<![CDATA[Yoshiko Amemiya: Short Stories]]>https://www.yoshikoawriter.com/s/short-storieshttps://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!gOq-!,w_256,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F14826fc9-4eeb-4615-923a-3af27855cee2_1066x1066.jpegYoshiko Amemiya: Short Storieshttps://www.yoshikoawriter.com/s/short-storiesSubstackFri, 01 May 2026 04:10:19 GMT<![CDATA[The Ukulele Has No Strings]]>https://www.yoshikoawriter.com/p/the-ukulele-has-no-stringshttps://www.yoshikoawriter.com/p/the-ukulele-has-no-stringsSat, 07 Feb 2026 16:15:21 GMTMy aunt asked, “I see you’re engrossed in painting day and night, yet you haven’t sold a single watercolor painting!”

I replied, “Well, it’s like a peacock with congenital airplane wing syndrome that can’t fold its wings. It attaches a ukulele to its back, but the strings snap.”

Thank you for reading. I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Yoshiko Amemiya

Feb 7, 2026

]]><![CDATA[The Drunken Parallel Lines]]>https://www.yoshikoawriter.com/p/the-drunken-parallel-lineshttps://www.yoshikoawriter.com/p/the-drunken-parallel-linesFri, 02 Jan 2026 19:22:31 GMTO Clay, what is it you wish for, to make my heart ignite in this drunken flame?

***

White and black clouds drifted astray down to the Clay village. They met the Clay Maiden, who offered them shelter until the moon’s season ended.

The Clay is steeped in melancholy, for the white and black clouds have transformed into two parallel lines.

Thank you for reading.

Yoshiko Amemiya

Oct 7, 2025

]]><![CDATA[The Hand of the Snake]]>https://www.yoshikoawriter.com/p/the-hand-of-the-snakehttps://www.yoshikoawriter.com/p/the-hand-of-the-snakeFri, 02 Jan 2026 17:43:19 GMTThe sheep said it was fascinated by the snake’s hand, to the point of fainting. But the snake had already slipped into its cave.

Since the day the snake left, the sheep has fallen into the well. It has been unable to come up.

Each day, it still gazes at that hand. It sits counting, counting each night, yet in vain. The snake will never return.

Thank you for reading.

Yoshiko Amemiya

Oct 3, 2025

]]><![CDATA[The children fight over a cucumber]]>https://www.yoshikoawriter.com/p/the-children-fight-over-a-cucumberhttps://www.yoshikoawriter.com/p/the-children-fight-over-a-cucumberThu, 18 Dec 2025 03:13:05 GMTLes enfants se disputent un concombre.

Mourir non de faim, mais de trop-plein.

***

A day passed. Two days passed. Then, three days passed.

Food was all around, but she lost her appetite. She fasted.

After three consecutive days of fasting, just drinking water and not feeling hungry, she felt healthier; her body was lighter. Miraculous.

The time of poverty and rags passed. She craved rice with a cucumber dipped in soy sauce. Unfortunately, her family didn’t have enough money to buy even a few cucumbers, so they had to fight over a single one that her uncle had borrowed money to buy. Each of the three sisters got only a small piece.

On the fourth day, today, while she was slicing a cucumber, she suddenly remembered her past.

In that period, although the entire society was poor, warmth and genuine concern for one another filled the air.

She recalled the fragrant taste of the cucumber, which had a mild bitterness at both ends but was sweet in the middle.

Yet today’s cucumber, when she ate it, tasted so different. It was unsweetened and lacked that rich, fragrant flavor. As she swallowed it, deep down in her throat, she felt an astringent taste, a strange bitterness, and much, much more bitter than before.

Thank you for reading.

Yoshiko Amemiya

December 18, 2025

]]><![CDATA[Compassion]]>https://www.yoshikoawriter.com/p/compassionhttps://www.yoshikoawriter.com/p/compassionFri, 05 Dec 2025 17:51:33 GMTWalking on the familiar winding lane, its heart was heavy. Today, it wasn’t in the mood to work for its boss. It found everything boring. It sat there in a daze, watching the small pieces of life passing by.

