Those Who Stir and Other Stories

A writer begins taking daily walks and finds himself remembering his father’s last illness. Beside him, a young woman bears the weight of his drinking, fear, and anger. An earthquake memory breaks into the present, while an argument turns toward a grief he has refused to understand.

In these four complete stories, Kasai Zenzō follows people caught between affection and cruelty, dependence and the wish to escape. At a remote mountain inn, a farewell poem offers warmth amid loneliness and severe illness. In Tokyo, a celebration of literary success becomes an exposure of friendship, debt, and wounded pride.

The final story, Snow Woman, moves from a remembered marriage to years of wandering in a cold northern island country. Its haunting encounter remains open to interpretation.