大地の子〈4〉

by Toyoko Yamasaki

「松本先生どうしてここへ？」「陸さんこそ、なぜ」実の妹の臨終を看取り、悲嘆にくれる一心の前に、東洋製鉄の松本耕次が現れた。松本は、娘の消息がわかって駆けつけたのだった。あまりに唐突な父子の再会に動揺し、わが眼を疑う二人。一方で、宝華製鉄建設は大詰めをむかえ、日本側は中国首脳に翻弄されていた。その中で頭角を現す一心に、更なる悪意が襲いかかる…。戦争孤児・陸一心の苦難に満ちた旅路、最後に選ぶのは祖国日本か中国か。血と汗と涙の傑作巨篇、完結。

361 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.