It felt this life had treated it unfairly.

After a brief reflection, it was startled to realize the sun had slept on its back without it noticing.

Its eyes filled with tears, it confided in him, “Hey, I’m so upset. I have worked for my boss for over 15 years. Every day, I carry passengers and goods from early morning until late at night. I’m unfazed by the sun, wind, or hardship, but he cut off my two meals. He even said that now he only feeds me one meal a day.”

The sun saw its dejection and consoled it, “Poor you! What was the reason for cutting off your meals? Did you do something wrong?”

It stared into space, sighing, “I don’t know. Lately, I’ve been drawing pictures with clay. I used the time after everyone in the house fell asleep to sketch. Those were funny-looking works of green, red, purple, and yellow.

I couldn’t wait to show them off to everyone, so I brought the paintings to my boss. I gave all the money from his wife, who had died, to him. I scratched my head. “Sir, I will give you all the money I have; please send someone to see the clay paintings I have stored in the warehouse. What are your thoughts on this?”

The boss said, “I see your paintings are not like anyone else’s. People draw with their hands. You mold them with your feet. But…anyway, I find it attractive. Let me search for the people to view it.”

He is a well-known person in the province. So, people flocked to see it through his introductory advertisement. Many people visited to view it; they complimented its paintings: scent-free, colorful, and evoking thoughts of a strange new world.

Every day, people gathered to see it. It felt so excited. It became more creative, creating more colorful paintings.

But then, all joy quickly passed. One afternoon, the boss called it into his room and said, “I will punish you. I’ve already announced… From today, no one will come to see your paintings anymore!”

When it heard him speak those words, it was stunned. “Why, sir? Could you please give me a reason? I paid you in full. I didn’t owe you a single penny.”

The boss was blunt: “It’s true you paid me in full, but you violated the rules of this house.”

After saying that, he left. No matter how it tried to explain, the boss would refute it. The problem was that it didn’t know where it had gone wrong. So, it felt sorrowful and without hope. It thought, “It’s over. From now on, no one can view my creations anymore.”

The sun had finished listening to the story; he gazed intently at its clay drawing of the sun. Suddenly, his eyes sparkled, and he praised the drawing as being incredibly creative, more beautiful than the sun. That made the little horse’s shoulders glow pink.

The sun looked at it lovingly. He patted it on the head. “Hey, little horse, you don’t need to get attention. You’re talented. Just a few people like me recognize you; you’ll feel delighted, right?

Anyway, thank your boss, because he brought many people to see your paintings!”

The little horse seemed to be revived. It was beaming. It turned out it still had the sun encouraging it.

While it was on the way home, it heard the sun echoing from above. He opened his arms wide to embrace its breath, whispering to it, “Recognition only comes from compassion, not from attention, and compassion is recognition.”

Thank you for reading.

Yoshiko Amemiya

December 6, 2025

]]><![CDATA[Ten Days Awaiting ]]>https://www.yoshikoawriter.com/p/ten-days-awaitinghttps://www.yoshikoawriter.com/p/ten-days-awaitingMon, 01 Dec 2025 17:45:02 GMTThere are departures people cannot foresee. Those who choose to leave will leave those who stay behind with many question marks.

Life is a chain of question marks.

***

A teenage boy named Michael came up to me and asked, “I’ve been best friends with Kim for almost five years, but lately he’s been ignoring me and not talking to me anymore.”

I inquired, “Did you do anything that might have disappointed him?”

Michael paused and then spoke, “I’m not sure I did anything wrong. I went to his class many times to look for him, but he wouldn’t even look at me. Because he has many new friends now, he wants to stop playing with me?”

I advised, “If that’s the case, email it to him. Write this: If I did anything that upset you by accident, tell me so I can fix it. I don’t like it when you ignore me like that.”

