Pathway to Japanese Literature

Discover Japan's stories—across time, across language.

Practicing DoctorAuthor: Nagatsuka Takashi

Original Title	開業医
Author	長塚節
Genre	Popular Fiction
Author Type	Male Author
Summary	In a quiet rural town, a young doctor navigates the complexities of private practice amidst crumbling surroundings—a decaying sake brewery, vegetable fields, and laundry shops. Haunted by memories of academic struggles and wartime service, he reflects on a past marked by fleeting ambitions and fractured relationships. Once a promising student under a strict professor, his descent into indulgence led to professional setbacks and estrangement from family. Military life brought harsh discipline and absurd clashes with superiors, while brief encounters with women—a devoted nurse, a moonlit admirer—left lingering regrets he cannot outrun. Now, in his weathered clinic, patients come and go as he shares fragments of his story with a guest: tales of youthful defiance, failed romances, and the weight of choices that bind him to this solitary existence. Shadows of his former self linger—a man caught between duty and desire, striving to mend a life shaped by recklessness and resilience. The town’s whispers and creaking fences mirror his quiet turmoil, inviting readers into a world where redemption remains as elusive as the fading glow of a lantern.