Pathway to Japanese Literature
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The Three-Story HouseAuthor: Murō Saisei
| Original Title | 三階の家 |
|---|---|
| Author | 室生 犀星 |
| Genre | War & Social Literature |
| Author Type | Male Author |
| Summary | Midway up a shadowed slope stands an enigmatic three-story house, its lower floors occupied by shops and a greengrocer bordering a pleasure quarter. The upper floors, however, pulse with unease: vacant rooms with perpetually closed shutters, whispers of transient tenants, and a lingering chill. On the third floor resides Matsuoka, a gaunt newspaper reporter who paints haunting portraits of fallen soldiers by night. His reclusive routine fractures when a pale, trembling woman arrives—a figure from his past, cloaked in unspoken history. Their tense reunion crackles with unresolved anguish before she vanishes into the night, leaving only her shoes behind. Soon after, eerie sounds ripple through the building—phantom footsteps, collapsing shadows, a spectral glow—gnawing at Matsuoka’s rationality. As he and a shopkeeper investigate, dread tightens its grip: Is the house itself alive with secrets, or has the woman’s despair manifested something unspeakable? The cedars outside whisper as darkness thickens, promising answers steeped in sorrow. |
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