He nodded, looking like he had listened to my advice with full attention. “He won’t even look at me. Why would he read my email?”

I comforted him. “He may not want to look at you anymore, but he will feel you. Try once and see.”

Michael’s face became strangely serious. “What if he doesn’t reply to my email?”

I smiled. “He may not want to reply; he may even delete your email. But he can’t delete your energy or close off your heart.”

Thank you for reading.

Yoshiko Amemiya

December 2, 2025

]]><![CDATA[Evaded Demise]]>https://www.yoshikoawriter.com/p/evaded-demisehttps://www.yoshikoawriter.com/p/evaded-demiseWed, 26 Nov 2025 18:38:46 GMTI’ve seen hell not far away — it’s in my mind. And heaven — where is heaven?

***

A rock wavered.

Its consciousness sank into the abyss, then passed through the crimson gate.

The King of Hell declared,

“Your karma is burdensome, yet I’ll bring you back to the world of the living.”

The rock said,

“I fear not death; I simply desire my form to be lighter.”

The King of Hell spoke in a very serious tone:

“A perturbed mind—everything is unstable. To make your form lighter, you must lower the shoulder pole!”

Thank you for reading.

November 26, 2025

Yoshiko Amemiya

]]><![CDATA[Simple Wishes ]]>https://www.yoshikoawriter.com/p/simple-wisheshttps://www.yoshikoawriter.com/p/simple-wishesSun, 16 Nov 2025 15:54:14 GMTThe monkey met the elephant by the stream.

The monkey saw the elephant groaning, so it asked while peeling a banana to eat, “What’s wrong with you?”

The elephant spoke in a low voice, wincing in pain, “I’m so itchy! It hurts too! A bee just stung my butt; I can’t scratch it.”

The monkey burst out laughing. “You usually handle it so well. Today, how come you let a bee defeat you?”

Normally, the elephant would rub against something to ease the itch. But this sting was strange. It throbbed now and then, sharp and annoying. The more it rubbed, the worse it got.

The monkey asked, “Why don’t you use your trunk to scratch it? What purpose does that trunk serve in your birth?”

The elephant shook its head disapprovingly. “I wish I had two hands like you!”

The monkey sagged, “I wish I had a trunk as big as yours. I can’t scoop up the unbroken stream with just two hands.”

Thank you for reading.

Yoshiko Amemiya

November 16, 2025

]]><![CDATA[A Hug ]]>https://www.yoshikoawriter.com/p/a-hug-a-symbolist-short-storyhttps://www.yoshikoawriter.com/p/a-hug-a-symbolist-short-storyThu, 13 Nov 2025 16:33:04 GMTDo you believe it? Some people only crave a hug. They have never received a simple hug in their entire lives.

It is “a genuine hug,” “a hug without lies,” “a hug without profit,” or “a hug without exchange for money.”

I suppose that although the law of impermanence always applies, the hug of human affection is immense and eternal.

***

The plastic doll had long, spiky, curly hair and big sparkling eyes. It ran to find someone to confide in.

Filled with eagerness, it knocked on house number one: “Is anyone home? Could you hug me, please?”

The old man opened the door. He was as tall as a pole. As he walked, he tripped on the steps. He spoke loudly, “Hey, little doll! So beautiful as you are, yet why do you lack love? I’ll sell you a hug. Give me ninety-nine cents.” The doll was silent. It thought to itself, it made little sense. It looked up at the man, then ran away, nearly losing its slippers.

When it arrived at house number two, it met a young man. He looked at it from top to bottom and said, “Hey, cute little doll! You said you needed a forehead rub, but you’re so beautiful, how could I dare touch your forehead? Because I’m a painter, the wall paint will be all over your forehead.” The doll’s face fell. It turned around and walked away.

Then it knocked on house number three, with a last faint ray of hope.

This time, it only hoped to receive hand-holding. The handsome middle-aged man invited it in and showed it the painting studio in the basement. It admired the portrait of a charming young woman. It touched a watercolor painting, and it smelled the slightly damp and pungent smell of paper and paint.

