Pathway to Japanese Literature
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| Original Title | 渾沌未分 |
|---|---|
| Author | 岡本 かの子 |
| Genre | Modern Short Fiction |
| Author Type | Female Author |
| Summary | In 1930s Tokyo, Kocho, the last torchbearer of her family's ancient Seigai-ryu swimming tradition, faces a devastating tide. Her father's fortunes are sinking, their ancestral home lost, and their riverside swimming grounds—their last sanctuary—are threatened by the city's relentless expansion. As the encroaching modern world demands her surrender, Kocho finds herself torn between two stark choices: Kaoru, a passionate young love, and Kaibara, a wealthy lumber merchant whose pragmatic offer could secure her family’s survival, but at an unbearable cost to her spirit. With the annual long-distance swim looming, Kocho grapples with the "fierce force of urban culture" that both repels and fascinates her. Stripped bare, she yearns for a state of "chaos undivided," a primal freedom found only in the depths. As her world fragments, Kocho must decide if she will sacrifice her heart for security, or plunge into the turbulent unknown to reclaim her very soul? |
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