The Un-Matchmakers

There is a “peculiarly Japanese profession—part-private investigator, part-prostitute—known as wakaresase-ya; the ‘splitter-uppers.’ The function of the wakaresase-ya is the direct opposite of a dating agency: with great ingenuity, and the right fee, they will break apart human relationships.” The broken-hearted ex will be visited by the girl’s “new boyfriend”; the undesirable daughter-in-law-to-be will be lured into a drunken one-night stand and photographs of their tryst will find their way to her fiancé; the stubborn employee will find himself confronted with evidence of gambling debts, or nights in massage parlors — and resign to avoid embarrassment. The “splitter-upper” orchestrates these events.