Pathway to Japanese Literature
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Youths Afflicted with LeprosyAuthor: Hōjō Tamio
| Original Title | 癩を病む青年達 |
|---|---|
| Author | 北条 民雄 |
| Genre | Modern Short Fiction |
| Author Type | Male Author |
| Summary | In a secluded sanatorium, young Naruse confronts the relentless advance of leprosy, a disease that erodes both body and hope. Once clinging to the belief that treatment might cure him, he now navigates a world where time is measured in agonizing cycles of “agitation” and false calm. The hospital’s routines—grueling injections, meager meals, and hollow camaraderie—reveal a community stripped of societal ties yet haunted by memories of normalcy. Patients cling to fleeting distractions: gossip, political debates, or desperate courtships in a place where women are scarce and survival is tinged with decay. \nNaruse’s fragile resolve shatters when feverish nodules erupt across his skin, forcing him into the critical care ward—a liminal space between life and death. Here, grotesque suffering becomes mundane: convulsing bodies, disfigured faces, and whispered tales of surgeries that delay but never prevent demise. Amidst this despair, fleeting connections emerge—a pregnant woman’s fractured joy, a blind man’s faded wedding photo—each a mirror reflecting Naruse’s own unraveling future. \nAs storms rage outside, Naruse grapples with existential dread: to endure as a “leprous race” or surrender to darkness. The sanatorium’s walls tighten, blurring the line between resilience and futility, leaving him suspended in a world where even hope is a symptom of delusion. |
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