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

| Original Title | 紫の壜 |
|---|---|
| Author | 豊島 与志雄 |
| Genre | Detective & Mystery |
| Author Type | Male Author |
| Summary | A man faces prosecution under suspicion of murder or coerced suicide, trapped between fragmented memories and a justice system demanding confession. His recollections center on Yumiko—a woman marked by wartime scars and a haunting past—whose bar becomes a refuge for their uneasy reunion. Their interactions simmer with unresolved longing: fleeting kisses laced with alcohol, cryptic conversations about marriage, and a volatile blend of tenderness and despair. A small purple bottle of poison emerges as a silent witness, its origins tied to Yumiko’s traumatic history. As their final encounter spirals into tragedy, blurred intentions and drunken missteps culminate in her sudden death. Was it an accident, a suicide, or something darker? The protagonist grapples with guilt, shame, and the crushing weight of unspoken truths, while authorities dissect his every motive. Amidst legal battles and soul-searching, their fractured love story lingers—a collision of vulnerability and fate, where memory and reality blur into an inescapable reckoning. |