Semento-Daru no Naka no Tegami（Letter in a cement barrel）
【Masterpieces of Modern Japanese Literature㉖】
By Yoshiki Hayama
Narrated by Nana Nagao
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A short story by Yoshiki Hayama
“MATSUDO Yozo was working as a cement handler. His appearance wasn’t particularly remarkable, except that his hair and the area under his nose were covered in gray cement.He wanted to dig out the hardened cement from his nostrils, which had stiffened his nose hairs like reinforced concrete. However, he had no time to stick his fingers into his nose—he had to keep up with the concrete mixer, which spewed out cement at a rate of ten loads per minute.For eleven straight hours, he endured the discomfort in his nose. Though he had two breaks—one for lunch and another in the afternoon—he couldn’t tend to his nose during lunch because he was too hungry, and also because he had to clean the mixer. As a result, he never got the chance to clear his nostrils.By the end of the day, his nose had hardened like a plaster sculpture. When, exhausted, he moved a barrel of cement with his weary hands, a small wooden box emerged from it.“
Author : Yoshiki Hayama
Narrator : Nana Nagao
Produced by：Koé no Shoten
Special Thanks：Shigoto, Inc.
Listening Length：00:09:52
Release Date：2024/12/27
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
1894 – 1945
Born in Fukuoka Prefecture. His real name was Yoshishige. He dropped out of the advanced preparatory course in the Faculty of Arts at Waseda University. While working as a jack-tar, office worker, at a cement factory, and as a newspaper reporter, he participated in labor movements and was imprisoned. During his time in prison, he focused on writing novels based on his own experiences. After his release in 1925, he published Imbaifu（”The Prostitute”） in Bungei Sensen（“Literary Front”）and the following year Semento-Daru no Naka no Tegami（”Letter in a cement barrel”）. He then published Umi ni Ikuru Hitobito（ “Those Who Live on the Sea”） from Kaizo-sha, establishing his position as a proletarian literature writer. His notable works include Rogoku no Hannichi（”Half a Day in Prison”）and Dakuryu （”Turbid Stream”）.