[Machine Translation] Tokunaga, an unsuccessful comedian, meets Kamiya, an older comedian with a genius streak, and looks up to him as a mentor. He begs her to write his biography and they spend more time together, but they eventually go their separate ways. Their debut novel depicts what laughter is and what human beings are. Winner of the 153rd Akutagawa Prize. Includes a commemorative essay "Letter to Ryunosuke Akutagawa," written in commemoration of his winning the Akutagawa Prize.