Pathway to Japanese Literature
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| Original Title | 抱茗荷の説 |
|---|---|
| Author | 山本 禾太郎 |
| Genre | Detective & Mystery |
| Author Type | Male Author |
| Summary | Kimiko Tadokoro’s life is shrouded in fragmented memories: a grandmother’s bedtime tales of her parents’ mysterious deaths, a hooded pilgrim bearing her mother’s face, and a golden talisman that killed her devout father. Orphaned young, she clings to a haunting vision—a distant mountain crowned by a lone pine tree—and a doll, the sole relic of her mother’s disappearance into a manor guarded by a pond. Years later, as a drifter among performers, Kimiko’s quest for truth leads her to a decaying estate where camellias bloom over dark waters and spectral figures stalk shadowed halls. A cryptic note hidden in the doll’s body hints at a cursed lineage of twin sisters locked in rivalry, their feud echoing through generations. As Kimiko unravels secrets etched in birthmarks and crests, she confronts a widow whose face mirrors her mother’s and a paralytic crone harboring guilty whispers. With each step, danger tightens—a cleaver-wielding pursuer, midnight intruders, and the chilling realization that her bloodline is both key and target. Beneath storm-lashed skies, vengeance and redemption collide, but the pond’s depths guard one final revelation: who floats beneath its amber surface, and what price must be paid to lay the past to rest. |
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