Pathway to Japanese Literature
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23rd AddressAuthor: Miyamoto Yuriko
| Original Title | 二十三番地 |
|---|---|
| Author | 宮本 百合子 |
| Genre | Popular Fiction |
| Author Type | Female Author |
| Summary | A quiet suburban neighborhood, where spacious homes and orderly routines reign, is disrupted when a boisterous family moves into a long-vacant rental house. The newcomers’ chaos—shrill quarrels, neglected children, and a disheveled mistress clashing with servants—contrasts sharply with the narrator’s restrained household. Observing through gaps in a weathered fence, the family watches as their once-peaceful backyard becomes a stage for absurd dramas: a father’s comically inept attempts at poultry farming, raucous late-night parties with drunken colleagues, and a maid’s tearful resignation mid-brawl. The children, caught between propriety and their parents’ eccentricities, spark both pity and fascination. Yet beneath the farce lies unease—a tension between judgment and curiosity, propriety and disorder. When the renters vanish as abruptly as they arrived, leaving behind scattered belongings and unanswered questions, their absence lingers like a half-told joke, inviting readers to ponder the fragile boundaries that separate neighbor from stranger, dignity from absurdity. |
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