玄鳥

by Shuhei Fujisawa, 藤沢 周平

無外流の剣士として高名だった亡父から、娘ながら秘伝を受けついだ路（みち）。藩の討手に選ばれながらしくじって、嘲笑され左遷された曾根兵六に、路はその秘伝を教えようとする。曾根は、亡父の秘蔵弟子だった。玄鳥＝つばめが思い起こさせる、武家の娘の淡い恋を描いた表題作。藩主の御前で試合にやぶれ、自暴自棄になった青年剣士の再生を描く「三月の鮠（はや）」。酒の失敗で、身の不運をかこつ下級武士の心を鮮やかに描く「浦島」など、珠玉の全５篇。

176 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 10, 1994

About the author

Shuhei Fujisawa (藤沢 周平 Fujisawa Shūhei) was a Japanese author, whose real name was Tomeji Kosuge. (小菅留治). Over fifty of his books were published through the course of his lifetime, including both full-length novels and short story anthologies. The focus of his writing was historical fiction. Before he became an author, he had been a journalist.

Over 23 million of his paperbacks have been printed. His work has been adapted for both television and film. Five recent full-length films have been based on his work.

In 1973, Fujisawa received the 69th Naoki Prize (1973) for Ansatsu no Nenrin (Annals of Assassination). He would go on to win six further literary awards, among them the Asahi Prize in 1994.