قصة الكتاب :
Bungeishunjū (Bunshun Bunko), 2002. 240 pp. ¥505. ISBN 978-4-
16-754507-9.
Nagi Keishi
Born in Gunma Prefecture in 1951. Novelist and physician. Won
the Bungakukai New Writers Award for “Hasui” [Breaking the
Waters] in 1981. Won the Akutagawa Prize and the Saku Culture
Prize in 1989 for Daiyamondo dasuto [Diamond Dust] and the 2008
Izumi Kyōka Prize for Literature and the 2009 Minister of Education’s
Art Encouragement Prize for Kusa suberi: sono ta no tanpen
[Sliding on Grass and Other Stories]. Other works include Fuyu
monogatari [A Winter’s Tale] and Yōko no ichinichi [Yōko’s Day].

Life in Japan has changed dramatically since World War II, especially in rural
areas. A society that was once centered on agriculture rapidly became urban and
industrial, and farming villages trod a path of decline in the regions left behind
by this transformation.
The hero of this book, a novelist named Ueda, was brought up as the only
child of a smallholder family in the fictitious village of Yanaka in Nagano Prefecture
before finally abandoning his birthplace for life in the city. When his wife, a
doctor, slides into depression after suffering the shock of a miscarriage during a
hectic work schedule, they resolve to move back from Tokyo to Yanaka. By doing
so, Ueda also hopes to overcome his creative block. On returning to the mountain
village for the first time in years, Ueda starts to farm again, while his wife examines
patients at the local clinic. Surrounded by the same natural beauty as in past days
and pursuing a leisurely lifestyle, the two regain their physical and mental health.
Their worldview starts to change, particularly through encounters with O-ume,
a woman who, at more than 90 years old, resides alone on the mountain as the
custodian of the village’s “Amida hall,” dedicated to the spirits of the villagers’
ancestors. The elderly O-ume does not have a television, telephone, or even a
flushing toilet, and leads a life severely lacking in modern conveniences. She does
not complain, however, as she plows her own small field and lives in cheerful selfreliance
with no fear of death or illness.
In his warm and highly empathetic portrayal of an elderly woman who transcends
her era, the author interrogates the present day and shows readers the
potential of a different way of living. (NK)