[DeepL Translation - needs review] A short story representative of Yoshiki Hayama, a leading writer of proletarian literature in Japan. First published in Bungei Sensen [Literary Front] in 1926. One day, Matsudo Yozo, a construction worker at a hydroelectric power plant, finds a wooden box in a cement barrel. Inside the box was a letter containing the heartrending cries of a female worker under harsh working conditions. This masterpiece was highly praised by Koji Uno.
(Translator: DeepL)
I did my best to grade this fairly, but keep in mind that the opening and closing sections of this story are significantly harder than the large middle portion which is a straight forwardly written letter. All the usual caveats of Aozora (old kanji, old grammar, old vocab) probably apply although I was not strictly paying attention for them.
There was at least one word that wasn't in my JP<>JP dictionary and I had to Google it to find out the meaning, but in retrospect it was fairly guessable by context.
I'm always leery about giving plot details on short stories since it ruins the fun, so will just say that if you do not like dark themes involving death (human) this is not for you. I enjoyed it though, and felt the contrasting mood of the writing for the letter author and the letter reader well done.