The Passengers on the Hankyu Line

Author(s): Allison Markin Powell (Translator), Hiro Arikawa

Location(s): Kansai

Genre(s): Fiction

Era(s): Contemporary

The contents of each traveller’s heart is a mystery known only to themselves

Trundling through the scenic countryside of Kyoto and Osaka is the Hankyu line, a burgundy-coloured electric train that has been carrying its commuters to their destinations for decades.

Over the course of a single journey in springtime, and the return journey six months later just as the leaves begin to fall:

– a young man meets the woman who happens to take out the last copy of the library book he was about to borrow;
– an angry wedding guest dresses in a white gown to upstage the bride;
– a university student leaves home for the first time;
– a twenty-something finally grows the courage to walk away from an abusive partner
– a widow learns independence, as she and her granddaughter meet their new dog.

As the seasons and the landscapes change, passengers jostle and connect, as this gentle timeless train carries each one forward towards the person they intend to become.

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