The Happiness of Yuriko (ユリ子のしあわせ) is a 1958 one-shot by Fujio Akatsuka, published in Shueisha's Ribon magazine.
Overview[]
For as long as she's known in her life, the young girl Yuriko has enjoyed growing up alongside her grandfather and having him as a parental figure. However, she seems to long for a mother, though her grandfather sees such a thing as unnecessary.
When tragedy strikes, however, Yuriko must reconnect with her long-lost mother.
Characters[]
Yuriko[]
A young girl living a humble life in the countryside with her grandpa. Yet, in her adolescence, she's also come to want some pricey things such as modern fashionable handbags that other girls have. She gets concerned and tearful at seeing other girls with mothers, and wonders about her own.
Upon the old man's death and Yuriko's arrival in Tokyo, her handbag is stolen by two delinquents and she's left in despair. She cries out for her mother, trying to look for where the woman could be, but is injured when she steps into the path of an oncoming car.
She later wakes up in a hospital, where she reunites with the fancy woman she'd seen earlier in the story, learning that she's the mother she's longed to be with.
Grandpa[]
An old man who has raised Yuriko. He is angered when his daughter comes back from Tokyo, having had a change of heart and wanting to reconnect with the child. He insists that he's the only parent Yuriko needs in her life, and pushes his daughter away.
He watches his daughter's train depart in the rain, becoming soaked, which soon leads to him becoming deathly ill. As his health fails him and he dies, he begs Yuriko to go seek out her mother in Tokyo.
Yuriko's Mother[]
A fashionable, rich but modest woman who wants to take her daughter back. Upon seeing the grown Yuriko for a first time, she bids her "Hello". Though Yuriko does not recognize her, she becomes tearful at the motherly presence.
She continues to try to see Yuriko and speak with her during her stay in the countryside, but is chased off by her father who orders her to stay away from the girl. After ultimately reuniting with Yuriko in Tokyo, she looks up at the stars and thinks "Thank you, Father".
Serialization[]
- Ribon: January 1958
Reprints[]
- Shogakukan: Reprinted as part of the "1950s" collection in the Fujio Akatsuka Complete Works DVD-ROM set
- eBookJapan: Reprinted in the "1950s" eBook