Daidoji Shinsuke: The Early Years Summary

Daidoji Shinsuke is born in a ugly, drab part of Tokyo called Honjo. He comes to appreciate his dreary home and takes on a dislike for other, "prettier" parts of town. Through Honjo, in a strange way, he comes to also appreciate natural beauty, even if it is at first only a cloud reflecting in a muddy street pool.

One very formative event in his early life comes when he and his father travel to the much-frequented Hundred-Piling Bank of the Sumida river. There are no fishermen there that day, and Shinsuke discovers why: there is a bloated corpse floating in the river. That image affects Shinsuke deeply.

Shinsuke is never nursed by his mother. He blames his lack of good mother's milk on his relative lack of physical prowess as a lad. He is...