Pathway to Japanese Literature
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My WifeAuthor: Yamamoto Shūgorō
| Original Title | おれの女房 |
|---|---|
| Author | 山本 周五郎 |
| Genre | Modern Short Fiction |
| Author Type | Male Author |
| Summary | In a cramped Edo tenement, mornings erupt with the shrill quarrels of painter Hirano Matagoro and his wife Oishi—a ritual as predictable as dawn. Once a prodigy of the prestigious Kano school, Matagoro now drowns in poverty and artistic disillusionment, clinging to his vision of revolutionary art while debts mount. Oishi, once fiercely proud of her husband’s talent, sharpens into a voice of relentless pragmatism, her love frayed by hunger and humiliation. Their home, patched with paper and stained by rain, mirrors their fractured marriage: a battleground of unmet dreams and survival. \nAs Matagoro flees to riverbanks and sake houses, haunted by failed canvases, Oishi’s desperation erupts in reckless acts—selling his unfinished work, hosting raucous gatherings—each gesture a cry against despair. Yet when vanished years later, Matagoro returns transformed, bearing a masterpiece that bridges art and humanity’s raw pulse, their story spirals toward an unexpected reckoning. Can pride and penury give way to redemption, or will the weight of past wounds sever them forever? A haunting portrait of love’s resilience amid creative ruin. |
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