The following edition of the text was used in the creation of this study guide: Krasznahorkai, László. A Mountain to the North, a Lake to the South, Paths to the West, a River to the East. Tuskar Rock Press, 2022. Kindle AZW file.

The novel begins with Chapter II. The unnamed main character, later identified as the grandson of Prince Genji, arrives at a train station southeast of Kyoto and walks through deserted streets, following a wall in search of an entrance. Chapter III describes the Nandaimon gate in a monastery, standing alone in a courtyard and serving as a symbolic threshold.

In Chapter IV, the grandson of Prince Genji continues walking, feeling unwell and alone. In Chapter V, he senses that the surrounding nature welcomes and protects him. Chapter VI moves back in time, describing how a breeze clears the station platform before his arrival. Chapter VII details a large ginkgo tree in the monastery, placed so that he would see it from the station and be guided toward it. In Chapter VIII, an empty train stops briefly at a station before leaving, and the stationmaster bows to it.

In Chapter IX, a storm passes over, momentarily halting all activity in nature. In Chapter X, the protagonist stands before the Nandaimon gate as the narration reflects on the nature of wind, which is perceptible only through its effects and never the same twice. Chapter XI describes the Chumon gate, and Chapter XII the third monastery gate, which functions as an actual passage between courtyards. Chapter XIII depicts the belltower, where a bird sings briefly before flying away.

Chapter XIV describes gravel in the monastery courtyards, made from stone brought from another region and raked daily to maintain calming, even patterns. In Chapter XV, the grandson of Prince Genji waits before the third gate for a greeting that never comes, then offers incense and a prayer at the Golden Hall. Chapter XVI tells of a dying, beaten dog that climbs to the ginkgo tree, lies at its base, and dies.

Chapter XVII describes a Buddha statue turning away from the suffering world. Chapter XVIII recounts the monastery’s long history, its vastness, and its design guiding pilgrims by an unseen, whimsical force that also governs nature and the dog’s death. In Chapter XIX, the grandson of Prince Genji, still ill and alone, lies down on a terrace and loses consciousness. Chapter XX details the construction of the monastery’s covered walkways of hinoki cypress, built over decades under a master carpenter’s exacting plan.

In Chapters XXI–XXII, as he climbs toward the monastery, the grandson of Prince Genji feels protected by the eastern mountains but ignores their silent ominous warning as he enters the deserted streets.

Chapter XXIII describes the monastery’s ideal location and the long, careful construction process led by the master carpenter, who selected and lived among the hinoki cypress trees before building began. Chapter XXIV recounts the making of the Buddha statue that looks behind him.

In Chapter XXV, the grandson of Prince Genji, weak and dizzy, wanders through the deserted monastery. In Chapter XXVI, he finds the damaged doors of the sutra repository and enters. Chapters XXVII–XXVIII describe the traditional process of making paper from bamboo. In Chapter XXIX, he finds a glass of water in the sutra repository. Chapter XXX introduces his drunken retinue of about ten men in European clothes, who arrive at the empty town and question an old woman who denies knowing him. In Chapter XXXI, the grandson of Prince Genji falls into a deep sleep.

Chapter XXXII reveals that the grandson of Prince Genji has lived for centuries. Obsessed with finding a garden described in a book called One Hundred Beautiful Gardens, he spent generations searching for it, now believing it to be at the monastery. Doubting himself, he regrets escaping his retinue to pursue the quest. In Chapter XXXIII, he regains strength. In Chapter XXXIV, he sees a shed where thirteen goldfish have been nailed through their eyes. Chapter XXXV describes a small earthquake shaking the monastery.

Chapter XXXVI depicts the abbot’s residence: outwardly calm but inwardly chaotic, littered with whiskey bottles, an American film poster, a television, and a French book titled The Infinite Mistake by Sir Wilford Stanley Gilmore. In Chapter XXXVII, the grandson of Prince Genji finds the same disarray in the abbot’s quarters and sees the book. Chapter XXXVIII summarizes The Infinite Mistake: a 2,000-page book consisting mainly of an escalating list of numbers. Its author claims existence is finite because the number of writable numbers is limited, denying the reality of infinity and mocking rival mathematician Georg Cantor.

Chapter XXXIX describes the grandson of Prince Genji’s extreme sensitivity, which causes him to fall ill at the monastery, unable to find help. Chapter XL introduces a hidden garden with eight hinoki cypress trees, too beautiful to describe. In Chapter XLI, the grandson of Prince Genji passes its entrance without realizing it is there. Chapter XLII follows his drunken retinue, who lose track of their purpose, ride the train back and forth, and return to the same town after remembering they are supposed to find the grandson of Prince Genji.

Chapter XLIII recounts the countless coincidences that created the garden over many years, calling it a message not meant for human understanding. Chapter XLIV notes the grandson’s extraordinary beauty. Chapter XLV traces how the garden’s moss came to exist, suggesting all events led to the grandson’s futile search for it. Chapter XLVI describes the dead dog at the ginkgo tree’s base.

In Chapter XLVII, the retinue fails to find the old woman they spoke to on their first visit, forgets who they are looking for, returns to the train, and falls asleep drunk. In Chapter XLVIII, the grandson returns to the station to find the monastery has vanished. Chapter XLIX shows him waiting alone for a train. In Chapter L, a train arrives at an empty platform and departs empty, the dispatcher bowing as it heads toward Kyoto, where some unnamed trouble is occurring.