Un'estate a Zushi

"My Memories of Prince Nalin" is probably Tachibana's best-known work, which earned him the seventh Naoki Prize in 1938. The story retraces the brief period in Japan of Nalin, the prince son of the Maharaja of Birpur. The protagonist from whose point of view the story is told is called Tachibana like the author. Despite his literary ambitions, he works as a shop manager for a company that trades with foreign countries and it is during a meeting with some Indian customers that he gets to know Nalin. Tachibana is unaware that he is a maharajah and is so impressed by his good looks and refined manners that he first invites him to dinner and then offers to guide him around Tokyo. The two spend pleasant days together and Tachibana is surprised by the intelligence and entrepreneurial plans of Nalin, who would like to build a cinema in Birpur to recreate and educate his countrymen. It is only in the course of their acquaintance that Tachibana discovers that Nalin is actually a maharajah who has come to Japan to study. He wants to research the Japanese textile industry in order to acquire the necessary skills to develop that sector in his country. The two become good friends until the British government forces Nalin to leave Japan. "A Summer in Zushi" is set in the mountains of Kanagawa Prefecture not far from the town of Zushi. The narrator has recently lost his wife who died of tuberculosis and decides to retire to live there for a while. During his summer there, he repeatedly ventures near an ancient, now abandoned Buddhist temple. It is in the temple's desolate cemetery that an unexpected encounter takes place. Next to one of the tombs, he spots a beautiful child in the company of an old man and a young woman. Frightened and at the same time intrigued by the three mysterious figures, the protagonist investigates their identity and discovers that they are ultimately three ghosts. Haunting him in particular is the child who materializes in the most unlikely places. However, the suspense and frightening atmosphere that pervade the tale leave room for an unexpectedly serene ending.