Pathway to Japanese Literature

Discover Japan's stories—across time, across language.

The Story of Receiving a MedalAuthor: Kikuchi Kan

Original Title	勲章を貰う話
Author	菊池寛
Genre	Modern Short Fiction
Author Type	Male Author
Summary	In the second spring of Europe’s devastating war, Officer Candidate Ivanovich awaits a medal for battlefield heroism, his body marked by loss but his spirit clinging to fragile hope. Amid trenches scarred by artillery, nature’s defiant rebirth contrasts with the human cost of conflict. Once an idealistic student turned soldier, Ivanovich’s valor in battles from Warsaw to Kovno has earned him fame—and the Saint George Cross, a symbol of honor tainted by hidden shadows. Behind his accolades lies a turbulent past: a rivalry with a superior officer over a forbidden love, a confrontation that spiraled into violence, and guilt masked by reckless bravery. As he prepares to receive his reward from a grand duke, memories of choices made in desperation linger—choices that blur loyalty, love, and survival. In a world where spring blooms over carnage, Ivanovich’s triumph is haunted by the price of heroism and the ghosts of war’s moral ambiguities.