Pathway to Japanese Literature
Discover Japan's stories—across time, across language.
← Back
Kangyodō LandscapeAuthor: Makino Shinichi
| Original Title | 環魚洞風景 |
|---|---|
| Author | 牧野 信一 |
| Genre | Modern Short Fiction |
| Author Type | Male Author |
| Summary | In a mist-shrouded coastal town haunted by thunderous blasts from mountain tunnel construction, two disaffected youths idle away their days in restless limbo. Expelled from their families and adrift without purpose, Fujimura and his companion pass time wrestling on beaches, drunkenly bellowing songs, and dissecting trivialities—their conversations circling like gulls over unspoken anxieties. The ceaseless detonations reverberate through hot spring vapors and damp alleyways, a jarring counterpoint to the town’s languid rhythms. Rainy season confinement amplifies their shared inertia, punctuated by half-hearted debates about becoming fishermen or field watchmen. Memories of a fleeting encounter with a spirited foreign woman linger like sea haze, her ghostly “Hurrah!” echoing near a treacherous cliffside path they dare not tread. As construction drones on—a battle between human ambition and the mountain’s “ironclad belly”—the pair’s camaraderie frays into uneasy silence, their futures as uncertain as the tides below. A portrait of listless youth and muffled yearning, where even explosions blur into the white noise of existence. |
← Return to List← Return to TOP