Mist on the River

Our main illness of the age is a rupture with nature, the loss of a true “self,” and the endless race for things.

Doppo Kunikida, one of the leading representatives of Japanese realism, speaks about this without loud declarations—restrained, yet piercing. The collection includes lesser-known stories “Fog over the River,” “Meat and Potatoes,” and others.

A book for thoughtful reading about what a person leaves behind while moving along the path of progress.

Doppo Kunikida was born in the first years of the Meiji era and, with his own eyes, saw how time-honored foundations crumble into dust. He was convinced that the chief misfortune of the new age is the loss of connection with nature and the rejection of one’s own inner essence, a substitution of spiritual values with material ones. Not all of his heroes can withstand the pressure of circumstances and preserve their dignity, yet the writer believes that certain individuals are able to turn the moral crisis that has gripped the country.

This edition includes the stories “Unforgettable,” “Two Girls,” “Fog over the River,” “Meat and Potatoes,” and other well-known works by the author. Many of them are being published in Russian for the first time.