Pathway to Japanese Literature

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

A Parent and Child Dialogue (One Act)Author: Kishida Kunio

See Author Details Here：Wiki (Kishida Kunio)

Original Title	ある親子の問答（一幕）
Author	岸田国士
Genre	Modern Short Fiction
Author Type	Male Author
Summary	On a chilly mountain veranda at summer’s end, a young man and his mother linger in uneasy silence. Their conversation—fraught with unspoken histories—dances between tenderness and resentment. He resists her probing questions about marriage, rejecting societal expectations and the weight of inherited identity. “Children resemble their parents,” he declares bitterly, “and that is our greatest misfortune.” She treads carefully, her affection clashing with his simmering defiance. Their dialogue unravels layers of grief: a father’s ghostly presence looms unmentioned, his legacy a specter in their strained dynamic. As night deepens, vulnerabilities surface—tears, accusations, and a desperate plea for mutual understanding. The young man’s rebellion against familial duty collides with his mother’s quiet sorrow, both trapped in roles they cannot escape. Shadows lengthen, lamps flicker, and unresolved tensions linger like the autumn chill creeping into the room. What begins as a simple exchange becomes a haunting meditation on love, autonomy, and the invisible chains binding parent to child—a fragile dance where every word risks fracturing the bond it seeks to mend.