Writer's note: This is an excerpt from an interview with a salaryman who wishes to remain anonymous.

Kafka's character woke up one day to discover he'd turned into a giant bug. Often I feel a similar rush of odoroki (驚き, surprise) wash over me as I realize that this year I'll be 41, a single Japanese male employed by an electronics mēkā (メーカー, manufacturer) on the outskirts of Tokyo.

I may not be a giant bug, but I've turned into a statistic, and I feel like I'll go crazy if I don't get this stuff off my chest. Actually, two of my dōryō (同僚, colleagues) were diagnosed with utsu (鬱, depression) and took leaves of absence. Very likely they're not coming back. I don't want the same thing happening to me, and they do say that hanaseba raku ni naru (話せば楽になる, "Talking about it helps").