A Long Trip

The winning work of the 147th Akutagawa Prize in Japan. The author Maki Kashimada is the "triple crown" winner of the Mishima Yukio Award, the Noma Literary Newcomer Award, and the Akutagawa Award. Since the 1990s, she has attracted attention in the domestic literary world in Japan. "A Long Journey" describes the story of the heroine Natsuko traveling with her husband who has a brain disease. Natsuko lives in an originally wealthy family. After their mother and brother spent all their savings, they pinned their hopes on Natsuko. However, Natsuko married herself early to a man that both her mother and brother looked down upon. The novel begins with a two-day lobbying session between Natsuko and her husband. Trivial plots are interspersed with past family memories. These memories reproduce the depression and pain Natsuko experienced, allowing readers to understand the internal reasons why the protagonist gradually becomes satisfied with real life. Although her husband was ill, Natsuko not only did not hate him, but instead strengthened her own value in life through this trip. It vividly describes the declining Japanese society: Although the mother and younger brother have suffered family decline, they still cling to the glory and luxury of the past; although the protagonist works hard to take care of her husband who has limited mobility, he is content and free in his heart. Another piece included in the book, "Ninety-nine Kisses," describes sisterly emotions. The younger sister Nanako ("I") has deep feelings for her sisters. This feeling seems to be disturbed by S, who the sisters fell in love with at the same time. But at the end of the story, "I" once again strengthened her belief that the stability of her relationship with her sisters will not be weakened by the appearance of her lover.