Umiyuri Katsuyama is a Japanese writer of fantasy and horror. In 2011, she won the Japan Fantasy Novel Award with her novel Sazanami no kuni. Her most recent novel, Chuushi, ayashii nabe to tabi wo suru, was published in 2018. Her short fiction has appeared in numerous horror anthologies in Japan.
Toshiya Kamei holds an MFA in literary translation from the University of Arkansas. His translations of short fiction and poetry have appeared in venues such as Abyss & Apex, Cosmic Roots & Eldritch Shores, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Samovar, and Star*Line.
Marking the New Year is a way to close one chapter and begin a new one; but some such transitions bear an ominous weight, as seen in The Guardian of New Year’s Eve...
*Note: This interview was translated by Toshiya Kamei.
GI: Your story is steeped in folklore and tradition; it feels “lived in” and genuine.
Does your family have many personal traditions, whether holiday related or otherwise?
UK: My father once told me the story of a cursed rice cooker, and later I
recounted it in my short story “Rice Cooker.” The unexplainable can be
attributed to kami, or spirits. He said, “Kami will bring a curse on you if you
neglect them.”
He meant nature/spirit and Tsukumogami, tools that have become self-aware for
their longevity. If you can’t take good care of [your tools], you’d best not worship
them. As the old saying goes, the spirit you don’t approach won’t curse you.
GI: Do you go to lengths to ensure that Zhong Kui (a deity from Japanese
mythology, traditionally depicted as a demon hunter, who figures prominently
into this story) watches over you?
UK: How do you know I keep a portrait of Zhong Kui in the genkan of my house? Do
you have supernatural vision?
GI: Don’t tell anyone; I’m trying to figure out how to monetize my psychic skills. How
does tradition factor into your process as a Horror writer and fantasist?
UK: I buy myself a stylish notebook with the hope that it will inspire me to write great
stories. But I often end up scribbling notes on the back of a calendar.
GI: How have you been coping with the strife of 2020?
UK: Masks, hand sanitizer gel, disinfecting wipes. Zoom meetings. An Hermès scarf
with a samurai armor print.
I enjoy going to the movies. Hollywood movies premiere late in Japan, but I’ve
just watched Wonder Woman 1984, which debuted here earlier than in the U.S.
GI: GREEN INFERNO is sub-titled, The World Celebrates Your Demise. How does
your piece relate to this sentiment?
UK: After the story ends, King Enma may emerge from the underworld and decide
whether souls go to heaven or hell.