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絢爛的流離
「三克拉大小 純白無瑕 頂級白色 圓形鑽石 白金底座 重量一匁」—
這是一切的開端，也是漫長流離的序曲。
東京街頭的一家小小珠寶店裡。
某位富有的煤礦業主踏進了店內，為愛女精心挑選了一顆潔白無瑕的鑽石。
據說，煤礦業主之所以做此抉擇，是想做為自己拆散女兒戀情的補償，
然而，縱使是極盡美麗的事物，也無法填滿失落的心；
此後，彷彿遭受詛咒一般，持有這顆鑽石的人全都遭到了慘痛的不幸。
或因貪婪而業火焚身、或因嫉妒而瘋狂，無數的人們來了又走、出現又消逝，只有這顆幾經離奇命運的鑽石，依舊帶著不變的美麗，冷眼看著人世間的悲歎與掙扎……
十二個故事，十二場人性考驗，華麗與殘酷，盡在深深的歎息之中……
這是一切的開端，也是漫長流離的序曲。
東京街頭的一家小小珠寶店裡。
某位富有的煤礦業主踏進了店內，為愛女精心挑選了一顆潔白無瑕的鑽石。
據說，煤礦業主之所以做此抉擇，是想做為自己拆散女兒戀情的補償，
然而，縱使是極盡美麗的事物，也無法填滿失落的心；
此後，彷彿遭受詛咒一般，持有這顆鑽石的人全都遭到了慘痛的不幸。
或因貪婪而業火焚身、或因嫉妒而瘋狂，無數的人們來了又走、出現又消逝，只有這顆幾經離奇命運的鑽石，依舊帶著不變的美麗，冷眼看著人世間的悲歎與掙扎……
十二個故事，十二場人性考驗，華麗與殘酷，盡在深深的歎息之中……
400 pages, Paperback
First published June 10, 2009
5 people want to read
About the author
Seichō Matsumoto
591 books646 followersSeicho Matsumoto (松本清張, Matsumoto Seichō), December 21, 1909 – August 4, 1992) was a Japanese writer.
Matsumoto's works created a new tradition of Japanese crime fiction. Dispensing with formulaic plot devices such as puzzles, Matsumoto incorporated elements of human psychology and ordinary life into his crime fiction. In particular, his works often reflect a wider social context and postwar nihilism that expanded the scope and further darkened the atmosphere of the genre. His exposé of corruption among police officials as well as criminals was a new addition to the field. The subject of investigation was not just the crime but also the society in which the crime was committed.
The self-educated Matsumoto did not see his first book in print until he was in his forties. He was a prolific author, he wrote until his death in 1992, producing in four decades more than 450 works. Matsumoto's mystery and detective fiction solidified his reputation as a writer at home and abroad. He wrote historical novels and nonfiction in addition to mystery/detective fiction.
He was awarded the Akutagawa Prize in 1952 and the Kikuchi Kan Prize in 1970, as well as the Mystery Writers of Japan Award in 1957. He chaired the president of Mystery Writers of Japan from 1963 to 1971.
Credited with popularizing the genre among readers in his country, Matsumoto became his nation's best-selling and highest earning author in the 1960s. His most acclaimed detective novels, including Ten to sen (1958; Points and Lines, 1970); Suna no utsuwa (1961; Inspector Imanishi Investigates, 1989) and Kiri no hata (1961; Pro Bono, 2012), have been translated into a number of languages, including English.
He collaborated with film director Yoshitarō Nomura on adaptations of eight of his novels to film, including Castle of Sand.
Matsumoto's works created a new tradition of Japanese crime fiction. Dispensing with formulaic plot devices such as puzzles, Matsumoto incorporated elements of human psychology and ordinary life into his crime fiction. In particular, his works often reflect a wider social context and postwar nihilism that expanded the scope and further darkened the atmosphere of the genre. His exposé of corruption among police officials as well as criminals was a new addition to the field. The subject of investigation was not just the crime but also the society in which the crime was committed.
The self-educated Matsumoto did not see his first book in print until he was in his forties. He was a prolific author, he wrote until his death in 1992, producing in four decades more than 450 works. Matsumoto's mystery and detective fiction solidified his reputation as a writer at home and abroad. He wrote historical novels and nonfiction in addition to mystery/detective fiction.
He was awarded the Akutagawa Prize in 1952 and the Kikuchi Kan Prize in 1970, as well as the Mystery Writers of Japan Award in 1957. He chaired the president of Mystery Writers of Japan from 1963 to 1971.
Credited with popularizing the genre among readers in his country, Matsumoto became his nation's best-selling and highest earning author in the 1960s. His most acclaimed detective novels, including Ten to sen (1958; Points and Lines, 1970); Suna no utsuwa (1961; Inspector Imanishi Investigates, 1989) and Kiri no hata (1961; Pro Bono, 2012), have been translated into a number of languages, including English.
He collaborated with film director Yoshitarō Nomura on adaptations of eight of his novels to film, including Castle of Sand.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
June 20, 2025
There is no English translation yet for this book, so I would roughly translate the title "絢爛たる流離" (Kenran-taru Ryuri) to "A Splendid Wandering."
