Shiokari Pass

About

Based on a true story, Nobuo Nagano — young, idealistic, newly converted to Christianity in an era when the faith was still suspect in Japan — falls in love with Fujiko, a woman whose own beliefs pose no barrier to their happiness. But as his faith deepens, it leads him toward a decision that will test every relationship in his life — and ultimately demand the ultimate sacrifice at a remote mountain pass in Hokkaido. Ayako Miura's novel, set at the turn of the nineteenth century, tells a love story that is also a meditation on the cost of conviction. The Hokkaido landscape — vast, cold, and indifferent — mirrors the moral terrain Nobuo navigates. His choice, when it comes, is heartbreaking not because it's wrong but because it's consistent. A novel about the moment when love and faith demand different things — and the shattering consequences of choosing the one you believe is higher.