Takeda Daijun: glitter

*Sparkling Moss* is a short story collection that reveals the true essence of Takeda’s literature, offering insights into life based on firsthand war experiences and Buddhist concepts. It offers a glimpse into the literary world of Takeda Taijun—a child born and raised in a temple, a left-wing anti-war activist, a soldier dispatched by 20th-century imperialist Japan, and a representative post-war writer. The four short stories included in this collection are all tales of people standing, or who once stood, on the boundary between life and death. The author views heretics and minorities with a unique perspective. Just because someone is a minority does not mean they are necessarily just, ethical, or moral. However, through their problematic situations, we are compelled to question whether what we consider common sense is truly common sense, and whether it is permissible to impose it. If common sense is defined as the collective thinking of individuals within a group without special self-reflection, then such common sense oppresses those who fall outside that category, and this oppression leads to frustration. The author exposes these situations across various groups and levels of reality.

Korean title: 반짝이끼

Korean author: 다케다 다이준

Korean publisher: 문학과지성사

ISBN-13: 9788932029986