Pathway to Japanese Literature
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The Camellia Tree Where the Cow Was TiedAuthor: Niimi Nankichi
| Original Title | 牛をつないだ椿の木 |
|---|---|
| Author | 新美 南吉 |
| Genre | Children's Literature |
| Author Type | Male Author |
| Summary | In a quiet mountain village, two men—a rickshaw puller and a cowherd—share a routine of resting beneath a young camellia tree and drinking from a distant spring. Their peaceful rhythm shatters when the cow devours the tree’s leaves, provoking the wrath of a wealthy landowner. Humiliated by the scolding, the rickshaw puller, Kaizou, envisions a solution: a well by the roadside to spare future travelers the arduous trek to the spring. But ambition meets resistance. The cowherd refuses to fund it, villagers ignore donation pleas, and the stubborn landowner forbids construction. Undeterred, Kaizou sacrifices small comforts, saving every coin he once spent on snacks, while wrestling with moral dilemmas when fate threatens the landowner’s life. Years of perseverance culminate in a bittersweet triumph—a lasting gift for the community, born of one man’s quiet resolve. Yet as the well’s water flows, Kaizou’s journey takes an unexpected turn, leaving behind echoes of sacrifice and a legacy etched into the land itself. |
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