Kenzō Kitakata Books

The legendary Japanese master's Winter Sleep take you into the hardboiled world of art -- where ex-cons are philosophers, young lovers are combustible, and aesthetics is life. An artist's quest for growth from one of the world's greatest stylists. Nakagi, an ex-con painter who has sequestered hismself in a mountain cabin, is trying to elevate his art. The only thing breakin his solitude are the visits of two women: an art dealer who wants him to produce the sort of paintings that she would like to buy from him, and a young aspiring, and soulful apprentice. When Nakagi welcomes an escaped felon into the emotionally fraught fold, and begins to teach him to pain well. Winter Sleep awakens to a literally incendiary climax.

Struggling with the aftermath of committing murder for love, Koji finds himself on the run from both the police and the gangsters he betrayed. The weight of his actions hangs heavily on him as he navigates a dangerous world filled with betrayal and desperation, all in the name of his devotion to Makiko. The story delves into themes of love, sacrifice, and the consequences of violence, exploring how far one will go to protect those they cherish.

The vice and virtues of middle age are espied with an eagle eye in this hardboiled story about a mid-career gangster. Unfolding thorugh chiseled sketches and run through with tantalizing motifs, Kitakata's masterpiece follows the fortunes of a yakuza mobster as his moment of truth approaches. Cool, real, and cleansing, Ashes is a literary tonic.