A Woman from the Past and Other Writings

An old portrait catches a weary writer’s eye in a secondhand shop. The woman it recalls once sold sweets, modeled for a painter, and struggled to sustain her family. Remembering her does not bring him the tenderness he expects.

A Woman from the Past and Other Writings gathers four complete pieces by Mishima Sōsen. The title story follows a wandering afternoon through Tokyo streets and the ruins of an old attachment. Water Country enters a child’s world of streams, fireflies, fear, and a mysterious guide. Autobiography recounts the struggle to become a writer against a physician father’s ambitions, then the surprising turn of his support. Frailty follows two ailing friends whose encounter with a worker’s song prompts a searching conversation about art, survival, and loneliness.

These writings bring together domestic poverty, childhood wonder, literary aspiration, and the uneasy search for hope. This English translation preserves each piece’s complete ending and the songs embedded in the prose. Thirty-eight brief notes clarify historical places, clothing, illness terminology, literary influences, and customs.