An Odd Man

A university student arrives at a small Tokyo house and insists on renting its four-and-a-half-mat room. Tatsuyo, the householder, has reservations; her daughter Sumiko finds his outrageous confidence amusing. Imai soon settles in, polishing his plain wooden desk and living according to principles that leave the others alternately baffled, entertained and uneasy.

Visitors borrow his clothes and never return them. Bills go unpaid. His arguments about genius, violence, medicine and civilization unsettle Nakamura, a young doctor lodging in the next room. After Tatsuyo and Sumiko nurse him through a fever, his behavior changes, and his growing attachment to the daughter puts the household under a new strain.

First published in 1923, An Odd Man follows the shifting judgments of people who cannot agree on what eccentricity means or how kindness should be repaid. This complete English translation preserves all four sections and the ambiguous emotional aftermath of its ending. Notes explain historical terms, attributed claims, rare characters and apparent printing errors. AI-assisted translation.