Pathway to Japanese Literature
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The Dragon Pool TaleAuthor: Izumi Kyoka
| Original Title | 竜潭譚 |
|---|---|
| Author | 泉 鏡花 |
| Genre | Children's Literature |
| Author Type | Male Author |
| Summary | In a sun-drenched valley where crimson azaleas blaze like living fire, a curious boy defies warnings to wander alone. The air hums with unseen dangers—a shimmering insect lures him deeper into scarlet hills, its iridescent wings whispering of poison and enchantment. As twilight bleeds across the sky, he becomes ensnared in a labyrinth of slopes that mirror his path, each turn revealing not home but more blood-red blossoms choking the horizon. Shadows lengthen into spectral forms: a vanishing woodcutter, a hooded woman dissolving into cedars, until a mysterious Beautiful Woman emerges from the gathering dark. Her ethereal presence offers both comfort and unease as she guides him through shrine grounds where reality frays—children’s laughter twists into disembodied echoes, lanterns flicker with otherworldly light, and every reflection holds secrets. Bound by growing dread and longing for his absent sister, the boy tumbles into a realm where mountain spirits blur with nightmares, and salvation may lie in a candlelit basin’s liquid depths or the blade gleaming at a stranger’s breast. |
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