Pathway to Japanese Literature

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BullfightingAuthor: Kunieda Shiro

Original Title	闘牛
Author	国枝史郎
Genre	Modern Short Fiction
Author Type	Male Author
Summary	In the sweltering heart of Córdoba, where bullfighting season electrifies the air, a shabbily dressed stranger arrives at a bustling inn near the arena. Dismissed by staff as inconsequential, he retreats to a dim room, observing the city’s revelry with unnerving calm. Yet when a palace official urgently summons him, whispers ripple through the crowd—this unassuming man is Rasīnu, a detective of formidable repute. Drawn into a labyrinthine theft at a royal estate, he confronts the disappearance of the "Saracen’s Earring," a relic entwined with dynastic legend and political unrest. Behind gilded corridors and shadowed courtyards, Rasīnu navigates a web of suspects: a disgraced chamberlain, a cunning cattle handler, and a bull of mythic ferocity destined for the arena. As tensions between tradition and rebellion simmer, the detective’s pursuit unveils alliances as fragile as the empire’s grip on power. With the bullfight’s spectacle looming, Rasīnu races to unravel a conspiracy where loyalty fractures and every glittering facade hides venomous truth—all before the final trumpet sounds.