The Burden of Old Age and Other Stories

An aging father travels with his sick son to a seaside sanatorium, carrying fears that years of family responsibility have not taught him how to express. A newly married painter discovers old letters in a silk wrap and finds that suspicion cannot be put away as easily as paper. In other stories, a highland visit, a neglected garden, and a night of conversation expose the uneasy ties between writers, friends, partners, and children.

These five works follow domestic life through illness, jealousy, money, bereavement, and the longing for a place to read and write in peace. Gardens and journeys provide moments of relief, yet their beauty never cancels the pressures waiting at home. Shūsei’s attention to small gestures makes everyday compromises and contradictions quietly compelling.

Tokuda Shūsei (1872–1943) was a major figure in Japanese naturalist fiction. This complete collection brings together stories first published from 1908 to 1930, preserving their shifts in voice and their unresolved feelings. AI-assisted translation, prepared and edited by Valentin Sarić.