落葉の隣り / Beside the Falling Leaves

Shigeji, Sankichi, and Ohisa grow up in the same poor neighborhood of Asakusa.

Shigeji has loved Ohisa since childhood, yet he convinces himself that her heart belongs to Sankichi, his closest friend. Believing Sankichi to be a rare artistic genius, he suppresses his own feelings and takes pride in supporting the man he admires.

Years pass. Sankichi becomes a gifted craftsman of lacquer and mother-of-pearl work, while Ohisa quietly waits for Shigeji to understand her feelings.

But Shigeji never does.

Eventually, the misunderstanding he created becomes reality: Ohisa truly falls in love with Sankichi. At the same time, Sankichi's extraordinary talent begins to bend toward money, forgery, and marriage into a wealthy merchant family.

Shigeji is forced to confront the collapse of both his secret love and the idealized friend he had believed in for years.

"Beside the Falling Leaves" is a bittersweet story of friendship, artistic ambition, missed love, self-deception, and the painful moment when a person no longer knows which road to take.

Written by Shugoro Yamamoto.

Narrated by Shichimi Shungorō.

Produced and published by Marutake Shobo.

浅草の同じ裏長屋で育った繁次、参吉、おひさ。

繁次は幼い頃からおひさを想っていた。しかし「おひさは参吉が好きなのだ」と一人で思い込み、親友のために自ら身を引いてしまう。

卓越した職人の才能を持つ参吉を、繁次は「万人に一人の男」だと信じ、その友であることを誇りにしていた。

だが歳月が流れ、繁次の思い込みを見続けたおひさは、本当に参吉を愛するようになる。

一方の参吉も、名工への道を歩むはずが、名物の贋作を作り、富豪の娘との結婚を選ぼうとしていた。

恋を失い、信じていた友の姿まで崩れていく。

「これからどっちへいったらいいんだ」

友情、秘めた恋、才能への憧れ、思い込みが生むすれ違い、そして人生の岐路に立つ男の孤独を描いた、山本周五郎の苦く哀切な人情小説。

著者：山本周五郎

朗読：七味春五郎

制作・発行：丸竹書房