Kichijoji

Kichijoji is the suburban setting of Toru Watanabe’s rented cottage and a stretch of his life shaped by self-sufficiency, solitude, and waiting. After leaving the dormitory, he makes a home in a small, separate house there; its garden and ordinary household routines offer a provisional independence even as his unanswered letters to Naoko and uncertain contact with Midori keep his emotional life unsettled.

Finding a Home

After passing his examinations, Toru searches for a flat for a week before finding a house far out in the suburbs of Kichijoji. Its distance from the city is a drawback, but its independence makes it a valuable find. The building had begun as a gardener’s shack or cottage and stands by itself in a corner of a sizable plot, separated from the main house by a neglected stretch of garden. The landlord uses the front gate and Toru the back, a practical arrangement that lets him preserve his privacy.

The cottage has one good-sized room, a small kitchen and bathroom, an unusually large closet, and a veranda facing the garden. An elderly couple rents it at well below the market rate, on the condition that Toru may need to leave the following year if their grandson comes to Tokyo. They do not otherwise impose demands on how he lives. This arrangement makes the house both a refuge and a temporary home: he can establish a life there, but cannot assume it will last indefinitely.

Making a Daily Life

Toru buys household necessities in the nearby Kichijoji shopping district and begins preparing simple meals at home. He has planks cut to size at a timber yard to make a desk that can serve for studying and eating, builds shelves, and gathers a good selection of spices. A white cat, about six months old, starts eating at his house; he names her Seagull. These tasks turn the cottage from an empty rental into a lived-in place through practical acts rather than a dramatic change of circumstance.

He also works on the garden with tools borrowed from the landlord, pulling weeds and trimming bushes until it looks presentable. The landlord invites him to tea at the main house, where they share green tea, rice crackers, and conversation. The older man explains that he retired from an insurance job and can now live comfortably without working, while the house and land have remained in his family for a long time. The couple often travel together. Their established household contrasts with Toru’s newly assembled, provisional independence, but the exchange gives his life in Kichijoji a modest social connection as well as a private domestic routine.

Work and Isolation

Once he has settled in to some extent, Toru finds temporary work as a painter’s assistant. He works for two solid weeks. The pay is good, but the labor is punishing and the fumes make him dizzy. At the end of each day he eats at an inexpensive restaurant, drinks beer, goes home to play with Seagull, and sleeps heavily. The pattern gives his days a structure, but it does not bring a reply from Naoko.

Toru realizes during this period that he has not contacted Midori for nearly three weeks and has not told her he has moved. He phones her flat, but she does not come to the phone. The missed contact sits alongside the silence from Naoko: the new house gives him room to live alone, but does not resolve the absence of either woman from his daily life.

Waiting for Naoko

The spring holiday becomes a period of suspended plans. Toru cannot take a trip, visit his parents, or commit to part-time work because Naoko might write and ask him to visit on a particular date. He spends afternoons in the Kichijoji shopping district, watching double bills or reading in a jazz café, and sees or speaks to almost no one. Once a week he writes to Naoko, telling her about his painting work, Seagull, peach blossoms in the garden, local shopkeepers, and the meals he cooks. He does not tell her that he is hoping for an answer, because he does not want to pressure her; she still does not write.

The correspondence makes Kichijoji more than a residence. The garden, food, cat, and neighborhood details become the material of letters sent toward someone who remains away. Toru tends the garden when he grows tired of reading or listening to records, while the days continue without the response that might give them a different direction. Domestic activity and emotional suspension persist together: he is making a home, yet arranging his time around the possibility of leaving it to see Naoko.

The Neighborhood and Later Returns

When Toru gets off the train in Kichijoji, he tries calling Midori’s flat from the station, without an answer. He walks around looking for work that will fit his university schedule, which leaves Saturdays and Sundays free and permits work after five on some weekdays. Finding a suitable job proves difficult, and he gives up the search for the day. Later, while out buying groceries for dinner, he calls again; Midori’s sister says that Midori has not returned and does not know when she will. Toru thanks her and hangs up.

He subsequently finds weekend work waiting tables at a small Italian restaurant near Kichijoji Station. Travel and lunch expenses are included, and he can sometimes cover late shifts on Mondays, Wednesdays, or Thursdays. The manager offers to raise his pay after three months and asks him to start on Saturday. The job fits the practical demands of his new life, but his repeated calls show that the neighborhood is also where he tries, without immediate success, to re-establish contact with Midori.

After Naoko’s death, Toru’s connection to the Kichijoji home becomes part of his departure from ordinary routines. He tells the landlord he will be away for a while and tells the restaurant manager he will not come in to work. He writes Midori a short note saying he cannot yet explain what has happened but hopes she will wait a little longer. After spending three days in cinemas, he packs his rucksack, withdraws his savings, and leaves from Shinjuku Station on the first express train out of town. The cottage and job had offered a workable everyday life, but grief carries him away from both into an aimless journey through unfamiliar towns. Kichijoji therefore marks not a settled resolution, but the fragile home and routine he leaves behind.