Translation Works
To Japanese
The 2nd Selected Works
TITLE
The Temple of the Wild Geese / The Bamboo Dolls of Echizen
(Kari no tera / Echizen takeningyo)
AUTHOR
Tsutomu Mizukami
Translator
ENGLISH / Dennis Washburn published
GERMAN / Verena Werner published
Originally Published by:
Shinchosha (1969) (pb)
KEY POINTS
  • A unique work of art that examines the mysterious murder of a priest at a temple in Kyoto ("The Temple of the Wild Geese")
SYNOPSIS
The ineffable secrets that people live with - tales that portray the beauty, poverty, and cruelty of Japan in bygone
 
Deep in the recesses of the Kohoan Temple in Kyoto is a painting of a mother goose giving food to its goslings. The artist who created the painting has died, and his concubine, Satoko, has moved to the building of Kohoan Temple's head priest, Jikai, who has taken her under his care. Also at Kohoan Temple is a young monk named Jinen.
Jinen, an abandoned child, wakes early in the mornings and is busy all day with temple-related errands, studies, and other work. Satoko feels a maternal instinct toward Jinen, who was born destitute and keeps his small body diligently active all day. However, she comes to have an eerie feeling when she sees Jinen doing such things as spying on the wild bedroom activities she and Jikai indulge in each night and killing the carp in the temple pond with a bamboo knife. As for Jinen, he feels deep yearning for affectionate Satoko while nurturing a hatred toward Jikai, who is strict and unforgiving. That hatred ultimately becomes murderous. Then, one day, Jikai disappears. ("The Temple of the Wild Geese")
 
Deep in the mountains of Echizen, is a village called Takegami that is famous for its bamboo. This is the story of two people living there—Kisuke, the son of the bamboo doll maker Kizaemon Ujiie, and a woman, Tamae, loved by both father and son.
When Kizaemon passes away, Tamae, a prostitute who Kizaemon regularly patronized when he was alive, goes to visit Kizaemon's grave, where she encounters Kisuke. The two eventually marry, but Kisuke never once touches Tamae's body, because in his mind, the image of Tamae, who had been loved by his father, has become superimposed on and blended with that of his mother. He would never think of sullying the image of his mother. Tamae maintains her devotion to Kisuke, who wholeheartedly crafts bamboo dolls. However, this happy situation does not last long. ("The Bamboo Dolls of Echizen")
 
GENRE: Popular fiction (novel)
 
AWARDS: 45th Naoki Sanjugo Prize
(Given for the most outstanding works of popular fiction)
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