In the shadow of Mt. Fuji, two young people seek genuine beauty and purity in their love, in spite of certain unpromising circumstances.

Excerpt:

“I am cat,” Keiko whispers as she slowly runs her fingers along my chest beneath my frayed, light-cotton shirt. We’re lying together at twilight on reed mats beside a rice paddy near Mt. Fuji. Of course I desperately want to kiss her, to make love to her, but I’m on high alert. I’ve known Keiko for less than 48 hours, and post-war Japan is a mystery to me. The last thing I want to do is break any cultural taboos and find myself skewered on a razor-sharp sword.

Illustration by Eliza Frye