Some of the tales focus on the devastation the country felt directly as a result of World War II: a prostitute loses all hope when American GIs go home to their wives; a man devotes twenty years of his life to preserving the memory of those killed at Hiroshima, only to discover a horrible misconception at the heart of his tribute. Yet, while American influence does play a role in the disturbing and bizarre stories contained within this volume, it is hardly the overriding theme. A philanthropic foot fetishist, a rash-ridden retiree, and a lonely public onanist are but a few of the characters etching out darkly nuanced lives in the midst of isolated despair and fleeting pleasure.

*Hell (地獄, Jigoku)
"Just a Man" (男 一発, Otoko Ippatsu)
"Sky Burial" (鳥葬, Chōsō)
"Rash"
"Woman in the Mirror" (鏡の中の女, Kagami no Naka no Onna)
"Night Falls Again" (夜がまたくる, Yoru ga Mata Kuru)
"Life is So Sad"
"Click Click Click" (コツコツコツ, Kotsu Kotsu Kotsu)
"Good-bye" (グッドバイ, Guddobai)