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Toriemon Travels the ProvincesAuthor: Niimi Nankichi
| Original Title | 鳥右ヱ門諸国をめぐる |
|---|---|
| Author | 新美 南吉 |
| Genre | Children's Literature |
| Author Type | Male Author |
| Summary | Toriumon, a samurai lord consumed by cruelty, finds his violent pastimes shadowed by Heiji, a servant whose silent, piercing gaze unsettles him. When Toriumon blinds Heiji during a fit of rage, the act haunts him years later as he abandons his title, wandering Japan in search of redemption. Adopting monkhood in a remote village, he dedicates himself to forging a bell to bring peace to others—a decades-long quest that becomes his fragile hope for atonement. Yet when he encounters Heiji again, now a blind beggar, their fraught reunion unravels Toriumon’s fragile resolve. The bell’s pure chimes, meant to heal, instead amplify his guilt, driving him into madness as spectral echoes of his sins pursue him across the provinces. This haunting tale weaves moral reckoning with poetic melancholy, exploring whether true redemption can ever outpace the ghosts of cruelty—or if some wounds fester beyond repair. |
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