A long novel inspired by the Kawachi ten-person murder case sung in Kawachi ondo. Through the life of Kido Kumataro, its voluble and comic narration gives overwhelming density to humiliation and loneliness that cannot be properly spoken.

The more Kumataro speaks, the more deeply his solitude is exposed.

A story collection about love and life among people working as scaffolders, sanitation workers, gas-station attendants, movers, septic-tank cleaners, and crematorium staff. Six bittersweet stories vividly connect labor with subtle emotion.

Beside working bodies, love leaves a taste that is sweet, bitter, and unmistakable.