Pathway to Japanese Literature
Discover Japan's stories—across time, across language.
← Back
The Miser God’s LodgingAuthor: Sakaguchi Ango
| Original Title | 吝嗇神の宿 |
|---|---|
| Author | 坂口 安吾 |
| Genre | Modern Short Fiction |
| Author Type | Male Author |
| Summary | In the shadowy backstreets of post-war Tokyo, a weathered burglar returns to his shabby hideout near Shinjuku Gyoen with Shishido, a mysterious repatriate from China. His lover Otsu—a brash, goldfish-faced woman with a penchant for frugality—greets them with hostility, sparking volatile clashes over money, loyalty, and Shishido’s unsettling presence. Paranoia festers as the Burglar obsessively searches their cramped apartment for signs of Otsu’s infidelity, while Shishido’s calm indifference to violence and cryptic past unnerve him. A tense alliance forms: the Burglar schemes to install Shishido as a factory night watchman to enable thefts, yet doubts gnaw at him. Otsu’s ferocious stinginess and Shishido’s eerie resilience blur lines between contempt and twisted camaraderie. Amid squabbles over cutlets and suspicions of betrayal, the trio’s fragile coexistence teeters on chaos—a powder keg of desperation and dark humor in a world where trust is as scarce as wartime luxuries. Secrets linger in every glance, and survival hinges on lies sharper than knives. |
← Return to List← Return to TOP