艶書 Ensho

１９５４年(昭和２９年)５月 『小説倶楽部』

■あらすじ

部屋住みの侍・岸島出三郎は、幼なじみ七重の家の宵節句で、一通の恋文――"艶書"を手にします。

しかしその想いを取り違えたまま歳月は流れ、やがて藩を揺るがす政争と剣戟の果てに、八年前の真実が雛灯の下でようやく明かされます。

岸島出三郎は、武家の三男で生涯を部屋住みで終えるのかと、絶望していた。愛した幼なじみは、いつか嫁ぎ、一人さみしく死んでいくのかと。けれど、すきなことを追いかけたことで、しだいに道が開けていく。

一途な男、真摯な生き様を描いた、山本周五郎の傑作です。

May 1954 (Showa 29) - Shosetsu Club

Desaburo Kishijima, a samurai still living as a dependent son within his family household, receives a love letter-an ensho, a passionate letter of affection-during the Eve of the Boys' Festival at the home of his childhood friend, Nanae.

But he misunderstands the feelings behind that letter. Years pass. At last, after a political struggle that shakes the domain and a series of deadly sword clashes, the truth from eight years earlier is revealed beneath the glow of the Hina festival lanterns.

Desaburo Kishijima had fallen into despair, believing that, as the third son of a samurai family, he would spend his entire life as a dependent and die alone. The childhood friend he loved would one day marry another, leaving him to a lonely fate. Yet by pursuing what he truly loved, a path gradually begins to open before him.

This is one of Shugoro Yamamoto's finest works, portraying a sincere man of unwavering devotion and an earnest way of life.

Synopsis