In The Three-Cornered World, an artist leaves city life to wander in the mountains on a quest to stimulate his artistic endeavors. When he finds himself staying at an almost deserted inn, he becomes obsessed with the beautiful and strange daughter of the innkeeper, who is rumoured to have abandoned her husband and fallen in love with a priest at a nearby temple. Haunted by her aura of mystery and tragedy, he wants to paint her. As he struggles to complete his picture and slove the enigma of her life, his daily conversations with those at the inn and in the village provide clues and inspiration toward solving the mysteries she presents.

Natsume Soseki examines each event and scene in this story in minute detail, creating balanced pictures in each small situation. Interspersed with philosophies of both the East and West, Soseki's writing blends two very different cultures and presents the unique world of an artist struggling with his craft and his environment.