Pathway to Japanese Literature
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Phantom Sound of the KotoAuthor: Natsume Soseki
| Original Title | 琴のそら音 |
|---|---|
| Author | 夏目 漱石 |
| Genre | Modern Short Fiction |
| Author Type | Male Author |
| Summary | In a dimly lit boarding house, two former classmates reunite—one burdened by the grind of adult life, the other immersed in scholarly leisure. The narrator, exhausted by work and a fussy, superstitious housemaid, envies Tsuda-kun’s idle study of ghost stories. Their conversation drifts to eerie tales: a soldier’s wife who haunts him through a mirror after her death, her spectral vow transcending continents. Later, walking home through rain-lashed streets, the narrator is unnerved by strange sounds—a distant howl, a phantom fire—and growing dread for his fiancée’s health. Visions of illness and death plague him, amplified by his housemaid’s ominous warnings. By dawn, he races to his betrothed’s home, fearing the worst… only to find her lively and well. Yet lingering questions remain: What threads connect reality to the uncanny? And in a world where logic falters, can mere caution shield against the unseen? A haunting exploration of anxiety, belief, and the shadows that blur life’s edges. |
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