Kenzaburo Oe is one of the boundary-crossers of literature, posing a question with each book that leaves the reader restless. In his novel "Green Tree in Flames," he distills the essence of his life's work. Through a grand narrative exploration, Oe describes the perilous quest for a new religion, which can be both liberation and burden. The setting is a village in the forests of Shikoku, around which Oe's stories consistently revolve. In the main courtyard of the village, an almost hundred-year-old woman lies dying. With her death, the myths and stories of the village would be forgotten. However, at the last moment, she finds in the young Gij a successor who is initially celebrated by the community against his will as a savior, healer, and bringer of salvation, only to be later ostracized.