Pathway to Japanese Literature
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| Original Title | 雪たたき |
|---|---|
| Author | 幸田 露伴 |
| Genre | Modern Short Fiction |
| Author Type | Male Author |
| Summary | In a snow-laden night, a solitary, enigmatic ronin accidentally gains entry to a wealthy merchant's estate in tumultuous 15th-century Sakai. Confronted by the mistress and offered lavish compensation to leave, he defiantly takes a cherished flute, an item he believes holds incriminating power, and disappears into the night. What begins as an act of calculated defiance quickly spirals into a desperate game of wills. The mistress and her powerful, shrewd father, Enji-ya, will stop at nothing to retrieve the item, for its absence threatens to unravel a carefully constructed life and family honor. But the ronin, a man of fierce, unyielding principles, sees the flute as a weapon against the deceit and corruption of a world consumed by ambition and treachery. As his former comrades-in-arms arrive, the flute becomes a pivotal pawn in a high-stakes plot to restore a fallen clan, drawing the unwitting merchant into a brewing rebellion. Against a backdrop of warring lords and shifting loyalties, will one man's rigid ideals survive the onslaught of power and desperation, or will the weight of an entire era crush him and his cause? |
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