniko's "Like Ashura" and "A-Un," and it was only then that I realised how amazing the job of a screenwriter is.

When I was watching only foreign films, I read the lines with my eyes, but when watching Japanese films and dramas, I listen to the words directly with my ears. They are completely different things. "Cheers to Your Eyes" is fine with subtitles, but when I actually listen to it, it makes me itchy and I don't like it (laughs).
On the other hand, even ordinary everyday words can be deeply moving when heard in the right situation."

A "diner lady" who started working to "make a living by writing"

After graduating from Shochiku Scenario Institute, Yamaguchi began working as a plot writer, planning projects and writing the outlines of stories. Although he got off to a good start compared to his peers, the road to becoming a screenwriter was tough. However, he says his creative drive never faded.

Yamaguchi-san
"In my second year at the institute, I decided that I wanted to make a living by writing. Unlike a vague desire to become a shojo manga artist, my goal in life became to write a single work as a screenwriter."

However, at the time, plot writers were only paid 50,000 yen per article, and even Yamaguchi, who is a fast writer, could only write one or two articles a month. In order to keep writing, he had to earn an income from other work. That's when he came across a job advertisement for the Marunouchi Newspaper Business Cooperative Association (hereafter referred to as Marushin)'s employee cafeteria.

Yamaguchi-san
"The working hours were from 6am to 11am on weekdays, with an hourly wage of 1,500 yen and all travel expenses covered. The conditions were better than working at a snack bar, so I immediately thought, 'This is it!' As it was a part-time kitchen assistant position, I didn't need a chef's license, and the retirement age was 60. At the time, I was working as a temporary employee, so when I was lucky enough to be hired, I felt a weight lifted off my shoulders, thinking, 'Now I don't have to look for work for a while.'
I've been a big foodie since I was a child, and I was often in the kitchen helping my mother, so I've always loved cooking. When I was a university student, I was in charge of making dinner for my family. However, all the seniors in the cafeteria were veterans, and their skills were on a completely different level to mine. I worked hard to learn the job so I wouldn't get fired."

Looking back, Yamaguchi says that his life began to change for the better after he started working at Marushin. At the age of 45, when he was doing well in both jobs, he came to a major turning point.

No "age limit" - debuting in the literary world at age 49

Yamaguchi-san
"A certain production company adopted the plot. Originally, I was supposed to write the script as well, but for various reasons, this didn't happen. I heard that they decided it would be difficult for a newcomer to take on the role.
I understand that, and the production company even paid the penalty fee, so I have no hard feelings. However, the producer in charge was the same generation as me.
At that time, I felt that it would be difficult to make my debut as a screenwriter. After all, there are already successful people in their 30s, and if I was going to use a newcomer, it would be better to use a young person with room to grow. As a plot writer, I thought I was gradually getting closer to my dream of becoming a screenwriter, but in reality, I was just struggling in the same place, like a mouse running on a hamster wheel.

However, he had no intention of giving up on "making a living by writing" - he decided to pursue a different path and set his sights on a new goal: to become a novelist.

Yamaguchi-san
"There is no age limit for novelists. Kato Hiroshi made his debut with Nobunaga's Coffin at the age of 74. But I think it was the stability of my life working at Marushin that made me give up my long-held dream of becoming a screenwriter and turn to writing novels.
Because my daily life was settled, I was able to look at myself objectively. If I had continued working as a temporary worker, I don't think I would have been able to make the decision to pursue a different path."

Yamaguchi began to turn down most plot writing jobs and devoted himself to writing novels, partly to get rid of the distracting thought that "Maybe I'll make my debut as a screenwriter after all."

"Dining and Sake" approached by a "big shot"

She is a "dining room lady" who made her literary debut at the age of 49 with "Jaken Shimatsu" and won the Matsumoto Seicho Prize for her first full-length novel, "Moonlit Shanghai."
Initially, he mainly wrote mystery stories, but gradually he began to write works with themes of "food and alcohol."
It all started when Kadokawa Haruki, once known as the "revolutionary of publishing," personally approached him and asked him if he would like to write a novel set in a restaurant.

Currently, he regularly publishes three series set in restaurants: "Ghost Izakaya," "The Diner's Lady," and "Marriage-Hunting Diner."

One of these is the "Marriage Restaurant" series, the latest of which was published in November 2025. This series, which adds the element of "marriage hunting" to Yamaguchi's specialty of "food and alcohol," is based on his experience of having failed 43 matchmaking attempts to date.

Yamaguchi-san
"When I thought about the future, I thought it would be best to have a family. I wanted to get married and have a stable life so that I could continue writing. It was a kind of job hunting (laughs).
But now that I think about it, I don't think I had a strong desire to get married. I was always thinking like a little girl, "If only I found a good person" (laughs). That's the same as saying "I want to fall in love." That's why arranged marriages didn't work out.
After I started working at Marushin and my life became stable, I lost the motivation to get married. To be honest, I was too busy to think about it."

The latest volume of "Marriage Restaurant" is "more satisfying than ever"

"Marriage Restaurant 14" by Eiko Yamaguchi (PHP Literary Library)

Tamasaka Megumi, the protagonist of "Marriage Hunting Restaurant," runs a small oden restaurant called "Megumi Shokudo." As a former fortune teller with no experience as a chef, she decided that an oden restaurant was the only place she could run a business on her own.
This work was also adapted into a TV drama in 2023, starring Momoko Kikuchi. The atmosphere of the original work was faithfully reproduced, and it could be said that the screenwriter's dream, which he had thought he had given up on, has now "half come true."

