AN ADOLESCENT

Tomokawa, a notoriously lazy policeman, spends his days teasing his friend Sukemasa, a retarded boy, cycling through the city and having affairs with married women. One day, he meets Yoko, a 15-year-old who offers to go to bed with him for money. The policeman becomes infatuated with her. Before long, the two discover that they have lots of things in common: Sukemasa is Yoko’s brother, their mother was one of Tomokawa’s former lovers, and Yoko’s grandfather had tattooed a one-winged male phoenix on Tomokawa’s back. According to a Chinese proverb, a one-winged bird represents a sacred vow between a man and a woman. Tomokawa tells Yoko that his bird needs a mate in order to be able to fly...