Summary

In Chapter 1 of Sweet Bean Paste, Sentaro Tsujii was working at the bakery, Doraharu, making dorayaki. As he cooked pancakes, an elderly woman entered the bakery and asked about the help wanted sign posted in the window. Sentaro was dismissive and alluded to the low wages in order to dissuade further conversation.

In the following chapter, Sentaro arrived at the bakery at eleven o’clock. He followed his morning routine, drinking coffee and pushing the delivery of ready-made bean paste from the pavement into the kitchen. Sentaro pulled out a tub of leftover tsubuan and mixed it with the new delivery. Later that day, Sentaro was dismayed when the elderly woman, Tokue Yoshii, visited Doraharu again. Tokue told the baker that she had been making bean paste for over fifty years. From her purse, Tokue removed a small Tupperware container and handed...