[About the Book]
ー“I was truly happy. From the moment I came to know you, Mimaro.”-

At the age of seventy-six, Mimaro finally fulfills a lifelong dream as he crosses the newly completed Mama no Tsugibashi Bridge, his heart filled with profound joy and emotion. His son, Maro, quietly watching his father gaze upon the bridge, is told a memory from Mimaro’s youth-a story of a young girl named Tekona, to whom he once promised the bridge’s completion.

Tekona is a legendary beauty celebrated in the Man’yōshū, Japan’s oldest poetry anthology compiled in the 8th century. Her beauty gave rise to countless tales, and her story has been passed down through generations. Even today, she remains a living presence in the local tradition known as the “Legend of Mama no Tekona” in Ichikawa City, Chiba Prefecture.

Drawing on this enduring legend, the novel lyrically and poetically portrays the meeting of Mimaro and Tekona, their unfulfilled love, and the fate of a promise that could never be kept. This is a moving ancient romance that weaves history, legend, and human emotion into a timeless tale.


[Author Biography]
Yuko Nakatsu

Born in Asakusa, Taitōーku, Tokyo; graduated from Tokyo Gakugei University; member of the Japan PEN Club, the Popular Literature Research Association, and the Haiku Poets’ Association; lecturer at the Takebaya Teacher Training Institute; lecturer in classical literature at the NHK Culture Center.
Works include Laments of the Man’yō, Princess Kaguya and the Mysteries of Ancient History, The Women of the Takeda Clan in the Warring States Era, Ancient Conflicts Read through the Man’yōshū, A Novel of Matsuo Bashō, and Songs of Longing from the Tempyo Era (all published by Shin Jinbutsu Ōraisha); Junior Edition: The History of Ichikawa (Ichikawa Yomiuri Shimbunsha); Hello, China (Utsuwa Shobō); Walking in Katsushika (NTT Publishing); Indonesia Travelogue (Ichikawa–Medan Sister City Association); Gyotoku and Urayasu-Towns of Kannon (Nakayama Shobō); among others.
This e-book is based on Mama no Tekona (1995), published by Shin Jinbutsu Ōraisha.