Pagoda, Skull & SamuraiThis collection of Japanese literature features the works of noted Japanese novelist Koda Rohan. Japanese literary history usually classifies Koda Rohan as an idealist writer, and the three stories included in this anthology belong to this genre. The Five-Storied Pagoda, one of Koda's best-known works, is the moving account of a misunderstood carpenter who has been inspired to undertake the construction of a pagoda by himself. It is not merely a story of individualism, however, for the religious implications of such a task are profound. Encounter with a Skull concerns a fortuitous meeting of two souls not necessarily ordained by karma. The multiple processes of enlightenment are perceptively depicted in this eerie tale. The last story, The Bearded Samurai, is an historical novella whose setting is the sixteenth-century battle of Nagashino between the forces of Oda Nobunaga and Tokugawa Ieyasu and those of Takeda Katsuyori. Here, the human side of the warrior and a realistic view of the samurai are delineated. Such stories, in addition to the essays and notes by the translator, will prove of interest to the general reader and especially to the reader already familiar with Japanese literature. |
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Common terms and phrases
Abbot Akechi Akechi Mitsuhide already Baba bamboo battle of Nagashino Bearded Samurai beautiful Boss brother Buddha Buddhist build the pagoda called Castle Chōkan command Dairoku death disgrace dream elder Endō enemy eyes face fail father feel fight Five-Storied Pagoda fool force Genta hand head heart heaven honor human Ieyasu Japanese jūbei Kannō Temple Kasai Katsuyori kimono Koda Rohan Kōshū Kotarō laughed leave live look lord's Mikawa mind Miss Tamae mountain Nagashino Castle Naitō never night Nobunaga Nossori Oda Nobunaga Okichi Okudaira Onami pagoda resent Rohan Sakai Tadatsugu sake Seikichi shame Shingen shrimp silent Skull sleeve smile sorry spear spirit story sutras sword Tadatsugu Takeda Shingen Tame'emon tears tell there's thought Tokugawa Tokugawa Ieyasu Tominaga tomorrow tree turn Uesugi Kenshin vassals voice warriors wind wish woman words Yamagata