Pathway to Japanese Literature
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| Original Title | 犠牲者 |
|---|---|
| Author | 平林 初之輔 |
| Genre | Modern Short Fiction |
| Author Type | Male Author |
| Summary | In a snow-laden Tokyo, Kintarō Imamura—a dutiful clerk content with his modest salary and dreams of a humble home—finds fleeting joy in life’s small rhythms. His orderly world shatters one blizzard night when an unexplained blow leaves him unconscious. Awakening to a nightmare, he is arrested for a janitor’s murder he did not commit. A glove misplaced in the storm becomes damning evidence, and Imamura’s quiet integrity crumbles under a justice system eager to convict. As detectives dissect his every word, his wife vanishes, his savings evaporate, and hope flickers like a dying ember. The truth dances just beyond reach: Was it fate’s cruel twist, a corporate conspiracy, or mere chance that ensnared him? Trapped in a labyrinth of bureaucracy and suspicion, Imamura becomes a pawn in a game where innocence holds no currency. His story whispers of fragile dreams crushed beneath society’s wheels—a haunting reminder of how easily light fades in the storm. |
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