Pathway to Japanese Literature
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ReedsAuthor: Yamamoto Shūgorō
| Original Title | 葦 |
|---|---|
| Author | 山本 周五郎 |
| Genre | Modern Short Fiction |
| Author Type | Male Author |
| Summary | Along a desolate riverbank shrouded in mist, a haunting scene unfolds as a young woman kneels by stagnant waters. Her beauty carries an air of tragedy, her trembling hands clutching an ancient mirror that reflects not just her face but a shadowed resolve. As fog swallows her silhouette, whispers of sacrifice linger among the reeds. Meanwhile, two samurai confront each other on a fog-draped hill—Sugano Matagorō, hollowed by betrayal after a lover’s abandonment, and Senshin Ichizō, whose unwavering honor halts their duel. Years later, Matagorō’s redemption through discipline and friendship masks scars of a past consumed by reckless passion. Decades on, an aging man fishing in sunlight uncovers a decayed box containing fragments of a love letter—its fragmented words pulse with desperate joy and a vow to die at love’s peak. The reeds murmur secrets of vanished lives, binding past and present in a tapestry of longing and consequence, where buried truths ripple beneath the surface like unseen currents. |
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