Yamaguchi-san
"It was the first time my work was adapted into a film, so I was really happy.
But after actually watching the drama, I really felt that screenwriters are amazing.
Because in just 20 minutes net, they had to pack in a coherent storyline for the series while also summarizing each episode's story. I think the scriptwriters had a really hard time. There were characters and stories that were original to the drama, but they also managed to capture the atmosphere of the original work.
Thanks to them, the scope of the story has expanded, and I'm filled with gratitude for all the ingenuity and effort they put into making it work."

Yamaguchi describes the latest 14th volume of "Konkatsu Shokudo" as "a great work."

Yamaguchi-san
"Of the three books in the 'Dining and Alcohol' series, 'Marriage Restaurant' was the most difficult to write.
The reason is that each volume has a consistent storyline and is structured as a series of short stories, so it feels like I'm writing a full-length novel. And yet, I was able to finish writing volume 14 in no time.
There's a character called "Tada-san" who runs a yakitori restaurant, and I think I really like his character. He's such a nice guy that if he were real I'd want to be friends with him. The characters, including the woman he's with and the unpleasant man who is the complete opposite of him, all come together with great energy.
This is the first time I've been able to write this smoothly in this series. I hope many people will read it."

The latest volume, volume 14, has also been released with the cooperation of Kibun Foods, and a "Recipe Book for Marriage Hunting Restaurants" has been released at the same time, which recreates the dishes that appear in the work. One oden dish, one dish, and the sake that goes with it are introduced with delicious photos. It is definitely worth taking a look at.

"52 Seasonal Snacks from the Recipe Book of Matchmaking Restaurants" by Eiko Yamaguchi (PHP Literary Library)

Yamaguchi-san
"You can make oden using commercially available broth and ingredients. What's more, once it's simmered, all you have to do is pour it onto a plate and serve it. In other words, there's no need to cook. If an amateur wants to do it alone, there's no better place than an oden restaurant.
Making it at home can seem like a bit of a hassle, but if you simmer about four ingredients in your favorite broth, it's satisfying. It's perfect as a side dish for rice or as a snack with alcohol, so I hope you'll give it a try."

Drinking in the evening is a daily routine. In the past, sake was a staple food

Returning to the opening remark, Yamaguchi's works are not only filled with fascinating characters and delicious food, but also with the presence of alcohol, which mediates human relationships. I once again asked Yamaguchi if he likes alcohol.

"You could say half of my blood is alcohol (laughs)."

Originally, he would only drink when he went out to eat with friends, but after he started working at Marushin, having a drink at the end of the day became a daily routine.

Yamaguchi-san
"Marushin's work day started at 6am, so I had to catch the first train, and on weekdays I went to bed at 9pm and got up at 3:30am.
So I hardly had any opportunities to go out to eat, but I liked alcohol, so I decided to drink at home.
Once you start drinking in the evening, you basically end up continuing it every day. Even now, I drink almost every day (laughs)."

When drinking outside, Yamaguchi mostly drank wine, but it was his daily evening drink that prompted him to start drinking sake.

"I had some Japanese sake that I was given at home, and when I tried it, it was really good. Because it's made from rice, it goes well with any dish. With wine, it's quite difficult to choose a side dish, and if it doesn't go well with the food, it can end up scoring 'minus 150 points'.
In that respect, sake is convenient because you don't have to go to the trouble of making food to go with it. It's like having sake as your staple food instead of rice. I like the refreshing and clean taste, and my favorites are "Hiroki" and "Hakkaisan."
However, since I turned 50, sake has started to last until the next day. Lately, I've been drinking mostly distilled spirits. I mix whiskey and shochu with soda. Of course, I still love sake, so I drink it on special occasions."

As a former restaurant owner, what is her favorite snack to go with sake?

Yamaguchi-san
"When I have money, I have sashimi or tempura, but when I'm short on cash, I have oden or yakitori. Sake pairs really well with dashi, so if you're eating at home, a simple dish like hot pot would be good too. Oden is a type of hot pot dish, so of course it goes well with it too. I especially recommend it in the winter."

After all, I love alcohol.

As he has made food and alcohol his writing theme, his addiction to these things is evident in his words. We asked him again about the meaning of food and alcohol in his life.

Yamaguchi-san
"When you're with someone you know well, you want to enjoy a meal and some drinks together. I think good food and drinks are the perfect combination to understand someone better and deepen your relationship. I think it's probably quicker to get to know someone by eating a meal and drinking than by playing tennis or skiing.
Among them, sake is a "savior" that goes with any dish. I pair sake with both French and Chinese cuisine, but I think it goes better with dim sum, which has a particularly light taste, than Shaoxing wine. I also definitely recommend sake with raw food. It completely obviates the fishy smell of the ingredients. Many people pair raw oysters with white wine, but sake is definitely a better match. Kaibara Yuzan also said this in "Oishinbo," so it's definitely true (laughs). To be honest, I think it's actually harder to find a dish that doesn't go well with sake.
After all, I love alcohol. Even if a doctor told me to stop drinking, I would reply, "In that case, just tell me to die" (laughs)."

<Marriage Hunting Restaurant Series>
https://www.php.co.jp/konkatu/

Writer: Kondo Sena
A freelance writer living in Tokyo. She enjoys sweet Junmai sake that brings out the flavor of rice. She is currently studying sake every day. She graduated from the Department of Political Science, School of Political Science and Economics, Waseda University.
X: @sena_kondo