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

| Original Title | スプリングコート |
|---|---|
| Author | 牧野 信一 |
| Genre | Modern Short Fiction |
| Author Type | Male Author |
| Summary | In a seaside town steeped in simmering tensions, a man drifts through days haunted by fractured family bonds. Shinichi’s strained relationship with his father festers beneath sweltering afternoons, their clashes over pride and past grievances echoing like the distant blare of steamship whistles. A threadbare coat becomes an unlikely focal point—ill-fitting yet clung to as both armor and secret. Once belonging to a half-sister he’s never met, its altered seams hide layers of shame and unspoken histories, drawing envy from friends oblivious to its origins. \nAs marital discord and creative failures gnaw at him, Shinichi’s fragile world unravels further when a catastrophic earthquake obliterates societal facades, exposing raw truths about his parents’ crumbling lives. The coat lingers as a relic of identity and defiance, its fate entwined with Shinichi’s faltering attempts to reconcile resentment with yearning. Amidst scorching summers and brittle winters, the story weaves a portrait of generational dissonance, where buried desires and seismic upheavals collide—leaving readers to ponder what truths lie stitched within the fabric of memory and what storms might finally mend or sever frayed ties. |