The Housekeeper and the Professor

The Housekeeper and the Professor, written by Yōko Ogawa, is a work of literary fiction set in modern-day Japan and loosely based on the book The Man Who Loved Only Numbers, a biography of the mathematician Paul Erdös. The Housekeeper and the Professor was originally published in Japanese in 2003; it sold more than one million copies and received the Hon’ya Taisho award in 2004. In 2006, it was adapted into a film version, titled The Professor’s Beloved Equation (the literal translation of the original Japanese title). The English translation by Stephen Snyder was published in 2009.

Plot Summary

In March 1992, the unnamed narrator of the novel is assigned by her housekeeping agency, Akebono, to work for a new client, a former professor of mathematics. The Professor has already gone through a large number of housekeepers, and she expects the assignment to be a difficult one. When she meets with the Professor’s widowed sister-in-law and benefactor, she discovers the reason why: The Professor was in a bad car accident in 1975, and as a result, is unable to remember anything from more than 80 minutes prior. The sister-in-law also explains that because the Professor has his own cottage on the property with its own entrance, the housekeeper is not to bother the widow for any reason.

Although the Professor is curt and unfriendly, the narrator finds the work to be simple compared to her other assignments, aside from the Professor’s distracting eccentricities. When he finishes his current mathematical problem, though, the Professor relaxes and becomes friendlier. During conversation one day, he discovers that the narrator has a young son; alarmed that the boy has to fend for himself after school each day, he insists that she bring her son with her to work. He nicknames him Root due to the flat top of his head.

Root and the Professor grow very close, bonding over their love of the baseball team the Hanshin Tigers, even though the Professor still believes it is 1975 and that his favorite pitcher, Yutaka Enatsu, still pitches for the team. The Professor’s care for and patience with Root makes the narrator trust and respect him deeply, and the three spend hours talking about his favorite topic—number theory—and enjoying one another’s company.

In June, the narrator decides to treat the Professor and Root to a baseball game, as neither has ever seen a game in person. They take precautions to ensure the Professor isn’t too overwhelmed, and they all have a great time. Unfortunately, the Professor comes down with a fever after the game; the narrator goes above and beyond her normal duties to care for him until he’s better, even staying overnight. However, shortly after he recovers, she receives word from the agency that she’s been reassigned at the request of the widow.

The narrator goes to work for another couple, two tax consultants who make her work long hours and often blur the lines between her duties and their business. She finds that her friendship with the Professor has greatly affected her—she carries a pencil and paper around so she can investigate interesting numbers.

One day, Root shows up at the Professor’s house unannounced, hoping to show him a book about Lou Gehrig. The widow calls the narrator and questions her motives, accusing her of trying to get something out of the Professor. But when the Professor angrily writes Euler’s formula on a slip of paper and storms off, the widow’s demeanor changes. She hires the narrator back to work for the Professor again. However, the narrator never learns the significance of the formula to the widow or the Professor.

In the fall, the Professor wins an important mathematics prize; the narrator decides to have a small party to celebrate the prize and Root’s upcoming birthday. In the meantime, though, she notes that his memory seems to be getting worse. They have a nice party: The narrator and her son give the Professor a special Enatsu baseball card, while he gives Root a nice baseball glove. That weekend, the widow informs the narrator that the Professor will be moving to a long-term care facility, as his memory is now almost nonexistent. The narrator is worried that she did something wrong again, but the widow tells her the plans have been in motion for some time—she wanted them to have one last nice night together before he moved.

The narrator and Root visit the Professor at the facility for years until he eventually passes away; once a month, they pack lunch, picnicking with the Professor when the weather is nice so he and Root can play catch. Sometimes, the widow even sits and talks with them as well. Root plays baseball through college until he is injured. After graduation, he passes his exams to become a middle-school math teacher, to the pride and joy of the Professor.