The Kitchen God
The New Yorker|July 10 - 17, 2023 (Double Issue)
I tried peeling the kitchen wall with my fingernails, but that didn't work, so I pressed hard with my fingers and a flake of the "stucco," which is what I call it, fell off.
HIROMI KAWAKAMI
The Kitchen God

I don't know if it's really stucco or not, or even what stucco is, precisely, but I like the snappy sound of the word, and that's good enough for me.

I popped the stucco into my mouth. Then I chewed and chewed until, finally, I was able to swallow it.

Once you dislodge the first piece, the rest is easy. Over and over, I stripped flakes of stucco from the crumbling wall and ate them.

"You shouldn't be eating that!" said a voice from under the refrigerator.

That had to be the kitchen god.

A kitchen god is small, has three faces, and lives in the dark corners of the kitchen. The first time I saw one, I screamed, which earned me a scolding from my mother. That was before I started first grade. My mother then was younger than I am now.

"You must never be scared of the kitchen god, or neglect him, either," my mother said.

Were kitchen gods common, I wondered. Did they inhabit other people's kitchens, too? My mother never instructed me to keep my mouth shut about ours; nevertheless, I didn't breathe a word about him to Ayaka, who lived next door, or to my cousin, Shō.

I'm a grown woman now, but in all these years I haven't told a soul about the kitchen god. After I got married, I moved into this company apartment with my husband, but it didn't take long for a kitchen god to show up. This kitchen god, however, was unlike the one I had grown up with: the three faces were different, as was the sound of his voice, and its cadence.

"He's here," I told my mother.

"He's present, you mean," she said sternly.

"So, they're everywhere," I said.

"You mean, they are present everywhere."

"It seems they're present everywhere."

"Yes, they are present.

"My mother lowered her voice. "It's because you have the right attitude, Izumi," she said.

"Attitude?"

"Yes, kitchen gods only inhabit the kitchens of women who display the proper attitude."

Denne historien er fra July 10 - 17, 2023 (Double Issue)-utgaven av The New Yorker.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

Denne historien er fra July 10 - 17, 2023 (Double Issue)-utgaven av The New Yorker.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA THE NEW YORKERSe alt
YULE RULES
The New Yorker

YULE RULES

“Christmas Eve in Miller’s Point.”

time-read
6 mins  |
November 18, 2024
COLLISION COURSE
The New Yorker

COLLISION COURSE

In Devika Rege’ first novel, India enters a troubling new era.

time-read
8 mins  |
November 18, 2024
NEW CHAPTER
The New Yorker

NEW CHAPTER

Is the twentieth-century novel a genre unto itself?

time-read
10+ mins  |
November 18, 2024
STUCK ON YOU
The New Yorker

STUCK ON YOU

Pain and pleasure at a tattoo convention.

time-read
10+ mins  |
November 18, 2024
HEAVY SNOW HAN KANG
The New Yorker

HEAVY SNOW HAN KANG

Kyungha-ya. That was the entirety of Inseon’s message: my name.

time-read
10+ mins  |
November 18, 2024
REPRISE
The New Yorker

REPRISE

Reckoning with Donald Trump's return to power.

time-read
10 mins  |
November 18, 2024
WHAT'S YOUR PARENTING-FAILURE STYLE?
The New Yorker

WHAT'S YOUR PARENTING-FAILURE STYLE?

Whether you’re horrifying your teen with nauseating sex-ed analogies or watching TikToks while your toddler eats a bagel from the subway floor, face it: you’re flailing in the vast chasm of your child’s relentless needs.

time-read
2 mins  |
November 18, 2024
COLOR INSTINCT
The New Yorker

COLOR INSTINCT

Jadé Fadojutimi, a British painter, sees the world through a prism.

time-read
10+ mins  |
November 18, 2024
THE FAMILY PLAN
The New Yorker

THE FAMILY PLAN

The pro-life movement’ new playbook.

time-read
10+ mins  |
November 18, 2024
President for Sale - A survey of today's political ads.
The New Yorker

President for Sale - A survey of today's political ads.

On a mid-October Sunday not long ago sun high, wind cool-I was in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, for a book festival, and I took a stroll. There were few people on the streets-like the population of a lot of capital cities, Harrisburg's swells on weekdays with lawyers and lobbyists and legislative staffers, and dwindles on the weekends. But, on the façades of small businesses and in the doorways of private homes, I could see evidence of political activity. Across from the sparkling Susquehanna River, there was a row of Democratic lawn signs: Malcolm Kenyatta for auditor general, Bob Casey for U.S. Senate, and, most important, in white letters atop a periwinkle not unlike that of the sky, Kamala Harris for President.

time-read
8 mins  |
November 11, 2024