Pathway to Japanese Literature

Discover Japan's stories—across time, across language.

Chronicle of the Vanished ButterflyAuthor: Yamamoto Shūgorō

Original Title	失蝶記
Author	山本周五郎
Genre	Fantasy & Sci-Fi
Author Type	Male Author
Summary	In the shadowed mountains of feudal Japan, a fugitive samurai pens a desperate confession to Konno Kazuko, a woman bound to him by tragedy. Once a loyal comrade in a fractured realm torn between imperial loyalty and shogunate allegiance, he now wanders as an outcast, haunted by the irreversible act of killing his dearest friend, Suginaga—a bond forged in childhood and shattered by betrayal. Political machinations and a web of deceit ensnared him: manipulated into striking Suginaga during a covert mission, he became both perpetrator and pawn in a larger conspiracy. As he recounts their shared ideals, the cruel twist of fate that stole his hearing, and the venomous rumors painting him as a jealous murderer, his words ache with remorse. Yet Kazuko, Suginaga’s betrothed, seeks vengeance, her blade sharpened by grief. Amidst silkworm huts and moonlit confrontations, alliances fracture, and trust dissolves like morning mist. The samurai’s memoir pulses with unresolved tension—a plea for understanding, a testament to fractured honor, and a fragile hope that truth might yet pierce the darkness before blood demands more blood.