The novel opens with Kikuji on his way to a tea ceremony givenby Chikako, one of his father's former mistresses. He is also onhis way to act out the unfinished drama of his father's life. Kikuji'sfather had been a cultivated man, an art lover and a pleasureseeker. He had cast off one mistress, Chikako, but had lovedanother, Mrs Ota, until his death. Kikuji, like his father, tries toescape from Chikako, now masculine and meddlesome. Like hisfather, too, he is drawn to Mrs Ota, who has remained young,alluring and pliant even though her daughter, Fumiko, is onlytwenty years old. Kikuji's guilty passion for Mrs Ota and Fumiko'sefforts to alter the family fate lead to the novel's stunning climax.

Thousand Cranes is a story of love given and love withheld. Setagainst the backdrop of Japan's traditional tea ceremony, it is ataut, highly dramatic novel gleaming with sudden passages ofpoetic beauty. In one of the book's strongest scenes, the twocharacters are symbolized by the two fine old China bowls, onefemale and one male, that sit before them.

THOUSAND  CRANES        

THE GROVE IN THE EVENING SUN

FIGURED SHINO   

HER MOTHER'S LIPSTICK   

DOUBLE STAR