Pathway to Japanese Literature

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

Princess TachibanaAuthor: Murō Saisei

Original Title	姫たちばな
Author	室生犀星
Genre	Modern Short Fiction
Author Type	Male Author
Summary	In the twilight of Heian-era Japan, Princess Tachibana finds herself ensnared in a rivalry as exquisite as it is perilous. Two noble suitors—one draped in sappanwood red, the other in wisteria purple—haunt her gates nightly, their devotion expressed through opulent gifts, poetic gestures, and a silent war of mirrored elegance. Each evening, they arrive like clockwork beneath an ancient plum tree, their gazes sharp as blades, their pride unyielding. Tachibana, torn between their equal fervor, plants irises daily as tokens of their courtship, her heart paralyzed by the impossibility of choice. Yet their rivalry festers beyond romance, morphing into a duel of lives intertwined by fate. As spring deepens, their once-chivalrous contest spirals toward violence, leaving Tachibana and her father to confront an agonizing truth: love and honor may demand a sacrifice neither can bear to name. Amidst blooming irises and bloodied riverbanks, a tale unfolds where beauty masks tragedy, and devotion becomes a requiem.