Pathway to Japanese Literature
Discover Japan's stories—across time, across language.
← Back
CicadaAuthor: Makino Shinichi
| Original Title | 蝉 |
|---|---|
| Author | 牧野 信一 |
| Genre | Modern Short Fiction |
| Author Type | Male Author |
| Summary | In a cramped Tokyo apartment, Shūko confronts her husband Takino over his nightly drunken antics—raucous singing of college anthems, clumsy dances, and boisterous exercises that mortify their neighbors. Once a rural free spirit, Takino now grapples with Tokyo’s stifling expectations, his attempts at refinement collapsing into absurdity. Shūko longs for suburban tranquility, envisioning a life where his unrestrained energy might find purpose beyond humiliation. At an alumni reunion, Takino’s desperate bid for acceptance—a shrill cicada impression—backfires spectacularly, exposing his alienation from both past and present. As Shūko house-hunts for escape, Takino oscillates between vows of sobriety and nostalgic dreams of trumpet solos in imagined idylls. Their clashing desires weave a darkly comic portrait of marriage and identity, where every effort at reinvention risks deeper ridicule. Will the suburbs offer salvation, or merely new stages for old failures? The answer hums in the shadows, as persistent as cicadas in summer’s fading light. |
← Return to List← Return to TOP