One Arm

One Arm (かたうで, kataude) is a novella by Nobel Prize winning author Yasunari Kawabata, published in 1964. This story has been considered as a main example of the current of magic realism in Japanese Literature.

Plot

A young woman removes her right arm and gives it to the a man (the protagonist) to keep for the night. The story follows his thoughts and actions as he takes it home to keep for the night. He talks and caresses it, and then decides to replace his own arm with it. The "relationship" the man has with the detached arm serves as a portal into the landscape of memory and emotions.

References