Pathway to Japanese Literature
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| Original Title | 百三十二番地の貸家 |
|---|---|
| Author | 岸田 国士 |
| Genre | Modern Short Fiction |
| Author Type | Male Author |
| Summary | On the outskirts of Tokyo, a weathered rental house becomes the stage for uneasy encounters between a peculiar landlord and prospective tenants. Shishido Daisan, a retired widower, obsessively curates who inhabits his property, favoring young couples untouched by life’s hardships—provided they tolerate his invasive scrutiny. When newlyweds Kei and Kyōko visit, Shishido interrogates their finances, marital plans, and even their hypothetical children, offering shockingly low rent in exchange for unfettered access to their daily lives. His unsettling charm masks a deeper loneliness: he yearns to live vicariously through tenants’ "shared flames of emotion," confessing he cleans obsessively during their absences and memorizes their routines. Later visitors—a family with a student sister and a solitary middle-aged woman—face similar intrusions, rejected when their lives defy his romanticized ideals. As Shishido’s desperation grows, so does his willingness to waive rent entirely, yet his erratic behavior leaves each applicant fleeing. Behind peeling rental signs and tatami rooms haunted by past tenants’ laughter, the house becomes a mirror reflecting Shishido’s isolation—and the quiet dread of those who might inherit it. |
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