Pathway to Japanese Literature

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

Gōsuke HōshiAuthor: Kunieda Shiro

Original Title	郷介法師
Author	国枝史郎
Genre	Detective & Mystery
Author Type	Male Author
Summary	In the predawn mist outside a wealthy merchant’s estate, a chilling omen appears: a crucifixion pillar demanding 50,000 ryō. Uoya Riemon, a shrewd trader unshaken by threats, negotiates with eerie calm as a mysterious maiden arrives to collect the debt—not in gold, but through a promissory note. This marks the shadowy reach of Gōsuke Hōshi, a bandit whose name stirs dread even among Japan’s most powerful. When Sen no Rikyū, the revered tea master, dismisses the danger, a pillar materializes in his garden, targeting a priceless artifact entrusted by warlord Hideyoshi himself. Behind these acts lies Gōsuke—a figure shrouded in legend, whose tragic past as a disgraced samurai turned outlaw blurs lines between vengeance and destiny. As alliances fracture and ancient grudges resurface, his enigmatic motives threaten to unravel the fragile order of a war-torn era. Whispers of his parentage, a stolen bride, and a conscience haunted by crucifixion pillars weave a tale where loyalty is currency and survival demands crossing every line. Will his reckoning topple empires, or bury him deeper in the shadows he commands?