As Fate Wills

Ishida Shūkichi believes that love must grow through faith, responsibility, and the cultivation of the self. But when Eiko’s feelings begin to change, his solemn language offers neither of them an easy way forward. In letters, silences, and increasingly painful visits, he tries to understand whether honoring another person’s freedom means refusing to act.

Outside this troubled courtship stands Oshima, a restaurant worker whose quiet presence allows him an ease he cannot find with Eiko. Her own uncertain future draws him beyond the closed circle of his convictions. Winter streets, Inokashira Pond, household conversations, and a journey to Sawara become the settings for a confession that questions its own assurances.

First published in December 1916, Toyoshima Yoshio’s story explores the distance between belief and intimacy with unsettling precision. This complete English translation includes the opening portrait, all five sections, and the unresolved final reflection. Twenty-nine notes explain period customs, places, French phrases, and textual difficulties while preserving the narrator’s contradictions and fragile certainty.