Pathway to Japanese Literature

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

Ancient MaidenAuthor: Itō Sachio

Original Title	古代之少女
Author	伊藤左千夫
Genre	Fantasy & Sci-Fi
Author Type	Male Author
Summary	In a quiet village veiled by frost-kissed mulberry fields and crimson-berried hedges, Tekona’s ethereal beauty stirs whispers among pines and restless hearts alike. A humble maiden of radiant grace, she tends her family’s rice harvest beneath Seto Mountain’s gaze, unaware her destiny teeters between two worlds. Komuro Shibeshiro, a brooding magistrate whose midnight rides leave hoofprints at her gate, offers poems and silken obis—tokens of a love as fierce as his silver sword. Yet dawn reveals another suitor: Lord Shinobu, heir to a noble house, whose status promises her family prestige but binds her to duty’s cold embrace. As autumn fades, rivalries smolder—village youths seethe, envious nobles scheme, and whispered rumors spiral into clashes beneath moonlit reeds. Caught between desire and obligation, Tekona’s heart becomes a battleground where love’s purity wars with honor’s chains. Will her choice ignite peace or unravel a tapestry of longing woven through generations? The answer lies where frost meets flame, and destiny dances on the edge of a blade.