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PersimmonAuthor: Yamamoto Shūgorō
| Original Title | 柿 |
|---|---|
| Author | 山本 周五郎 |
| Genre | Popular Fiction |
| Author Type | Male Author |
| Summary | In the shadowed halls of Tsuruoka Castle-town, bonds of loyalty and unspoken yearning intertwine beneath autumn’s persimmon boughs. Tatsunosuke Makino, heir to a respected samurai lineage, drowns his secrets in sake during nightly visits to childhood companions Hyōma and Kobō Hashikawa. Hyōma, brash yet devoted, schemes to coax a marriage proposal from his reticent friend, while Kobō’s quiet glances betray hopes nurtured since youth. But when Tatsunosuke vanishes after his father’s sudden death, rumors of scandalous liaisons and political disgrace fracture their trust. \nA moonlit encounter under the gnarled persimmon tree—where ripe fruit once symbolized forgiveness—hints at buried truths. Tatsunosuke’s faltering smiles and midnight confessions clash with his unraveling honor, as Kobō’s naginata blade and Hyōma’s fury confront a web of familial duty and forbidden love. Whispers of a hidden child and a demotion to distant mines threaten to sever ties forged in innocence. Yet in trembling hands clutching sunlit persimmons, fragile hope persists: some bonds, like ancient trees, weather storms when roots run deep. Secrets bloom in silence—but will they nourish or poison what remains? |
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