Author Umino Tsunami Portrays Marriage as a Career in “Nigehaji”

Mikuri explains her idea of a “contract marriage”—not simple cohabitation, but something with various benefits for Hiramasa. (© Umino Tsunami/Kōdansha)

Mikuri’s aunt, Yuri, talks about the “curse.” One way to escape this fearsome fate, she suggests, is to become friends with older people who are clearly enjoying their own lives. (© Umino Tsunami/Kōdansha)

Mikuri suggests that women should have children while still in high school. “The kids would be pretty big by the time the moms are looking for jobs,” she notes, “and daycare centers could be set up in empty rooms at school so they could nurse their babies during free time.” (© Umino Tsunami/Kōdansha)