What drew me to pick up the book was the back cover blurb saying the stories virtually walk you through the Showa period from the 1920s to 1960s as a 3-karat, flawless white diamond ring passes through the hands of people from different walks of life. The book contains twelve stories, eight different owners, and at least six distinct eras of Showa: the prewar 20s, wartime colonial occupation of Korea, postwar US occupation of Japan (1942--1952), the 1960 student protest against US--Japan Security Treaty, and the postwar economic boom.
The ring is usually worn by a woman---a daughter, a wife, or a lover of a coal mine owner, an executive at a conglomerate company, a corrupt Military Ministry bureaucrat-turned-black marketer, and political consultants. The last person to hold the ring is a teenage boy who works as a welder during the 1960s construction boom. It's in his story that the title's word---"絢爛たる," "splendid"---appears for the first time in the text and the diamond disappears forever.
According to the afterword by Yasue Fujii (藤井康栄) included in the 2022 Bunshun Bunko edition, Seicho Matsumoto was inspired by a letter from a stranger who said they worked in the Tax Agency. The letter writer said that jewelry merchants would often keep records of the jewelries they sold. When they learn that their clients has died, they would buy back the jewelry at a discounted price and resell the item but this time with the additional flare of tragic backstory of its former owner. The letter asked Matsumoto if he would write something based on this tip.
The original tip about this opportunistic practice lives in these stories through excerpts of diaries of a jewelry seller, Chūbee Ukai (鵜飼忠兵衛), inserted at the beginning whenever the diamond is exchanged to a new owner. The excerpts stop appearing after the seventh story, but Ukai junior appears as a character in the eleventh story when he buys the diamond from its most recent owner, a political consultant after the latter reluctantly ended his affair. The merchant's recurring presence is a reminder that there will always be opportunistic people who will take profit from others' misfortunes.
The person who wrote the tip probably knew that Matsumoto wouldn't turn the material into a horror story about a cursed gemstone but use it as a prop to cut through the surface of Japanese society while telling entertaining murder mysteries at the same time. Another great read after Points and Lines and deserves an English translation.
What drew me to pick up the book was the back cover blurb saying the stories virtually walk you through the Showa period from the 1920s to 1960s as a 3-karat, flawless white diamond ring passes through the hands of people from different walks of life. The book contains twelve stories, eight different owners, and at least six distinct eras of Showa: the prewar 20s, wartime colonial occupation of Korea, postwar US occupation of Japan (1942--1952), the 1960 student protest against US--Japan Security Treaty, and the postwar economic boom.
The ring is usually worn by a woman---a daughter, a wife, or a lover of a coal mine owner, an executive at a conglomerate company, a corrupt Military Ministry bureaucrat-turned-black marketer, and political consultants. The last person to hold the ring is a teenage boy who works as a welder during the 1960s construction boom. It's in his story that the title's word---"絢爛たる," "splendid"---appears for the first time in the text and the diamond disappears forever.
According to the afterword by Yasue Fujii (藤井康栄) included in the 2022 Bunshun Bunko edition, Seicho Matsumoto was inspired by a letter from a stranger who said they worked in the Tax Agency. The letter writer said that jewelry merchants would often keep records of the jewelries they sold. When they learn that their clients has died, they would buy back the jewelry at a discounted price and resell the item but this time with the additional flare of tragic backstory of its former owner. The letter asked Matsumoto if he would write something based on this tip.
The original tip about this opportunistic practice lives in these stories through excerpts of diaries of a jewelry seller, Chūbee Ukai (鵜飼忠兵衛), inserted at the beginning whenever the diamond is exchanged to a new owner. The excerpts stop appearing after the seventh story, but Ukai junior appears as a character in the eleventh story when he buys the diamond from its most recent owner, a political consultant after the latter reluctantly ended his affair. The merchant's recurring presence is a reminder that there will always be opportunistic people who will take profit from others' misfortunes.
The person who wrote the tip probably knew that Matsumoto wouldn't turn the material into a horror story about a cursed gemstone but use it as a prop to cut through the surface of Japanese society while telling entertaining murder mysteries at the same time. Another great read after Points and Lines and deserves an English translation.
September 18, 2017
这本书是在特价区找到的，当时的心情是如获至宝。
里面共有十二个故事，由一颗“三克拉大小 純白無瑕 頂級白色 的圓形鑽石”串联着这些主人公的命运。（我记得东野圭吾写过一篇由皮夹子作第一人称的小说，可能是从中获得灵感的？）背景横跨六十年，由日本戰前，戰爭，戰敗，安保到经济起飞时代。当然故事背景的年代相当久远了，不过人性在任何时代似乎都是一般黑。大师之所以是大师，就是因为他们的作品是不受时空限制的吧。
里面共有十二个故事，由一颗“三克拉大小 純白無瑕 頂級白色 的圓形鑽石”串联着这些主人公的命运。（我记得东野圭吾写过一篇由皮夹子作第一人称的小说，可能是从中获得灵感的？）背景横跨六十年，由日本戰前，戰爭，戰敗，安保到经济起飞时代。当然故事背景的年代相当久远了，不过人性在任何时代似乎都是一般黑。大师之所以是大师，就是因为他们的作品是不受时空限制的吧。
December 2, 2023
A diamond ring is a symbol of commitment, while in reality, commitment is very fragile. It seems like true commitment doesn't necessarily require the enchantment of a diamond ring, it requires some sincerity, sincerity to oneself, facing up to fear and malice, and sincerity in commitment, daring to give and give up.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews