Pathway to Japanese Literature
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A Record of My Early YearsAuthor: Koyama Kiyoshi
| Original Title | 生い立ちの記 |
|---|---|
| Author | 小山 清 |
| Genre | Modern Short Fiction |
| Author Type | Male Author |
| Summary | A young boy’s fragmented yet vivid memories unfold against the backdrop of early 20th-century Japan, where tradition and upheaval intertwine. Born into a family anchored by a blind Bunraku puppeteer father, his childhood oscillates between Osaka’s bustling theater districts and Tokyo’s Yoshiwara outskirts. Nursemaids like Shizuya—her wooden fish drum echoing through twilight streets—anchor his world, alongside festivals at Goryo Shrine and forbidden glimpses of Bunraku’s grand curtains. Yet shadows linger: a mother’s stern love, a grandmother’s cold favoritism, and the haunting loss of a younger brother swallowed by the Great Kanto Earthquake’s chaos. Through tender vignettes—milk peddlers scorned as “poison,” clandestine baths with a neighbor girl, the sting of handmade hakama—the narrator navigates vulnerability and resilience. Cultural rituals and seismic ruptures alike shape his journey, weaving a tapestry of fleeting joys and indelible sorrows. This memoir whispers of a bygone era, inviting readers into a world where familial bonds and historical tremors etch themselves into the soul. |
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