Pathway to Japanese Literature

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

Biwa DenAuthor: Izumi Kyoka

Original Title	琵琶伝
Author	泉鏡花
Genre	Popular Fiction
Author Type	Male Author
Summary	In a chilling wedding hall, a bride named Oto enters her marriage with lifeless eyes and a heart bound by duty. Her groom, Captain Kondo Shigetaka, exudes cold authority, demanding unwavering fidelity from a wife who openly despises him. A cryptic letter reveals Oto’s forced union—a sacrifice to preserve family honor—while her heart remains tethered to Kenzaburo, a cousin bound for war. Their love, once nurtured by whispered messages through a white parrot named Biwa, now festers in secrecy. \nAs Kenzaburo prepares for battle, desperation drives him to defy military orders for one final meeting with Oto, now imprisoned in isolation by her vengeful husband. Guards patrol her solitude; even Biwa’s cries cannot bridge their separation. Yet defiance simmers beneath Oto’s stoic veneer, her vows to shatter marital chains clashing with Shigetaka’s ruthless resolve to dominate her spirit. \nAmid moonlit graveyards and echoing gunshots, loyalty and obsession collide in a suffocating dance of control. Whispers of rebellion, a bloodstained throat, and wings rustling in the dark weave a tale of love corroded by vengeance—where even death may not sever the bonds of cruelty. A haunting prologue to tragedy, where every glance holds a secret and every silence screams betrayal.