Pathway to Japanese Literature
Discover Japan's stories—across time, across language.
← Back
Blue WindAuthor: Tokuda Shūsei
| Original Title | 青い風 |
|---|---|
| Author | 徳田 秋声 |
| Genre | Modern Short Fiction |
| Author Type | Male Author |
| Summary | A decade after disaster reshaped the coastline, a weary father returns with his children to a seaside town haunted by memory. The earthquake’s scars linger—crumbled homes, parched earth—yet the salt-kissed breeze still stirs echoes of summers past. This year’s trip holds fragile hope: a chance to mend frayed bonds with his five children, each carrying invisible wounds. The eldest daughter shoulders responsibilities beyond her years; a son confined by illness finds solace in distant rice fields; the youngest vibrates with restless joy, clutching prizes from Tokyo’s fading glamour. But shadows cling to them—a wayward brother’s absence, emptied pockets, and the ghost of a mother’s absence. As they settle into a borrowed house fragrant with cypress, laughter mingles with unspoken tensions. Between melon feasts and Ludo games, the sea whispers promises of renewal—or reckoning. Urban exhaustion collides with rural simplicity, while beneath sun-bleached umbrellas and swirling insects, a family navigates love’s sharp edges. What unfolds is not just a summer escape, but a quiet battle for redemption in a world where even paradise bears cracks. |
← Return to List← Return to TOP