大地の子〈3〉

by Toyoko Yamasaki

「あつ子、すまなかった、探し出すのが遅過ぎた」──陸一心こと松本勝男は、三十六年ぶりにめぐりあった妹・あつ子に泣いて詫びた。妹は張玉花という名で、寒村での過酷な労働の果てに、重い病いの床にあった。その夫は子どものような知能で、義母は病む張玉花を休まず畑で働かせようとする強欲な女。その頃、兄妹の実父・松本耕次は、生き別れた子どもたちの消息をつかめぬまま、奇しくも陸一心のたずさわる製鉄所建設に参加し、中国で苦労を重ねていた。

383 pages, Paperback Bunko

First published February 1, 1994

About the author

Toyoko Yamasaki (山崎 豊子, real name Sugimoto Toyoko; 3 November 1924 – 29 September 2013) was a Japanese novelist.

A native of Osaka, Yamasaki worked as a journalist for the Mainichi Shimbun from 1945 to 1959 after graduating from Kyoto Women's University in Japanese literature. She published her first story, Noren (1957), a story of a kelp trader, based on the experiences of her family's business. The following year, she won the Naoki Prize for her second novel Hana Noren, the story about the founder of an entertainment group. A major influence on her writings of that period was Yasushi Inoue, who was deputy head of the Mainichi Shimbun's cultural news desk.

Yamasaki wrote some stories based on actual events. For example, Futatsu no Sokoku is derived from the biography of a Japanese American David Akira Itami, and Shizumanu Taiyō is based on the Japan Airlines Flight 123 accident. Several works of hers were featured in films and television dramas.