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The Old Master's PeriodAuthor: Okamoto Kanoko
| Original Title | 老主の一時期 |
|---|---|
| Author | 岡本 かの子 |
| Genre | Modern Short Fiction |
| Author Type | Female Author |
| Summary | In the twilight of his reign as Edo’s most formidable merchant, Sōemon Yamakiya’s world fractures when a cruel twist of fate strikes his family. Once envied for his vast wealth and two radiant daughters—Osayo, ethereal as autumn mist, and Osato, dazzling as spring blossoms—he now reels from their sudden affliction: a crippling illness that leaves both girls lame. The shock claims his devoted wife, Otsugi, whose quiet presence had anchored his ruthless ambition. As whispers of his unraveling spread among his warehouses and clerks, Sōemon retreats into spiritual torment, haunted by his daughters’ disfigured grace and a haunting mural of a celestial Bodhisattva whose beauty ignites forbidden longing. Torn between guilt, decaying pride, and a desperate search for redemption through Buddhist rituals, he teeters on madness, pouring his fortune into temple gardens while avoiding the grotesque shadows of his past. Yet even as he flees reality, the ghosts of familial duty and unspoken desires pull him toward an uncertain reckoning—one where salvation may lie not in piety or wealth, but in confronting the fragile humanity he long suppressed. |
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