Pathway to Japanese Literature
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ThistleAuthor: Yamamoto Shūgorō
| Original Title | 薊 |
|---|---|
| Author | 山本 周五郎 |
| Genre | Popular Fiction |
| Author Type | Male Author |
| Summary | In a snow-dusted garden steeped in family history, Kagawa Tettaro grapples with a marriage unraveling like winter’s brittle threads. His wife Yukio, enigmatic as the thistle she cherishes, withdraws into icy propriety, repelled by his touch yet bound by duty. Whispers of scandal cling to her—tea gatherings with shadowy companions, a maid’s midnight presence in her chambers—while Okano, a sneering acquaintance, taunts Tettaro with cryptic barbs about barren flowers and wounded hearts. As Tettaro navigates layers of deceit—a duel forestalled by cowardice, erotic books hinting at unspoken desires—the gulf between husband and wife widens into a chasm of longing and mistrust. Yukio’s threats of suicide and veiled allusions to shame tighten like thorns, leaving Tettaro to question what blooms—or festers—beneath her polished facade. Amidst sawtooth oaks and silver grass, a single purple thistle on his desk becomes both accusation and plea, its prickly beauty mirroring a love that wounds as it entices. Secrets ripple through the marsh beyond their fence, where ducks take flight but answers remain submerged. |
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