Pathway to Japanese Literature
Discover Japan's stories—across time, across language.
← Back
The Fourth Sunday of MarchAuthor: Miyamoto Yuriko
| Original Title | 三月の第四日曜 |
|---|---|
| Author | 宮本 百合子 |
| Genre | Modern Short Fiction |
| Author Type | Female Author |
| Summary | In prewar Tokyo, young Sai navigates a dawn-lit world of industrial clamor and fragile connections. Her brother Yukichi arrives from their rural village to work as an “industrial soldier,” his wide-eyed bewilderment mirroring her own past struggles in the city. Amidst train stations choked with conscripted youths and workshops echoing with patriotic slogans, their reunion is tinged with distance—three years apart have carved unfamiliarity between them. Sai’s life unfolds in cramped lodgings and a textile factory where women draft patterns under Sergeant Hirata’s stern gaze, their camaraderie fraying under wartime pressures. As sirens wail and red draft notices circulate, she grapples with isolation, exploitative landlords, and the gnawing fear that Yukichi’s innocence will be swallowed by the mechanized city. Yet fragments of home persist: miso pickles wrapped in newspaper, shared laughter over stolen pencils, and the fragile hope that kinship might anchor them in a world where humanity flickers beneath factory smoke and thousand-stitch talismans. |
← Return to List← Return to TOP