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Legacy of ResentmentAuthor: Sakaguchi Ango
| Original Title | 遺恨 |
|---|---|
| Author | 坂口 安吾 |
| Genre | Modern Short Fiction |
| Author Type | Male Author |
| Summary | In post-war Tokyo, Professor Umeki grapples with a world upended by inflation and moral decay. Once a respected academic, he now navigates streets teeming with brash university students thriving in black-market chaos while he scrapes by selling possessions. A desperate attempt to reclaim dignity—dining at a Chinese restaurant—descends into humiliation as waitresses mock his poverty and social clumsiness. His crumbling home life mirrors this despair: his wife Akiko scorns his inability to adapt, idolizing the carefree students who flaunt their prosperity. Tormented by shame and rage, Umeki’s resolve fractures further when a feverish delirium exposes his deepest vulnerabilities. The story weaves his personal unraveling with a society where tradition collides with opportunism, and dignity is a relic overshadowed by survival. Through visceral encounters and biting irony, it paints a portrait of a man drowning in resentment, trapped between pride and the crushing weight of an era that has left him behind. |
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