Pathway to Japanese Literature
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A Monk’s TaleAuthor: Sakaguchi Ango
| Original Title | 出家物語 |
|---|---|
| Author | 坂口 安吾 |
| Genre | Modern Short Fiction |
| Author Type | Male Author |
| Summary | In the ashes of postwar Tokyo, two survivors orbit each other in a dance of desperation and desire. Kōkichi, a rough-edged oden vendor hardened by loss and black-market hustle, finds himself drawn to Kiyoko—a widow whose bobbed hair and office attire mask contradictions as deep as the city’s rubble. Introduced by a meddling aunt, their courtship becomes a collision of worlds: his earthy pragmatism clashes with her intellectual poise, while wartime ghosts and shifting social codes loom over every interaction. \nKiyoko’s allure lies in her paradoxes—a working mother who quotes propriety yet pursues passion with startling boldness, a modern woman clinging to memories of a “perfect” marriage. As Kōkichi navigates her mercurial whims and cryptic past, postwar Japan itself emerges as a character—a land where black-market oden pots brim with stray animals turned profit, where geishas jostle with bureaucrats, and survival demands reinvention. \nTheir tentative bond frays under secrets and power struggles, revealing hunger that transcends physical need—a craving for meaning in a world where tradition and chaos brew like miso broth. Will connection heal their wounds, or become another casualty of the era’s relentless churn? |
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