Suwa and her father live alone on the slopes of Horsebare Mountain, eking out the most meager of existences. During the warmer months the beautiful waterfall brings a few sightseers, but when winter comes there is only solitude. Suwa would do anything to escape the life to which her father has resigned himself. And the lure of the river is strong...

This early classic from the author of Japan's greatest modern novel is a dark, elliptical tale of hopelessness that weaves the folklore of the mountains into an anti-coming-of-age story as vividly relevant today as it was when it was written nearly a hundred years ago.