Pathway to Japanese Literature

Discover Japan's stories—across time, across language.

Red JewelAuthor: Izumi Kyoka

Original Title	紅玉
Author	泉鏡花
Genre	Modern Short Fiction
Author Type	Male Author
Summary	In a desolate winter field at dusk, a disheveled artist staggers under the weight of a rejected silk painting, his despair palpable. A group of children mistake his burden for a kite, weaving imaginary strings around him until their play takes an uncanny turn. Shadows deepen as crow-like figures emerge—a maid in disguise, then others—their human forms cloaked in feathers and cryptic intent. The artist’s drunken melancholy intertwines with their schemes: a stolen jeweled ring, whispered conspiracies, and a noblewoman’s otherworldly allure. \nAs night falls, the boundary between reality and illusion frays. The crows debate morality and hunger, their banter laced with menace, while the artist becomes an unwitting pawn in their games. A pistol-wielding gentleman confronts the maid, unraveling threads of betrayal and spectral bargains. Flames lick at the edges of the scene as the painting itself seems to pulse with life, leaving the artist—and reader—questioning what is artifice and what is cursed truth. \nEerie chants, half-glimpsed transformations, and a lingering sense of dread weave through this haunting tale where human folly collides with forces beyond comprehension.