Pathway to Japanese Literature

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Reminiscence of Crown Prince NarainAuthor: Tachibana Sotoo

Original Title	ナリン殿下への回想
Author	橘外男
Genre	Popular Fiction
Author Type	Male Author
Summary	In 1930s Tokyo, amid rising British-Japanese tensions, a Japanese merchant’s routine visit to an Indian trading firm unravels a web of intrigue. There, he encounters Sheutan—a radiant youth whose jeweled turban and princely demeanor defy his claimed identity. Drawn into Sheutan’s orbit, the narrator navigates a world of veiled power struggles: British spies lurk in shadows, Indian exiles whisper of colonial oppression, and every interaction hums with unspoken danger. As their unlikely friendship deepens during moonlit strolls and clandestine meetings, the merchant uncovers fragments of Sheutan’s truth—a royal lineage, a sister celebrated as India’s greatest beauty, and a deadly clash with British authorities that haunts his past. Yet the full scope of Sheutan’s mission in Japan remains tantalizingly obscured, entangled with whispers of rebellion and a British embassy’s watchful gaze. Between glittering hotel bars and Kabuki theaters, the narrator finds himself torn between fascination and dread, questioning how far loyalty extends when empires collide and a prince’s smile might conceal revolution.