The Bowl-Bearer and Other Writings

A dying mother places a wooden bowl over her daughter’s head. It will not come off. Mocked and driven from home, the girl enters a great household as a bath attendant, where kindness offers the possibility of another life. Kusuyama Masao’s The Bowl-Bearer opens this collection of four complete Japanese works.

Udono Masao follows guides across the steep ridges between Hotaka and Yari in a mountain journey of rain, rock shelters, uncertain routes, and sublime views. His historical measurements and rival mountain names preserve the experience of exploration in 1909. Mizutani Masaru’s The Song Clock turns toward children, with a complete collection of songs about toys, birds, hunger, dreams, families, and the changing seasons.

Morita Masatake then describes the origins and four stages of his treatment for nervousness, presenting his own historical explanations, cases, and convictions. These writings retain their distinct voices and forms, from folktale dialogue to physical verse lines and clinical argument, accompanied by concise notes on readings, references, and source particulars. AI-assisted translation, prepared and edited by Valentin Sarić.