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NiwakahenrokiAuthor: Kubota Mantaro
| Original Title | にはかへんろ記 |
|---|---|
| Author | 久保田 万太郎 |
| Genre | Modern Short Fiction |
| Author Type | Male Author |
| Summary | Two travelers embark on a spiritual pilgrimage across Shikoku’s sacred sites, their journey beginning with the careful gathering of vestments—sedge hats, prayer beads, and white robes—from a humble Buddhist goods store. Amidst the quiet bustle of Komatsushima’s port, they find unexpected reassurance in stern warnings against shipboard gambling, a wry nod to fate’s whims. As they traverse sunlit temple grounds and crumbling ruins, the line between past and present blurs: a historian’s tale conflates their companion with a long-dead actor, while moonlit wheat fields and shadowed forests whisper of timeless sorrows. Each temple unveils layers of history—Ryōzenji’s solemnity, Kokubunji’s decay, Yakuōji’s bustling rituals—and with every sutra stamp, their pilgrimage deepens. Yet beneath the ritual lies a quiet metamorphosis: donning pilgrim garb transforms reality into a meditative dream, where stray cats and coastal winds become omens. Through encounters with monks, locals, and their own fleeting doubts, the travelers navigate a landscape where faith and folly intertwine, leaving readers to wonder—will this journey mend their spirits or unravel new mysteries? |
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