Pathway to Japanese Literature
Discover Japan's stories—across time, across language.
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| Original Title | 柊の垣のうちから |
|---|---|
| Author | 北条 民雄 |
| Genre | Modern Short Fiction |
| Author Type | Male Author |
| Summary | At twenty-one, Hojo Tamio finds his world irrevocably altered by a devastating diagnosis. With his father, he makes a haunting pilgrimage to a secluded leprosarium, where a formidable "holly fence" marks his definitive separation from life outside. Inside, Tamio is plunged into a reality far more terrifying than he imagined—a world where human faces distort, spirits unravel, and the very essence of individuality is brutally eroded. As he confronts the relentless march of disease within himself and among his fellow patients, Tamio grapples with profound questions: the solace of art, the search for meaning in suffering society deems irrelevant, and the desperate fight to preserve his unique expression and will to live when the body itself becomes the ultimate enemy. This is his journey from within the holly fence. |
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