It turned out that he was an excellent artist.

It pulled on his sleeve as if begging him. “I don’t need a painting; I just want one hand to hold.”

The painter listened to every word of the doll, and he responded, ‘‘Hey, my cute girl! I’ve been holding the pen so much these past few days, so I cannot hold your hands with my calloused hands.’’

The doll wondered, ‘‘Just one hand to hold is so difficult!”

In the evening, on the way back to its slum, a dusty wind blew by, making it sway.

The dusty wind blew its shaggy hair, making the already messy hair even messier. Each dust particle flew into its eyes, making its eyes sting. The dust flew into its mouth, and it tasted the bitter, acrid taste of the dust particles.

When it got home, it looked carefully at its face in the mirror. It recalled every encounter with men. It said to the mirror, “Everyone compliments me on my beauty, but why don’t they give me a hug or even a handshake?”

The mirror stated its opinion: “They don’t hold your hand because they know your body comprises plastic, and if they touch it, it will hurt their hand. They don’t dare say it to you; they’re afraid you’ll be sad.”

When the doll heard this from the mirror, it realized men had deceived it. It was not beautiful at all.

Thank you for reading.

Yoshiko Amemiya

November 13, 2025

]]><![CDATA[Little U and Rice ]]>https://www.yoshikoawriter.com/p/why-hasnt-mom-come-home-yethttps://www.yoshikoawriter.com/p/why-hasnt-mom-come-home-yetSat, 25 Oct 2025 09:08:13 GMTThe sun had gone down. Gone.

Little U was looking for his mother, searching everywhere. Then he lay in front of the door, waiting for her to come home, waiting and waiting. He didn’t even bother to bark. His tail tucked inside.

Before leaving on a business trip, his mother boiled only two eggs for him to eat with his kibble.

He stared at the food bowl, choked, with teary orbs. He said to the bowl, “Eggs… looking at you makes me fed up!”

Rice from the next house ran over when he saw Little U dejected and spoke up, “Hey, today my mom has some good shrimp; she boiled it for you already. Are you going to eat it?”

“It’s all yours.” He didn’t even look at Rice.

Rice clicked his tongue, “Wow, you’re generous today!”

Steamed shrimp is their favorite. They fight over it, and they enjoy it once or twice a month.

Shrimp is expensive, even pricier than meat, and his mom, being a journalist, had little money to buy it. Yet today, Little U was absent-minded, and even with a luxurious treat placed right in front of him, he wouldn’t touch it. All he wanted was his mother.

Rice pouted, “Crazy! You won’t eat when you can. That means more for me! But I’m asking you, if your mom never comes back, what will you do? Would you wait like the dog at the Shibuya statue waits for its master?”

Little U shook his head, “You’re a cat, I’m a dog. You’re independent; I’m not.”

Rice didn’t dare say anything more. He wagged his tail and left because Little U had hit a raw nerve.

***Oh Star!

Please speak for my heart tonight.

Even if the wind

carries my mother

to some faraway place,

Through one hundred years,

I will still be here,

waiting for her to return to me.

— Yoshiko Amemiya

October 24, 2025

]]><![CDATA[Donkey, you’re the only one I am frighteningly impressed by!]]>https://www.yoshikoawriter.com/p/donkey-youre-the-only-one-i-am-frighteninglyhttps://www.yoshikoawriter.com/p/donkey-youre-the-only-one-i-am-frighteninglyWed, 15 Oct 2025 17:31:34 GMTThe tiger has one hundred claws and ten eyes. It is utterly confident that no one can outsmart it. One day, it tricked the donkey into carrying it up to the district town to play. The donkey said to the tiger, “Hey, your hair had all turned gray, but your teeth were still pure white and strong. Use your eyes to pull out all your teeth!” When the tiger heard the donkey speak, it was so frightened that it ran and lost ten of its claws.

Yoshiko Amemiya

Oct 15, 2025

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