Pathway to Japanese Literature
Discover Japan's stories—across time, across language.
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| Original Title | 別府温泉 |
|---|---|
| Author | 高浜 虚子 |
| Genre | Modern Short Fiction |
| Author Type | Male Author |
| Summary | The journey begins aboard a ship cutting through the Seto Inland Sea, where cool breezes offer respite from Kobe’s sweltering streets. As islands drift past, the narrator arrives in Beppu—a realm where the earth breathes fire. Beneath lie scorching springs and bubbling mud pools known as “hells”: crimson cauldrons where trees wither under eruptions, steaming grottoes whispering ancient tragedies, and cobalt pools mesmerizing enough to tempt fate. Eight years have brought roads winding through once-inaccessible valleys, modernity encroaching on timeless rituals. Yet amid sanatoriums and research institutes, primal allure remains—festival flames flicker over bays, stone Buddhas guard forgotten histories, mist-clad mountains loom as sentinels. Here, geothermal veins pulse beneath every step, visitors straddling serene onsens and nature’s untamed fury—a place where beauty and danger simmer side by side. |
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