Pathway to Japanese Literature
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MoldAuthor: Tokuda Shūsei
| Original Title | 黴 |
|---|---|
| Author | 徳田 秋声 |
| Genre | Modern Short Fiction |
| Author Type | Male Author |
| Summary | Sasamura returns to Tokyo’s grimy boardinghouses after aimless travels, pressured to abandon his rootless life. Haunted by friends’ domestic contentment and a crumbling existence, he marries Ogin—a woman shrouded in secrets from a turbulent past. Their uneasy bond frays under financial strain, Sasamura’s stifled ambitions, and Ogin’s lingering ties to a former lover. As summer heat amplifies tensions in their cramped rental, clashes with estranged friend Miyama and whispers of Ogin’s pregnancy threaten to unravel fragile stability. Against a backdrop of clattering forges and suffocating traditions, Sasamura navigates societal expectations and restless desires, questioning whether conformity can ever quell his yearning for freedom. A brooding exploration of identity, obligation, and the shadows that cling to fractured lives. |
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