Pathway to Japanese Literature

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Stealing the Incense BurnerAuthor: Murō Saisei

Original Title	香爐を盗む
Author	室生犀星
Genre	Modern Short Fiction
Author Type	Male Author
Summary	In a dimly lit house suffused with unspoken tension, a woman wastes away in silent torment, her body thinning to a spectral shadow as she fixates on her detached partner. Each evening, she hands him his brown hat without protest, watching him leave for unknown destinations—her mind conjuring vivid visions of his clandestine life. Her days blur into obsessive rituals: counting ants, staring at walls, and reconstructing his movements through clairvoyant-like focus. The man, a woodcarver lost in sullen work, returns nightly drunk, haunted by guilt yet compelled to retreat further into secrecy. Their interactions grow strained, laced with eerie intuition—she anticipates his departures, senses his hidden turmoil, and deciphers truths he buries. When a stolen incense burner lid surfaces, her fragile composure shatters in a crescendo of manic laughter and violence, exposing the rot festering beneath their shared silence. Murky with psychological unease, this haunting tale traces the unraveling of a bond poisoned by neglect and the corrosive weight of unsaid words.