• "
Death in Midsummer" – During a vacation at
Izu peninsula, a young couple's two elder children and the husband's sister die in a bathing accident. The wife is torn between feelings of guilt, the longing for sympathy for her loss, and fear for her youngest child, leading to confrontations between her and her husband. Translated by
Edward G. Seidensticker. • "Three Million Yen" – A young working-class couple roams a department store, trying to kill time until they meet with an unknown woman. They discuss their finances, and reveal they are saving up so they can someday raise a child together. When they finally meet the unknown woman, their conversation insinuates that the couple are being paid to have sex in front of upper-class clientele. Translated by Edward G. Seidensticker. • "Thermos Flasks" – A man passing through
San Francisco after a long business trip encounters a former
geisha lover, and they spend the night together. On his return to Japan, he realises by indirect means that he is not the only one who has been unfaithful. Translated by Edward G. Seidensticker. • "The Priest of Shiga Temple and His Love" – This fairy tale, set against the background of
Pure Land Buddhism, concerns a venerable priest who falls in love with an Imperial Concubine after a single glance and loses his grip on enlightenment. Translated by
Ivan Morris. • "The Seven Bridges" – On the night of the September full moon, four women, Koyumi, Masako, Kanako and Mina, set out to cross seven bridges without stopping or speaking, in the hope that the Moon will grant their wishes. Translated by
Donald Keene. • "
Patriotism" – After the failure of their
coup d'état, Lt. Shinji Takeyama, one of the young officers involved in the
February 26 incident, commits
seppuku (ritual suicide) in the presence of his soon-to-follow wife. Translated by Geoffrey W. Sargent. •
Dōjōji – A "modern
Nō play" based on an old
play of the same name. The auction of an immense wardrobe with a bell carved on the front is interrupted by a dancer, Kiyoko, who tells a bizarre tale of its sinister past. Translated by Donald Keene. • "Onnagata" – Mangiku, an
onnagata (male theatre actor who takes female roles), meekly submits to the instructions of a modernist director. Translated by Donald Keene. • "The Pearl" – The loss of one of Mrs. Sasaki's pearls during the course of her 43rd birthday party eventually causes two of her friends to fall out and another two to make up. Translated by Geoffrey W. Sargent. • "Swaddling Clothes" – A young woman is haunted by the sight of a newborn baby wrapped in newspaper. Translated by Ivan Morris. ==Background==